Reformed offender mentors young people through sport after serving jail term

A former drug dealer who served a prison sentence for attempting to supply Class A drugs is now supporting vulnerable young people through sport.

Chauncey Taylor, from Crawley, in West Sussex, was 21 when he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his part in a county lines drug operation in Cardiff in October 2020.

Mr Taylor, who served less than a year of his sentence, said his time in prison was a “massive turning point” in his life and inspired him to make a positive change.

Chauncey Taylor supports at risk young people through sport (Ricky Darko/PA)

Now aged 25, he has returned to sport having completed a coaching apprenticeship.

“Rugby was my main sport growing up. I got to play for school, county and even academy level,” Mr Taylor told the PA news agency.

“Unfortunately, I got released from the Harlequins Academy when I was 16, and being released at that age was really disheartening.

“I gave up on the sport, which was sort of the turning point for me in my life, which led me down the wrong path.”

Mr Taylor went from playing rugby five to six times a 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.

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.”

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

Mags Davison, chief executive of RE N-GAGE

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.”

It helped me a lot being in prison

Chauncey Taylor

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.”