A DOCUMENTARY showcasing the story of Wallop Boxing Club’s lead coach and director, Carl Dickens, is in the early stages of production.
Dickens, a former professional boxer from Redditch, opened Wallop in 2024 and has already staged five home shows in the town.
He suffered a severe neck injury shortly after retiring from the sport which required an emergency spinal fusion operation.
And this led to Dickens having an epiphany to open a gym in his hometown for children struggling with behavior problems and autism.
One of Dickens’ former sponsors, Neil Johnson, wanted to share Carl’s story. And Neil’s son Harry, a freelance videographer by trade, has agreed to document Dickens’ journey.
Dickens said: “Harry used to do my promotional videos when I was a pro fighter and out of nowhere I had a phone call from his dad who used to sponsor me.
“They approached me and said they wanted to do a documentary, not realising what I’ve achieved since and what the club is doing.
“It’s going to be great for the club and for all of the kids involved because it gives them exposure. It’s quite cool.
“We’ve got a lot of kids now who are looking up to what I did. A lot of people didn’t think I would turn professional and these kids have got that belief now.
“Part of our plan is to have the first-ever professional boxing stable from Redditch within five years.
“There wasn’t a home show in Redditch for 12 years and we’ve done five in the space of a year.
“The main objective when we started was to try and help as many young people as we can to put them on the right path through boxing.
“There’s loads of talent in this town. It’s always been known as a tough town from people who come from the town.
“It’s always been a fighting town, the kids just needed to find that talent and use it in the right way instead of getting in trouble on the streets.”
Feckenham-born Harry, who now works in London, will follow Dickens and the club over the next few months, capturing the essence of Wallop and its fighters.
He has worked on productions for Channel 4 and admits the Wallop documentary will mark one of the bigger projects he has produced on his own.
Harry added: “The idea came from my dad, he sponsored Carl when he was boxing a decade ago. We made a promo together for an upcoming fight he had.
“My dad’s passion to show what Carl has achieved since he’s retired struck me and we thought it might make for a bit of a longer story.
“We want to come back and visit the club throughout the year and speak to some of the boxers and see their journeys as well.
“My dad wants to get the story out, I like storytelling with real people and Carl has got the story to tell.
“We hope the documentary will shine a light on what Carl is doing and what the gym does for people as well.
“This is probably one of the bigger projects I’ve done solo.”
