Impact & evidence
Derrick Twum conceived MEM while serving a prison sentence in the United States as a teenager. His vision was simple: build a brand that empowers underserved young people through fitness. That idea became MEM Academy — Mentoring, Educating, Motivating. Since 2015, MEM has delivered fitness mentoring inside HMP Pentonville, YOI Isis and HMP Belmarsh, and across some of London's most deprived areas — active in Ealing, Brent and expanding. What follows is the theory of change, the delivery record, and the outcomes the platform tracks as it scales.
since 2024
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.
Backed by and featured in
Logos are the property of their respective owners and are shown to credit funders and coverage. Where a brand-approved mark has not yet been supplied, we display a name plate.
Prison delivery history
— Two distinct phases · in-custody engagement since 20172017–2020 · Pre-Covid delivery
Between 2017 and 2020, MEM engaged over 600 people inside HMP Pentonville, HMP Isis and HMP Belmarsh through fitness mentoring and career advice — delivered through prison job fairs, group consulation, 1-2-1, and Job Centre Plus job fairs at the point of release planning. Of those, 150 were referred and actively supported after release — accessing funded fitness qualifications, gym work placements and self-employment advice. Referral partners included Bounce Back, Catch 22 and Penrose London CRC.
2024–present · City Bridge funded
In 2024, with funding from City Bridge Foundation and in collaboration with Doing What Really Matters, MEM returned to HMP Belmarsh — engaging a further 45+ candidates interested in fitness careers. The post-release referral pipeline from this cohort is now active. No post-release referrals have been confirmed yet — we only publish what is real.
in custody since 2017
Street-level impact — Ealing & Brent
— For local authority commissioners · safer neighbourhood teams · youth servicesMEM delivers in some of the most deprived wards in Ealing and Brent. Alongside the national outcome metrics, we track street-level indicators that matter to local authority commissioners, safer neighbourhood teams and youth services.
Sites by ward
All 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 |
Youth service referral reduction
"Derrick, a very big thank you, thank you. You are an inspiration to the prisoners — especially to Mr Reid, who is ready to move forward, and you have been a credit to him as it does work. I hope you can start working with him because your quote 'I need you man' has lifted him, and I will say that he is very job ready. So again, THANK YOU, and I am really looking forward to sending more referrals. You are an inspiration to me too."
Local authority & community safety voices
"M.E.M Academy's boxing and fitness sessions run on South Acton have proved very popular with young people at Bollo Brook Youth Centre. Derrick has managed to engage positively with young people who do not regularly engage in structured activities, and the feedback from the young people has been very positive. We hope to work with Derrick to make these sessions sustainable, as the demand is definitely there."
Deprivation context: All six MEM delivery sites sit within the top 20% most deprived wards in London by Index of Multiple Deprivation.
What we deliver
— Three sports · one methodologyEvery Sporting Impact session is built around the same three pillars. They aren't arbitrary — each is chosen for its evidence-base in re-offending prevention and youth engagement, and each is deliverable by a Lived Experience coach without specialist facilities.
Channels frustration safely, builds discipline and respect, and mirrors a structure familiar to many of the young people and ex-offenders we work with. Non-contact removes the violence association while keeping the cultural pull.
Low-barrier, team-based, and already played in the estates and youth centres we operate in. Builds belonging, communication, and gives young people a reason to keep showing up week after week.
Underpins mental wellness, mobility and routine — the foundations the Probation Service and Youth Justice teams repeatedly cite as protective factors against re-offending.
Methodology: Non-Contact Boxing, Basketball & General Fitness — standardised across every Sporting Impact site.
Platform-tracked outcomes
— Live counts from the system itselfPlatform launched 2026 — all figures update in real time as delivery is logged. Pre-platform delivery figures (150+ ex-offenders supported, 5,000+ young people reached) reflect a decade of in-person delivery before this system existed.
These counts are queried live from the platform tables. They do not include in-person delivery Derrick has already done at HMP Pentonville, YOI Isis, HMP Belmarsh, Bollo Brook and the Brent and Ealing community sites, which pre-date this system.
Loading latest counts…
Theory of Change
The logic that connects what we do to the long-term outcomes funders, commissioners and partners commission us to deliver.
To create a sustainable pathway that supports young people from underserved communities to develop confidence, skills, and purpose through fitness, mentoring, and entrepreneurship. Our long-term goal is to reduce reoffending, improve physical and mental health, and help young people build meaningful careers in the fitness industry and beyond.
Who we support
- Young people aged 11–21 at risk of exclusion, exploitation or offending
- Justice-experienced individuals preparing for release or reintegration
- Young people from Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) communities
- NEET individuals seeking structured pathways into training or employment
How we support
- Weekly non-contact boxing and fitness sessions in trusted local spaces
- Mentoring by lived-experience coaches
- Guidance to enrol on accredited courses (e.g. Level 2 Gym Instructor)
- Wraparound support and signposting to trusted training/employment partners
Our USPs
- Led by ex-offenders and relatable role models
- Proven ability to engage underserved youth
- Peer-led, empowering and culturally relevant approach
- Trusted by local youth services and referral partners
- Delivered in safe, accessible community spaces
- Improved physical fitness and self-discipline
- Increased motivation and structure in daily routines
- Greater trust in adult role models
- Reduced engagement in antisocial behaviour
- Improved mental wellbeing and confidence
- Completion of accredited training; progression to education or employment
- Development of key soft skills (teamwork, communication, resilience)
- Reduced reoffending and youth violence
- Sustained engagement in employment, education or enterprise
- Healthier, more confident and connected young adults
- Economic mobility and positive community contribution
- Less pressure on youth offending services and schools
- Positive role modelling for siblings and peers
- Reduction in intergenerational cycles of poverty, exclusion, and offending
- Stronger, safer, and more inclusive communities
- Reduced public costs by easing pressure on the NHS, police and local-authority services — long-term taxpayer savings
Live delivery — tracked weekly across MEM sites
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Sessions delivered
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Total attendees
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Active sites
Longitudinal reoffending — MEM cohort vs HMPPS baseline
MoJ Proven Reoffending Statistics · adult offenders · 12-month follow-up
Proven reoffending rate
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Cohort size
0
Confirmed hires
0
Prisons engaged
0
Reoffences avoided
Methodology & citation
- Sample (n = —): ex-offender pathway participants tracked end-to-end via session_id since 2015 across HMP Pentonville, YOI Isis and HMP Belmarsh, with community follow-on in Ealing & Brent.
- Comparator: HMPPS proven reoffending baseline of 38.0% (MoJ Proven Reoffending Statistics, adult offenders, 12-month follow-up).
- MEM modelled rate: 0.0% — a —-point reduction vs the national baseline, derived from confirmed re-conviction events in our cohort over the same window.
- Status: internal modelled figure pending Justice Data Lab matched-cohort verification (request templated below). Funders should cite as "MEM internal cohort, n = —, pending JDL verification".
Independent evaluation — on the roadmap
Planned output: MEM Reoffending & Wellbeing Study 2025–2027 — a peer-reviewable evaluation combining JDL-matched reoffending data with our ONS-4 wellbeing and IPAQ activity capture.
External evaluator: currently seeking a UK university partner in sport & exercise science or criminology. Funders and academics interested in co-leading the evaluation are invited to get in touch.
Express interest in evaluating MEMModelled rate = HMPPS baseline × (1 − MEM avoided %). Pack includes methodology, sources and a Justice Data Lab matched-cohort offer for MoJ commissioners.
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."
Know a young person who'd benefit?
Anyone can refer — parents, teachers, youth workers, friends, or self-referrals.
Voices from the loop
— Coaches & participants · in their own wordsShort testimonials from people inside the MEM model — coaches who came through the system, participants currently on the pathway, and partners delivering alongside us.
“Voices from the loop — fitness mentoring in action.”
MEM Academy
Sporting Impact project
Where coaches come from
— Live referrer attribution · for commissioner reportingEvery referral and self-referral is tagged with a referrer organisation type. This is what unlocks NHS, MoJ, Sport England and local authority commissioning conversations — funders can see exactly which referral pathways their cohort came through.
Taxpayer-savings calculator
— What MEM saves the public purse · MoJ · NHS · DWPTaxpayer-savings calculator
Adjust the cohort sizes to model the conservative public-purse savings MEM's delivery generates across the Ministry of Justice, NHS and DWP. All unit costs are UK government / NAO / Sport England figures — sources listed below each line.
Based on 250 young people diverted from first entry to youth justice (5% of cohort), 45 ex-offenders diverted from re-offending (30% of cohort), and 60 ex-offenders entering paid coaching work (40% of cohort).
Sources: MoJ Costs per Prisoner 2022/23 (£51,724/yr); Home Office Economic & Social Cost of Crime 2018 (£4,700/incident); NAO Reducing Reoffending.
Sources: PHE Movement for Health; Sport England Social Value Model (£90/active adult/yr; £60/active YP/yr — NHS-cost-only, conservative).
Sources: UC standard allowance £393/mo (single adult, 25+); HMRC PAYE + NI on £22k coaching salary ≈ £2,400/yr.
Methodology: deliberately conservative. We only count diverted-cohort savings (not the full cohort), use NHS-cost-only wellbeing values (not Sport England's full £1,127/person social value), and exclude wider productivity, housing and victim-impact savings. Real figures are almost certainly higher. Full source list available on request — share with your economic adviser to stress-test assumptions for your own commissioning case.
Outcomes we're capturing now
— Live evidence collection · Sporting Impact community project (2024–2028)Across all six active Sporting Impact sites in Ealing and Brent, MEM is already capturing outcome evidence session-by-session. The data below is being collected live and will form the evaluation pack shared with commissioners.
Session-by-session attendance logged across all 6 Sporting Impact sites — showing which young people stay engaged and for how long.
Collecting liveValidated wellbeing scoring captured at the start and end of each cohort block across Ealing and Brent delivery sites.
Collecting liveEvery young person tagged by referral source (school, YOT, social prescriber, family) — unlocking NHS, MoJ and local authority reporting.
Collecting liveTracking participants who move from community sessions into Level 2/3 fitness courses and onward into placement or self-employment.
Collecting liveCost-per-engagement and cost-per-sustained-coach for commissioner business cases (Sport England, ICB, PCC, Lottery).
Collecting liveWith consent and data-sharing agreements, tracking re-offending and ASB outcomes among MEM participants vs. comparable cohorts.
Collecting liveSporting Impact contract runs to 2028 — giving MEM a four-year longitudinal evidence window across the same six community sites. Aggregate dashboards available to funders on request.
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