Former Dragons’ Den bidder, entrepreneur and the man behind the Reggae brand Levi Roots gave a talk at the Inside Out Clothing pop-up store at Westfield Stratford.

Inside Out Clothing brand is created, designed and hand produced by eight young ex-offenders. The aim is to help them launch, design and sell their own clothing brand. The pop-up shop, donated by Westfield Stratford, gave the young people a chance to develop skills in business, fashion and retail through a mix of classes led by LinkedIn.

The founder Greg McKenzie covered many stories about the lives of ex-offenders due to his background as a BBC news correspondent and documentary filmmaker. Greg came from humble beginnings. He grew up on a council estate and was in and out of the care system growing up.

Greg told Newham Voices:

“A lot of my friends ended up in jail. I guess I was one of the lucky ones, well it’s not luck it’s hard work to forge a career for myself.

“I really wanted to give something back to my community. That’s how the Inside Out project was born. It’s something I wanted to do 10 years ago. So after three years in the planning, I finally got to make my dream a reality.”

The young guys who were on the project were recommended by people from the youth groups Greg has worked with, or done positive stories about them over the years. Some also came from a direct advert placed on social media.

When Greg looked into the unemployment rates among young offenders he discovered that only 17 per cent of prison leavers find work in the first year of being released.

Westfield Stratford and LinkedIn were key in supporting Inside Out Clothing because they both saw the need for this project. There are also a few other people behind the scenes who helped make this project a success.

Levi Roots told Newham Voices why he wanted to be involved:

“It’s a subject close to my heart. Of course I would want to support a project of this calibre that will help ex-offenders really get back on the right track.

“The Inside Out project is a well thought through program that allows these young people to tap into their creative juices and explore where they can go with it.”

Levi also gave some advice to young guys:

“Be the best of you. Don’t try to be somebody else. Don’t compare yourself to somebody else, stay focused and be the best version of yourself.”

Inside Out Clothing will be a yearly project. Plans are already underway to create the next one in February next year. For more information, visit insideoutclothing.co.uk

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