When Vivien Parsons walked into Afewee Training Centre in Brixton aged 12, she didn’t know it would shape the next decade of her life. Now a GB boxer, Elite National Champion and coach at the same gym, she is working where she first started.

It was a blustery Thursday afternoon when I met Vivien. Inside Brixton Recreation Centre, I made my way upstairs to Afewee, taking in the space and its atmosphere as I began to understand the environment that shaped her from school to an elite athlete. I was introduced to Bobby Miltiadous, Vivien’s long-time coach, and Allen Kabanda, who coaches alongside her on Moves Different, a free boxing programme for young people delivered through England Boxing.

Afewee, meaning “for us” in Jamaican Patois, was founded by Steadman Scott and Tony Goldring in 1997. What began as a football club in Crystal Palace moved across South London before settling in Brixton, with the founders initially funding the space themselves. It quickly became clear this was more than a gym, with an ethos rooted in community and supporting young people’s aspirations.

Before sitting down for the interview, we chatted through a photoshoot at Afewee and a nearby football pitch. Above the noise of traffic and school pick-up time, Vivien spoke warmly about growing up in Brixton. She had just returned from a training camp in Sheffield and was preparing to travel to Hungary the following day for competition. She also reflected on a recent trip to New Delhi, part of a boxing journey that has already taken her around the world, including Finland, Spain and Brazil.

Later, when we sat down in Pret, I asked about the discipline required to compete at her level. Her response was immediate: “Once I started boxing, that was it. Like, that was all I cared about…”

Before boxing, she tried judo, gymnastics and football, but nothing held her attention in the same way. It was only after her brother attended a session at Afewee that she decided to try it herself. At school, she felt something was missing: “It wasn’t quite enough…there wasn’t a lot of competition when I was a student, especially for girls.”

Training has since become central to her life. Sessions focus on fundamentals, stance, guard and basic punches, alongside fitness work and circuits. Over time, that develops into sparring and more advanced techniques, with progress built gradually through consistency and effort.

“I need to have that discipline…I don’t know what I’d do to be honest,” she says. “Even when I take a couple of days off, get me back in the gym, get me back punching…that’s what’s gotten me this far.”

I asked if she listens to music at the gym. “I’ve never really trained with a lot of music,” she says. “But my ring walk song was Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield, which my parents probably picked. I really love that one.”

Outside the gym, Vivien says she spends most of her downtime at home, where baking has become a favourite escape from training. She recently made a cake for her mum, although, like many fighters, she often can’t enjoy what she bakes due to the demands of her fight diet.

That balance between discipline and opportunity sits at the heart of Moves Different, a new programme she now coaches on with Allen Kabanda and the other coaches at Afewee, a pilot scheme delivered by England Boxing for young people aged 13 to 18.

“You learn the basics first, your stance, your guard, your basic punches. Then you do circuits, making sure you’re working hard. As you go along, you improve and start doing more partner work.”

There’s no prior experience required, and it also opens doors. After six months of training, participants can progress further within the sport, with potential pathways into coaching or competition.

Our conversation was powerful and emotional. I left with the sense that Vivien’s story is part of something bigger: “Young people being in an environment where they feel like they belong…where people genuinely want to help and support them, a lot of people don’t have that. But you’ll find that in the gym.”

More Photos

• Afewee Boxing Brixton Rec
• Vivien Parsons Insta
• England Boxing Insta

Interview: Elise Rothera
Photography: Merve Prestedge Photography