When South Sydney PCYC closed down over a year ago, local teenagers didnโt just lose access to equipment. They lost their routine and sense of purpose.
David Castriani and his friends quickly decided to set up their own outdoor fitness bootcamp. Within a year, the project has grown into a community movement that welcomes up to 100 trainers each night โ including, on occasion, NRL players Josh Addo-Carr and Izack Tago.
Castriani knew they needed something to replace the PCYC, where they had spent so much of their lives. They started from scratch in the middle of Waterloo estate, naming the club 17x16cdp โ an amalgam of the postcodes of Waterloo (2017) and Redfern (2016) and the initials of โchest dip and pullโ, the exercises that form the bedrock of the training sessions.
On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights, starting at 5.30pm sharp, music pulsates from the loudspeakers as men, women, and children arrive to train. Most are from Redfern and Waterloo, but some travel from as far as Penrith. The temporary street lights flicker on and off, but nobody seems to mind.
โThis is just us as a younger generation just turning up for each other,โ Castriani says. โWeโre making a statement, by not trying to be a statistic going into jail.
โWe want to make a change, especially in this community, where itโs poor compared to other places in Sydney.
โIt might be [just] a few hours a week, but in that time itโs all about getting people to make smarter choices and strive to be better.โ
On Monday night, three players from the NSW Waratahs Super Rugby side turn up to train with the group. Clem Halaholo, Triston Reilly and Siosifa Amone take part in each exercise despite having already completed a full day of professional footy training.
A large proportion of the young men and women here are indigenous, prompting Reilly to reflect on his own childhood as a Dunghutti man in Kempsey, northern NSW.
โThere are a lot of people back home in Kempsey that are definitely good enough to play rugby at the highest level, but it was just about having that opportunity,โ Reilly said.
โI came from the bush, but being able to come down here to this community, I guess I can still relate to these young fellas in some way. Theyโve created a brotherhood where anyone can come down here and train and have a real crack.
โThereโs a six-year-old here tonight doing chin-ups. In 10 years, heโs going to be 16 playing in the NRL, hopefully for South Sydney Rabbitohs, or playing rugby for the Tahs. Anything is possible for them.โ
On Wednesday night, it is Vinnyโs turn to lead training. He has spent a long day working in the sun as a roofer in Pymble, finishing at 4.30pm before driving across the city to start the session with a huddle and a prayer.
Vinny first heard about the bootcamp on social media and now volunteers his time every week. He enjoys training the group hard, but also feels a responsibility to be there to stop violence that can erupt in the area. As a young man, he needed positive male role models, and now he feels a responsibility to be one to this group.
โLast week, there was a bit of drama where people who didnโt get along with this group came and disrupted them,โ Vinny said.
โSo if I donโt turn up, then I feel guilty, if I turned up that time, then maybe they, they wouldnโt have been out in the streets.
โSo for me, when I turn up, I donโt try and focus too much on what else goes on outside. As much as Iโd love to, Iโm not in control of it.
โWhen youโre stuck during a set and you see your brother struggling, mate, you canโt give up on them, you just canโt.โ
While the youths attending the training sessions often come from difficult backgrounds, Vinny is determined that for at least one hour a week he can provide a positive environment that will make a lasting impression.
โIt could drug abuse, domestic violence, robberies, physical altercations, gang relations, this is every day for them here,โ Vinny said.
โWhen weโre training here, youโll see some people who are victims of that just walk by. They have their head down, but we just worry about ourselves. We stay locked in.โ
Suwana Combo is one of the local mothers or โauntiesโ who has become a permanent fixture within the group. Combo is on the sidelines providing water, fruit and encouragement to the group most nights, while welcoming one and all โ whether itโs a young boy who has driven all the way from Penrith to train or an NRL premiership winner keeping a low profile.
โFor us as the mums and the aunties, itโs hope, itโs change, itโs positive,โ Combo says. โItโs a way forward to break cycles of engaging in risky behaviours, break cycles around poverty, just those positive stages of change.
โThis is something thatโs never been done in our community. It was youth-led. The boys are the ones who created this.
โWeโve had Josh Addo-Carr come here, heโs a local boy, he comes whenever his schedule allows it.
โThe other one I remember who was great, this one kid, he was a Penrith Panthers player. I had no idea who he was. He pulled up here in the truck and started training, no fuss. That was Izack Tago. I loved that about him; he didnโt have his camera out. He wasnโt getting clout off the boys. He just wanted to be a part of it.โ
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