A 16-year-old from Andover who says he has experienced bullying since the age of four is hoping to turn his experiences into something positive by creating a new community gym aimed at building confidence, discipline and belonging.
Sonny Marshall is one of the young founders behind Rumble Bee Fight Back Club, an ambitious project which would combine boxing, martial arts, fitness, mentoring, healthy eating and mental wellbeing support.
Speaking to Ben Tuffin during an interview on 95.9 FM Andover Radio, Sonny explained how his own experiences growing up helped inspire an idea which he now hopes could benefit hundreds of other young people and families.
Listen to the full interview here;
Sonny said he had faced bullying for much of his childhood, including being called names, feeling unable to defend himself and becoming an even greater target when he eventually began standing up for himself.
He told Andover Radio: “I got bullied since the age of four, all the way through my life.”
During the interview, Sonny, who has dyspraxia, spoke candidly about how bullying had affected him emotionally and how training eventually became an important outlet.
Rather than simply teaching young people how to fight, however, Sonny said Rumble Bee would be about teaching people how to use strength responsibly.
He said: “It’s going to help people get confident.”
The principle at the heart of the project is: “We train to protect, not to bully.”
From Sonny’s Gym to Rumble Bee
The idea began around two years ago when Sonny, then 14, saw a locked and disused building in Andover town centre and imagined turning it into a free gym where young people could become stronger and more confident without becoming bullies themselves.
Originally known as Sonny’s Gym, the idea has since developed considerably.
Together with fellow young founder Leo Goodman and support from family and others in the community, Sonny has developed the concept into Rumble Bee Fight Back Club.
The pair envisage a community facility offering boxing and martial arts alongside weights, cardio fitness, meditation, emotional wellbeing, healthy living, mentoring and confidence-building.
There are also ambitions to help young people towards education, training and employment.
Importantly, the project would not only be aimed at those who have experienced bullying.
Sonny wants it to be somewhere that could also help those at risk of bullying others or making harmful choices, provided they are prepared to follow the club’s rules and change their behaviour.
During his interview, Sonny told Ben: “Even help the bully so then they don’t hurt people. And then everyone can just be friends.”
£1-a-year home
At the centre of the campaign is a disused former public convenience building close to the old Sainsbury’s site in Bridge Street.
Rumble Bee wants Test Valley Borough Council to enter formal discussions about allowing the organisation to use the building on a long-term lease at a peppercorn rent of just £1 per year.
Sonny said he had already attended a meeting with the council several weeks ago and was now waiting to hear what could happen next.
The proposal is not for the building simply to be handed over immediately.
Rumble Bee’s plans state that occupation would only begin once an appropriately constituted charitable organisation, governed by responsible adults, had been established and requirements around building safety, planning, safeguarding, accessibility, insurance and funding had been addressed.
The long-term lease would potentially give the organisation the security needed to seek grants, sponsorship and charitable funding to refurbish the currently unused building.
Sonny hopes the eventual facility could be available free of charge, or at very low cost, particularly for those who cannot afford conventional gym memberships.
The project also envisages a distinctive Japanese and samurai-inspired environment, with values including loyalty, honour and respect forming part of its code of conduct.
Search for founding CEO
Because Sonny and Leo are both under 18, the project is also searching for an experienced adult who shares their vision and would be willing to initially become a volunteer founding CEO.
That person would help the young founders establish the organisation properly, develop its governance and work towards turning their plans into a sustainable community project.
The founders are now trying to raise awareness across Andover while gathering support for a petition calling on Test Valley Borough Council to open formal negotiations over the building.
Their argument is that providing young people with positive places to spend their time could help tackle some of the underlying issues surrounding boredom, isolation, bullying and anti-social behaviour.
The campaign asks: “What if we did not simply move young people away from danger, but gave them somewhere better to go?”
‘Let Sonny start helping others’
Ben Tuffin told Sonny during the Andover Radio interview that the station would support the young founders by helping raise awareness of their campaign.
He said: “We’ll back you and we’ll shout about your project online and on social media as well as here on Andover Radio.
“Let’s come on council – say yes, and let Sonny start helping others.”
Sonny has promised to return to Andover Radio as the project progresses and hopes the coming months will see Rumble Bee gain greater recognition, community support and, ultimately, a permanent home.
For a teenager whose idea was born from his own difficult experiences, the ambition is now much bigger than simply opening a gym.
It is about creating somewhere young people can feel they belong, learn discipline and confidence, improve their physical and mental wellbeing and understand that being strong does not mean intimidating someone else.
Rumble Bee sums that philosophy up in the closing words of its proposed Member Code:
“Train like a warrior. Behave like a gentleman. Protect like a Rumble Bee.”
People can support the campaign by signing and sharing the Rumble Bee Fight Back Club petition calling for the former public convenience building to be considered as its future home.