More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A two-time boxing champion from Chatham says the mind-set he learnt in the ring helped him start his own business.
Ambrose Salami believes learning to control his mind gave him the sense of direction he lacked when he was younger.
The 27-year-old said, "Without boxing I definitely would not be where I am mentally and emotionally. Just my general mindset would not be the same as what it is now.
"When I got into boxing, my energy was focused on just boxing. Where before my energy focused on going out doing stuff that I wouldn't say was smart at the time."
When he was eight, Mr Salami moved to Kent from Ghana. He said he was an impulsive and hyperactive kid, which lead to him being arrested twice as a youngster.
He added: "I didn't tend to listen to people. I just did what I wanted to do and was pretty much all over the place. So I tried to find a way of burning my energy and try to refocus on something else."
Around the same time he started his engineering course in his late teens, Mr Salami took up boxing at a local gym in Chatham.
Feeling is lifestyle shifting, the young boxer started going into every session looking for ways to improve himself.
Mr Salami said boxing helped to change the way he thought, adding: "Boxing opens your eyes, people who act tough out there would actually struggle in the boxing ring.
"Even now, when I go out and I see people trying to start trouble, acting tough, they don't understand this is what a weak person would do. The gym makes you appreciate how hard fighting is and it humbles you."
He also explained the sport helped him learn from his mistakes. He added: "If you're in a boxing ring and you get hit with a nice hook, you start thinking about how to stop it happening again. I need to start blocking. In life if you go through a breakup, for example, you realise what you've done and know what to do differently for next time."
By utilising what he learned in the ring, Mr Salami worked hard and started his own air compressor repairs company, AMS Compressor Services, after seeing a gap in the market.
He added: "I realised I still have the same energy as I did when I was younger. I'm refocussing the energy I used to have and I've now got a business to put that energy into.
"The discipline I learned from boxing has meant I was constantly learning and working. Ten years ago, if someone said this was how I was going to turn out, I wouldn't have to believed it."
To read about how boxing gyms can prevent young people from getting into knife crime, click here.
