We interviewed April on her time at Empire Fighting Chance

We caught back up with April - awarded September's Champion of the Month - about how working with her mentor Courtney has helped her.

We caught back up with April - awarded September's Champion of the Month - and asked her about how working with her mentor Courtney has helped her.

Full transcript below

Courtney:
What do you enjoy most about coming to Empire?

April:
It’s like, half the actual boxing ‘cos I enjoy the sport and half of it is just to have a laugh. And like take your mind off the week, and like, think about the next week.

Courtney:
Do you feel open enough to talk to one of your mentors?

April: Yeah. Definitely. Well, a lot more than I was, anyway… I take a lot of your advice and just like step back from like 90% of situations now, whereas before I wouldn’t have done that I’d have got involved.

Courtney:
And I think that’s what helps - trying to be relatable, like so obviously I don’t go and try and make out that I’m perfect… I tell you obviously some of the stories that like personal stories that have happened to me or similar situations that I think we’ve both been in, you can relate to that a lot more than some other… psychologists, or sitting in a room with four white walls.

April: Yeah, it’s better with like a real person, works with you rather than like works to try help you.

Courtney: Someone that doesn’t try and change your thought

April: No, yeah

Courtney: Just try to help you see the goal yourself.

April: Yeah… There’s no way I would’ve skipped for 3 minutes, or 4… And now… Like no it’s not even 3, it’s 6. I wouldn’t have done that before, I still do that now. Like, seeing that I can actually do something for a long period of time and actually see myself get better something that's fun that’s not a chore, which actually makes me, like, better and calmer.

Courtney: You said in your schoolwork as well that you’re doing better, like obviously you got A* in your mocks last week so I think the longer-term goal is to build on that then it’s GCSE's and obviously seeing you through that process.