Introduction

In this case study, I present Frank. I discuss how he accomplishes his masculinity through embodiment and also why the boxing gym was a huge source of appeal for him. I explore the ways in which he invests in the sport of boxing to overcome structural and personal vulnerabilities, and also how he copes with experiences of prior victimisation in a violent habitus that positions ‘respect’ as a central theme. I illustrate the ways in which Frank reconstructs himself physically, mentally and emotionally, whereby the sanctuary of the gym contributed not only towards Frank's search for respect, but also his desistance from violence as a young man; the boxing gym therefore allowing him to redefine himself as a boxer rather than a gang member. Having said that, the pro-social mechanisms that have incapacitated Frank in the gym over his life-course are merely temporary, and this is evidenced throughout his narrative, as he discloses personal incidences of violence and persistence in a habitus that respects retaliation.

Frank's story

Frank is 31 years old and has boxed since he was 12. Growing up in the UK as a young black male in the 1980s in an area of deep social exclusion, Frank immediately disclosed that he “[doesn’t] trust many people”. He was a little cautious about talking to an interviewer: “I don't really want to go on record, but I’ll do it because you seem cool”. Considering I had been hanging around the boxing gym for a few weeks now, and the boxers had got to see my face and know my name, I managed to convince Frank that I was not a ‘fed’ (police officer), and he agreed to share his story with me.

Boxing gyms are particularly noisy places, and the use of a dictaphone was not proving fruitful over the loud hip-hop and rhythmic pummelling of the punch bags. I suggested a café a few doors down from the gym and it was there, over a can of Coke, that I asked Frank to tell me his story. I told him to start at the beginning and take me up to the present day, and he began by saying that his “schooling wasn't great”, and that he had been expelled from various primary schools.