Former Trenton gang member, now a champion boxer, is teaching kids valuable life lessons at his summer boxing camp

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A former Trenton, New Jersey, gang member turned his life around and became a champion boxer.

Michael Hilton is now teaching boys and girls in his hometown some valuable life lessons.

Hilton, who was raised by his aunt and uncle, joined Sex, Money, Murder, a “set” of the Bloods street gang, when he was a junior at Trenton High School.

“By the time I was 19, I was a five-star general” [in the gang], he said. “I got arrested, spent time in the Mercer County Correctional Center. But I changed my life, I got into church and started boxing.”

Soon afterwards, Hilton, whose nickname is “The Beast,” won multiple state championships and was the first USA Boxing champion in the heavyweight division from New Jersey.

These days, he trains at the Ike Williams Boxing Academy and three days a week, through Aug. 24, he’s running the Guns Down, Gloves Up boxing program, free of charge, for 66 Trenton boys and girls. He fights professionally in the Team Combat League as part of the Orlando Vipers.

Helping kids stay out of trouble

“I have a gun offense on my record, so I know what it is for kids to get caught up in that street life and gangs,” he said. “I wanted to find a way to show them that you don’t have to go that way, there’s an alternative route.”

He said many kids don’t understand the anger and frustration they have can be released in a positive way: in a boxing ring or on a punching bag.

But, Hilton is not just teaching kids the fundamentals of boxing. He said he also gives them life lessons.

“Childhood obesity, bullying, how they can get into trouble, as far as with guns, and the type of trouble that brings, as far as getting arrested,” he said.

He said sometimes guns and gangs may seem cool and flashy, but that’s not true.

“It ain’t that, because once you go to jail, a lot of your friends end up leaving you,” he said.

Stopping the cycle of violence

Hilton works with the Trenton Restorative Street Team as a high-risk interventionist, connecting people who need a job, housing or food with services, and helping to settle disputes.

“I’ve had a few people who have street beefs and things going on,” he said. “They come here and there’s no cameras, no phones, no recording, no internet, and we see if we can have a conversation so we can hash this thing out, to where it doesn’t have to lead to anything else,” he said.

“Mike and his team, they know firsthand the struggles and the challenges our young people face,” said Racquel Romans-Henry, director of policy for Salvation and Social Justice, an organization that is focused on changing public policy through advocacy, community organizing and education to enable racial justice.

“But they also know the brilliance and the resilience of our young people and they’re on the ground, doing the work, tapping into those things.”

Romans-Henry, whose group funds the Guns Down, Gloves Up program, said that only through a holistic effort can real change take place.

“In this program, it’s not just about boxing, it’s about nutrition, it’s about resilience,” she said. “It’s about understanding that just because the person across from you is your opponent, it doesn’t make them your enemy. With our young people we know that translates into everyday engagements.”

She said the program is about championing safe, healthy and thriving communities.

“That starts with our young people, that starts with giving them the tools, the strategies to navigate really challenging circumstances,” Romans-Henry said.

Helping kids cope

D’Andre Marks, a 16-year-old who is Hilton’s cousin, is in the boxing camp for the third summer in a row. He said he uses the training as a means to overcome life problems, such as poverty and taking care of his three younger siblings.

“What I’m learning [is] how to defend yourself, how to stay out of the streets, what not to do in the streets, what can get you in trouble, what can get you out of trouble. It’s a lot,” he said.

Marks said he mostly spends time with a small group of friends. He wants to be a pediatric doctor or study marine biology when he gets older.

“Around us is a lot of gang violence, a lot of gun violence, people dying every day. So that’s why I try to keep my circle small and stay out of the way,” he said.

He said all the kids in the program respect Hilton and listen to him.

“He’s actually a good coach, he’s a good mentor, he’s somebody I look up to since I was young,” Marks said. “He tells us, ‘Don’t throw your life away to be in the streets.’ I actually got into boxing because of him.”

Eleven-year-old Aaron Geddes said he enjoys boxing camp because he likes to train.

“Boxing and training is nice, I’d tell other kids just try your best,” he said.

Making a difference

Hilton said working with the youth has been extremely satisfying.

“I’m influencing kids to do the right thing, stay out of trouble, it’s an awesome feeling, it’s a great feeling, it warms my heart forever,” he said.

His message to the kids at his boxing camp is simple and direct.

“No matter how hard life gets, you’ve got to get harder than life and tough right with it and dig deep, no matter what it is. Like no matter what the situation is, you’ve got to dig deep and fight through it,” Hilton said.

He tells his students they’ve got all the tools they need in life to be winners.

“If they think that they don’t, then they [need to] reach out to those who help you,” he said. “In boxing that’s what your corner is for, because they can see things that you can’t see, that’s what you have mentors for, role models in life.”

Editor’s note: This story originated from our interactions with community members at WHYY News’ pop-up newsroom event at Trenton City Hall. The pop-up newsroom was made possible thanks to the support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.