To celebrate Men’s Health Week 2022, the charity Fight for Peace recreated a photography project from last year spending time with some of their muay thai team in the scorching heat!

Led by photographer Lily May Bartley, Fight for Peace Academy boxers took to the Academy rooftop for portraits and to answer questions about men’s health and their experiences so far.

The aim was to find out a little more about why sport is so important in their lives and to hear of their development in other areas.

KB, for example, has been boxing at Fight for Peace for about two months, and says his background in football, swimming and gym encouraged him to step out of his comfort zone and pick up a new craft.

“I like boxing because it’s more of an art to me. It’s very technical and I’m intrigued to learn more and get more experience, that’s why I’m here,” he said.

He’s aware of the dangers of a lack of motivation and had some wise words for anyone feeling isolated and under pressure. “Don’t overthink,” he says. “Llife is short, and you can’t please everyone. Whatever you are going through you can get out of, just try and think positive and do the best you can and leave no regrets.”

His teammate Jesse shares a similar outlook. Having taken up boxing just six weeks earlier he explained that he is enjoying the process of learning and he touched on some of the benefits: “I’ve gained more discipline and more focus which is helping other aspects in life.”

Part of his mantra is to “never give up’. ‘ It’s not just you by yourself, you just got to keep going, keep going and never give up. You’ll see the light.”

Another teammate, Happiness, echoes this idea. After two months of training in boxing he says: “Exercising helps with your mental state and that’s a big reason I do it. It makes me happier, for sure.

“If you’re going through something, don’t be afraid to speak. People are going through things, so try to get people to understand what you are going through,” Happiness continued.

Eugene also highlights a sense of freedom he feels while training: “It helps with my mood and the way that I feel, this is one of the main reasons I want to carry on training boxing. I’d like to go professional at some point in the future, so I am going to keep training 3-4 times a week.”

Keep an eye out on the Fight for Peace Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles to see the photography project come to life!

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