(dramatic music and sirens)
- Boxin', to me, is like a way of motivation,
of gettin' out the hood.
Bein' a kid growin' up in Chicago,
you see a lot of drug dealin', gang-banging shootouts.
But, we're in the city showin' kids, like,
this isn't just a bubble,
and this is how everything gives in life.
(bell dings)
You gotta have a belief in yourself
that you can see mo' than this; you can be better than this.
(two thuds)
- [Narrator] This Great Big Story is made possible by
"The Chi" on Showtime.
(ambient street sounds)
(punching bag being hit)
- Bend your knees a little bit, power.
Remember to use your waist.
OK?
One, two.
Nice.
Right.
Nice, remember to turn on that foot.
Right.
Good.
Jab.
(serious instrumental music)
Jab.
Better.
Jab.
My name is Sally Hazelgrove,
and I am the founder and executive director of
Restoring the Path: Crushers Club.
Jab.
In 2000, I was livin' in Chicago,
and I started studying gangs and interviewing gang members,
and I asked them in 2004,
"What's something that would get you off the block?"
And, "boxing" was their number one answer.
From hearing their stories I started to formulate a vision.
In March of 2013, I opened Crushers Club.
Crushers Club is a place where youth come
as an alternative to gangs,
and as a way to terminate off of juvenile probation.
- Take your time.
It took me a month.
It took me like two weeks to a month to get this.
You learned in one day.
Good.
Keep it high.
- [Sally] Since opening our doors,
we've seen over 500 youth.
They can let down their guard.
They can be young men.
They can empathize with eachother.
They can be funny.
I tell all of them, "It's your job to save all the children.
I'm here to empower you, and for you to lead."
Because they are the change makers.
- [Male Coach] Take a turn.
Good.
(somber instrumental music and sirens)
- I didn't have no easy experience bein' in Chicago.
When I was 6, I seen my daddy get shot
right in front of me.
I had so little close friends to me,
and friends just in general that just gettin' killed
off gun violence.
After while, like for me, death just became normal.
I started comin' to Crushers Club when I was 9 years old.
Ever since then, I just been boxin'.
I have to look at the bigger picture,
instead of just seein' the streets and bein' enticed by it,
what you see everyday.
'Cause honestly drug dealers, boosters, people sellin' weed,
people sellin' crack, all that stuff,
it entice you do that, to be that type of person.
But I know I'm bigger than the street.
The boxin' ring was like almost my guidance and my therapy.
Anytime I had an issue, anytime I had a problem,
anytime I felt some type of way,
as soon as I stepped foot in Crushers Club
I felt like I was on top.
(somber instrumental music)
- I ain't know what that was.
- I want four ya'll run this way, four ya'll run that way.
- I'm runnin' this way.
- [Sally] We've had a lot of success at Crushers Club.
I've seen young men that were on the street, shooting,
now come to me and say,
"I no longer gang bang, and I've put down my gun."
These are not hardened criminals,
and we're gonna fight for them
pretty much til our dying breath.
- [Christopher] You look at all these pictures
of all these kids, you not just thinking about yourself
you thinkin' about the kids.
You is a kid, you can still have a kid life,
you can still do the basic things that
any other kid at any other city wanna do.
You feel that family environment, that family vibe
when you in here.
I know what I'm doin',
I wouldn't be the same person
if it wasn't for Crushers Club or for boxin'.
I feel like this ain't even like my real beginnin',
'cause I got way more to go.
This just like, tip of the iceberg.
(two thuds)