Crawley ex-drug dealer transforming young people's lives with sport
Chauncey Taylor trained as a coach after falling into county lines gangs landed him a prison sentence
A former drug dealer from Crawley is using sport to transform the lives of vulnerable young people.
At age 21, Chauncey Taylor received an eighteen months sentence for attempting to supply class As, after losing a spot at a rugby academy as a teenager saw him fall into a County Lines gang.
But now, just four years later and with a coaching apprenticeship under his belt, Chauncey now helps others move away from a similar path.
"Too much free time" on hands
After being dropped from the Harlequins Academy, he went from playing rugby five to six times per week, to having "too much free time" on his hands.
"I started hanging around the wrong sort of crowds. One thing led to another, and I started getting just more and more involved in criminal activity
"This was from when I was about 16 to about 20," he said.
"Going to prison was a massive turning point in my life and I knew I had to make a change, not only for myself, but for my family, also for my future."
While in prison he was contacted by his ex-rugby coach's wife, Mags Davison, who runs a youth charity called RE N-GAGE, who offered him a volunteering position when he was released.
After completing a coaching apprenticeship through Lifetime Training and Coach Core, Mr Taylor now works as a youth development lead at RE N-GAGE supporting young people at risk in Feltham, west London.
Passion to pursue
Mr Taylor said his experience as a coach has helped restore his passion.
"I see a lot of similarities in these young people to how I was when I was a similar age," he said.
"To be able to give them this knowledge, and for them to use that and come up with a passion and help them to get their heads screwed on is amazing, really."
"I find it amazing how I can use my experience to give them the knowledge, help them find a passion that they can pursue for the rest of their lives."
Ms Davison, the chief executive officer of RE N-GAGE, said Mr Taylor is a "huge asset" to her organisation.
"To Chauncey's credit when he was released he got straight in contact with me and volunteered," she said.
"Very quickly I realised he was a complete natural with these young people. He understood. He really wanted to make a difference.
"I just recently moved him to full-time because he was four days a week before then and he's very committed.
"He delivers workshops on our programme and the way he is with the young people is amazing as he has to be firm, but he is also understanding and caring.
"Honestly, he's just become an incredibly huge asset."
Being in prison "helped a lot"
Mr Taylor reflected on his teenage experiences being involved in criminal activity.
"Being in and around that environment, you see sort of older people make a living from things in and around the streets," he said.
"It's all fast, quick money with no real hard work.
"It's like a domino effect and it happens so quickly.
"It wasn't until I went to prison that I saw the effect that it had on my family, that I decided to make that change."
Mr Taylor said that although his experience in prison was difficult, it also helped him.
"If I hadn't gone through that I wouldn't have become the person I am today. I wouldn't have achieved the things I have today.
"It helped me a lot being in prison."