Skemer’s Amateur Boxing Club (ABC), run by Chris ‘Skemer’ Winters, is now based upstairs at the Eightyone Fitness gym at Novers Hill Trading Estate in Bedminster, near Knowle West.
The club has been using the space since February, but the move is now complete after Skemer handed his old gym, the Jubilee Hall building on Wedmore Vale in Bedminster, back to the council.
The 55-year-old has run a boxing gym in south Bristol for around 15 years, having originally been based next to The Park Centre in Knowle West before moving to Jubilee Hall in 2019.
“I just want to get as many kids off the street as I can and help all the kids getting bullied,” Skemer, who is looking to become a foster carer, told BristolWord.
“I was born in Knowle West and at six-months-old got chucked in a children's home.
“I never want to see a child go through what I went through and make sure children have a place to be.
“With knife crime and bullying, it’s better to be in a gym than on a street, and you can’t get into trouble.”
Skemer, who also runs his own rubbish clearance company, runs the club entirely voluntarily, having only received one grant in its history.
As well as boxing classes three days a week, a mixed martial arts club is also set to use the space on the remaining two days of the week from September.
In the daytime, Skemer opens the gym to children with complex behaviour needs, to try to get them back into mainstream education.
He is also hoping to secure funding to expand the mezzanine floor of the gym so he can accommodate even more kids.
BristolWorld was given an exclusive tour of Skemer’s Amateur Boxing Club’s new gym. Have a look through our photos below:
1. Skemer's ABC
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2. Boxing ring
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3. 'Gloves up, knives down'
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4. Punch bags
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