Welcome to Billy Graham's Naenae Boxing Academy. Where young men's lives are changed forever. Boys have entered with nothing: hungry, no self-belief, little hope. But they have left as confident young men looking forward to the future. Making Champion Men reveals the secrets behind one of the most remarkable success stories in New Zealand youth work and teaches some important lessons. The lessons have been learnt the hard way: Billy Graham had a tough childhood, in trouble with principals and police, until he found boxing. He went on to become a national boxing champion, and then a globally recognised motivational speaker, winning a standing ovation at the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table convention in Atlanta. Billy came home to Naenae to set up the boxing academy and has never looked back. Awards have flowed, local police say youth crime is down 30 percent, and a Massey University study has confirmed the academy's amazing ability to turn troubled boys lives around. In Making Champion Men Billy shares his journey and tells, with passion and humour, how to work the same miracles in your home or community. He tells, through experience, what boys need: encouragement and kindness, discipline and rules. They need male role models and to learn the consequences of their actions. Most importantly, they need someone to believe in them.
