A gang leader turned actor, inspirational speaker and mentor is hoping to inspire another young man as we highlight his work on International Men’s Day.
A gang leader turned actor, inspirational speaker and mentor is hoping to inspire another young man as we highlight his work on International Men’s Day.
Ace Ruele believes as a man who has lived and survived a gang lifestyle and paid the consequences before turning his life around, he offers a unique insight for young men starting out in life.
He shares his story in schools in the hope he can create a spark in young people’s heads to motivate them and give them the belief they can change their path.
The council is working with statutory partners, voluntary sector and people who work with young people like Ace in a bid to combat violent and knife crime in the borough.
The work of the council’s Violence Task Force is also trying to change the perceptions young people have of knife carrying and other offer alternative life paths which are open to them.
International Men’s Day is celebrated in 60 countries around the world and was created to make a positive difference to the wellbeing and lives of men and boys, promoting a positive conversation about men, manhood and masculinity.
Ace is now the head of his own motion capture company which creates the movement images for people, animals and creatures to be turned into digital animations in computer games and films. He also spearheads a practical effects company building equipment for the motion capture industry. Ace helped create the animals in Legend of Tarzan and on other Marvel productions among others which is a far cry from his teenager years.
During his inspirational mentoring and talks Ace tells young people how he knew from an early age he wanted to be a dancer but he realised as a teenager he became a target for violent robberies where “my kindness was mistaken for weakness”.
Ace said: “The environment where you live is also a factor, what you are surrounded with on a day to day basis. I started my own gang. Got involved with drugs, crime, robberies which ended up with being give an eight year sentence and serving four-and-a-half years in prison between 19 and just before I turned 24.”
“When I came out I studied. I learned about psychology, neurology, anything I could, spirituality, to learn about myself and what I cold do to change.”
Now as a father of four he feels young people respond to him more because he has experienced the factors, the pressures, the environmental and internal feelings which lead him to form a gang.
He said: “Equally also working in huge films for Marvel and video games makes young people listen.
“It’s about planting the seed. The seed can be just that something can be different. It doesn’t have to see fruition immediately, of lives being changed straightaway, just the seed that things can be different and there is something else out, that there are possibilities.”
“Things can change when the mentality changes and then consistency of action to support that change means something else is achievable.
“I think the most important factor about the perception we have of ourselves and of life, is if we believe we have a purpose for living it is going to determine where we go in life.
“It’s also about reframing and asking questions which could change behaviour. For example I can ask a young person involved in violence who they love in this world the most, and usually it is their mum, and I ask if they love them so much why is their behaviour hurting their most loved one the most.
“I can also ask what do they think someone is thinking when they are dying on the floor, that they are the most significant person among their friends or something else about their family?
“I also had the realisation there were people 100 times worse off who still made their lives better.
Whether they are refugees from another country and come here with nothing, whether it’s because of the colour of their skin, the lack or money, a relationship with a parent and they can achieve something, so can I.
“For me it’s not just about the message but who delivers it which can have a huge difference in another person’s life.”
Ace, from north west London, is realising his childhood ambitions and exceeding them with his own businesses as well as working with the Metropolitan Police and councils to offer a different perspective for young people.
Alan Sinclair, who sits on the Violence Task Force and is the council’s director for adult services and communities, said: “Young men have options. They may not think they have and seem destined to go down a certain path but there is more. Ace is living proof of that.
“It’s so important to remember this and celebrate International Men’s Day.”
For further information, support, and help if you are concerned about a child or young person in Slough in relation to knife crime, violence or exploitation, please contact Slough Children's Services Trust on 01753 875362, Monday to Friday, between 9am-5pm, or for emergencies outside these hours call the Emergency Duty Team on 01344 351999. You can also visit https://www.scstrust.co.uk/referral.
Help is also available from the Family Information Service on 01753 476589 or visit the Family Information Service website.
If you are a child or young person, whatever your worry, non-judgemental help is available from Con 0800 1111, calls are free and won't show on a phone bill. Help is also available through an online chat or via email; visit https://www.childline.org.uk for more information.
Ace Ruele has a website here aceruele.com
More on International Men’s Day here https://internationalmensday.com/