My names Martin Murray. I am 42 years old and grew up in the Fingerpost area of St. Helens in a small 3-bedroom council house, together with my parents, 2 brothers and sister. My childhood and adolescence were a sad catalogue of fighting on my local estate, shoplifting from local shops and generally being a disruptive presence at school.
I was expelled from my first secondary school and transferred to Cowley High School for years 10 and 11. Although I felt had the potential to achieve; I left school with the minimum grades to get into the Armed Forces but was denied entry due to a medical condition. With limited career prospects and in the absence of any encouragement to continue my education, I drifted into a life of crime like many other young people around me.
At age 17, due to the cramped conditions in our family home, I moved into my own flat which only exacerbated my criminal activity, drug and alcohol use. I had previously been 'cautioned' by the police on a number of occasions without it changing my attitude or behaviour, leading to my first criminal conviction in November 2000. This was the start of a slippery slope, culminating in me being sent to a Young Offenders Institute (YOI) for 3 years in 2002.
One positive aspect of my life during this period involved training at the local boxing gym in Eccleston under the tutelage of John Chisnall. I competed in many boxing contests and won local and national titles, however, due to my negative and destructive mindset, I was not able to translate this success into changing my lifestyle outside of the ring. My chaotic lifestyle continued until I reached a crossroads and the realisation that without real change, I was destined to waste my life like many of the men I had grown up with.
After my final prison stint in 2006 I decided to finally turn my life around and follow a positive rather than negative path. I had recently met my now wife, Gemma, and desperately wanted to break the cycle of crime, drugs and incarceration. The boxing gym was the only consistent factor in my life, so I started back training and decided to really dedicate myself to the sport. It was through the physical exercise, hard work and sacrifice this involved that I began to see positive changes in my life.
I made my debut as a professional boxer in 2007 and became a father for the first time in 2008. We went on to have 2 daughters and I continued to fight professionally until I made the decision to retire following my 5th World Title challenge in December 2020. I won numerous titles as a professional and was fortunate to fight all over the world, against some of the greatest fighters of my generation. I relocated to Warrington with my family in 2010 and our children now attend local schools. In 2011, I enrolled in St. Helens College to study Youth Work and achieved an NOCN Level 3 Qualification in Youth Work Practice. I completed a Monitoring Course the following year. I obtained both qualifications to ensure I had the practice-based skills to enable me to engage young people in a structured and appropriate manner. As part of my commitment to the community, I am currently an ambassador for the Steve Prescott Foundation and Mill Green School and College, both based in St. Helens.
I decided many years ago that I wanted to use my past experiences to help improve the lives of young people coming from circumstances similar to my own. I know from personal experience that changing my thought processes helped to change my life for the better. I believe that changing someone’s mindset can have a huge impact on their future, particularly for young men lacking a pro-social role model and some structure in their lives. The discipline of boxing provided the framework for the positive changes to emerge and embed in my own life and it is those elements that I will bring to Think F.A.S.T.
Too much of our young talent and potential in St. Helens, Warrington and beyond is wasted and far too many young people become just another crime, health or education statistic. My overriding aim is to draw upon my negative early life experiences in a positive way to the benefits of others. Vulnerability and risk often go hand in hand, and we need to look beyond the disruptive behaviour to the young person behind it. Think F.A.S.T will work with the most disenfranchised and alienated young people in order to engage, settle and refocus them towards a more positive pathway, using the structure and discipline of our programme as a framework for change.
The challenges of past few years have been unprecedented and are likely to impact most acutely on young people who have experienced significant disruption to their educational, personal and social development. There is already evidence emerging that the most disadvantaged are being left further behind and that pre-existing inequalities have widened. There has also been a big rise in low mental health and anxiety among young people. I intend to be part of the solution to the many challenges we will be facing over the coming months through educating young people about the benefits of health and fitness.
Martin Murray
January 2025