A pathway into self-employment in the fitness industry.
10+ years inside UK prisons and London communities — turning lived experience into qualified coaches and role models for at-risk youth.
MEM — Mentoring Educating Motivating since 2015
I am a…
One click to the right place. Or find your path below.
The mission: reduce re-offending and prevent youth crime by turning ex-offenders who partner with MEM into role models for at-risk youth — closing the loop between lived experience and prevention.
Founded by Derrick Twum, who conceived MEM while serving a sentence in the United States as a teenager. Four of our coaches today were at-risk young people supported by MEM — the loop closing in practice.
Cold sign-ups don't work in this space. Warm referrals from people the participant already trusts is the mechanism — and the loop closes when yesterday's participant becomes tomorrow's role model.
Backed by and featured in
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Accreditations & partners
Coaching practice mapped to the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport & Physical Activity professional standards.
Find a professionalLevel 2 & Level 3 personal training pathways aligned to Active IQ awarding-body specifications.
Verify approved centres- Clinks
Infrastructure body for voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system.
Verify membership - Young Ealing Foundation
Borough-wide network supporting children and young people across Ealing.
Verify membership - Young Brent Foundation
Borough-wide network supporting children and young people across Brent.
Verify membership - Sported
UK's largest network of community sport and physical activity groups supporting under-served young people.
Verify member listing
Wording is precise: standards we reference, curricula we align to, and bodies we are members of. Where formal accreditation is held, we name the awarding body.
Where MEM already delivers
Real sites · since 20152017–2020 · HMP Pentonville · YOI Isis · HMP Belmarsh — weekly fitness mentoring and pre-release engagement across three London prisons.
HMPPS partner sites
Sites by ward
All 6 sites liveAll sites below are live and actively running sessions. Ward boundary names are being verified with Ealing & Brent local authorities.
| Site | Status | Ward | Borough |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bollo Brook Youth Centre | Live | South Acton | Ealing |
| Westside Community Centre | Live | West Ealing | Ealing |
| Friary Road Community Centre | Live | Acton | Ealing |
| Unity Centre | Live | Stonebridge | Brent |
| Bashley Road | Live | North Acton/Park Royal | Brent |
| Young Adult Centre | Live | Southall | Ealing |
We only show what's actually running. Sporting Impact contract · ends 2028.
A real journey
One participant, told straight"I was introduced to Derrick from MEM Academy by Pavlos at HMP Pentonville. I told Pavlos I wanted to become a Personal Trainer after release — he booked an appointment for me to meet Derrick. I was very inspired. A week after release, Derrick called me to get on a personal training course. I've now been attending for over 2 months."
How MEM works
Warm referrals → real work → loop closesTrusted gatekeeper refers
Prison staff, youth workers, probation officers, family members, community organisations — people who already know the participant.
Platform routes to funded training
We don't run the qualification ourselves — the platform surfaces open, government-funded Level 2 / Level 3 fitness courses, plus the £250 MEM Gym Kit delivered to every freelance coach's door at no upfront cost, and 1:1 mentoring from the MEM team.
Real work follows
Employer placements, gym chair rentals, or self-employment as a community coach — with MEM wrapping the income, contracting and reporting.
Coach mentors youth
The qualified ex-offender returns to their community as a MEM coach, mentoring at-risk youth in the same estates and centres they came from. Lived experience becomes prevention.
Cold sign-ups don't work in this space. Warm referrals from people the participant already trusts is the mechanism — and the loop closes when yesterday's participant becomes tomorrow's role model.