Q: What was your favourite moment shooting your Nikon Special Project?
I encountered so many great people and interesting stories, it’s always hard to pick one moment. However, on our way to the airport on the very last day, we decided to stop once more at the Charles Quartey boxing foundation, a gym with no roof which, alongside a training space, is also home to several children in the area.
Although this was one of the roughest gyms we visited, it was one of the most welcoming. Head Coach, Charles Quartey, is one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. A boxer in his youth, he put a lot of what he made in his fighting career into the gym and now works on the side to help support the gym and provide food and schooling to the children he has taken in. When we arrived on this last day of our trip, we found him standing in the centre of the gym with his boxers – from young children right up to current champions – running in a circle around him. He was pushing them hard, but at the same time, had a massive smile on his face. You could see and feel the pride he took in his boxing family.
As the sun went down over the roofless gym, I caught this magical moment – his smile amongst a blur of young boxing talent.