My name s Blaen Roberts. I’m 21. I’m the founder of Liver Pedlaa Pool. Liver Pedlaa Pool was
00:06
set up to steer the youth away from gang culture and knife crime, we do this through regular
00:11
cycling activities. So we re out today for Liver Pedlaa Pool weekly ride-out, knives
00:17
down, bikes up. Every week it gets bigger and bigger. Before we knew it there’s over
00:23
300, 400 riders on these ride-outs. Liver Pedlaa Pool, Liver Degla Pool, out here about
00:31
to do the black trail. People weren’t too sure what was going on and they judged us
00:38
as just a gang of lads, but now we’re getting the message out there it’s knives down, bikes
00:42
up and we’re here to make positive changes. I was involved in the gang culture. Things
00:52
started to go really downhill when I myself was in danger; one good friend of mine was
00:59
stabbed to death. Things started taking a spiral and getting completely out of control,
01:05
me nearly coming to an end and emotionally hitting rock bottom. Cycling has always been
01:12
a big escape and a big passion of mine. One of the main a big focuses is the mountain
01:17
biking, it’s amazing for the mental health, it’s my meditation. I needed to make a lifestyle
01:21
change and the cycling helped me through a lot of things. People do get killed and people
01:26
get hurt, not just the victims but the families of so many people in this country. The idea
01:32
I had to make a lifestyle change, not only for meself but for anyone else who wants to
01:37
make that lifestyle change and get away from that gang culture cos knife crime s a big
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issue here in Liverpool. I was going with the wrong people and end up getting meself
02:01
something on me face that s going to be there forever. People look at you in sort of different
02:08
ways, to what you actually are. My experience can just give people a look into what that
02:13
kind of lifestyle can get ya. I m lucky to only have what I ve got on my face. When I
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was 18 I was convicted of knife crime for carrying a bladed article in public and from
02:29
that I was convicted to 22 months community service and a �250 fine. It’s on my record
02:37
as well now for life. You know someone is carrying a blade, they influence you into
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carrying knives and it s a vicious circle, it continues to go on and on. To get my life
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back on track I started getting away from the people I was with and I heard about Liver-pedlaa-pool,
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and started going on rides with Blaen. The freedom you have when you ride is like no
03:00
other. I’ve got some bad memories, I’ve had some bad experiences in my life and I don’t
03:06
want people to live that. I don t want people to lose friends like I’ve lost and I don’t
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want people to do the things I did. I wanna see kids not resorting to crime, and gang
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culture to get money. I want them to have opportunities to be what they wanna be, to
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have the passions they wanna have and most of all to create good memories, not bad memories,
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and that’s what, that s what I think needs to happen in Liverpool.
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The post I Don’t Want Liverpool’s Youth to See The Knife Crime I Did appeared first on The Good Men Project.