ABOUT 9UP
A community of coaches, mentors and young people building something different in Birmingham – together.
Our Story
9Up was founded in 2021 by people who grew up in the same Birmingham communities we now serve. We saw too many young people with nowhere to go that wasn’t home, school or the street – too many ending up drawn into trouble simply because no one had given them a positive alternative. We knew sport could be that alternative. And we knew it had to come with mentors who really understood the journey.
So, we built a place where young people could train hard, be heard, and feel like they belonged.
From day one, that has been our ethos: belonging.
Why We Exist
A Birmingham CIC, built for our community
9Up CIC is a Community Interest Company (company number 13414698), based at Winster
Grove Industrial Estate in Birmingham. We are a not-for-profit – any surplus we make is
reinvested back into the work, for the benefit of our community.
Our doors are open to all. Our focus is on young people aged 8 to 25, especially those who
need us most: young people at risk of gang involvement, knife crime or exclusion, those with
additional needs, and people facing real disadvantage. We also support adults at risk –
including ex-offenders and former armed forces personnel – who are working hard to rebuild
and move forward.
Our Team
Led by people who’ve walked the walk
Joseph Cummins (“Silk”)
Director and Safeguarding Lead
Joseph is a director, head coach and one of the founding forces behind 9Up. A current MMA
champion with deep lived experience of the challenges our young people face, he leads
sessions, mentors participants and shapes the culture of the gym. His belief is simple: if young
people can be shown a positive way forward, they will take it.
Director
Major is a director and co-founder of 9Up, responsible for governance, partnerships and making
sure the organisation runs the way it should. His focus is on building the long-term relationships
– with funders, partners and statutory services – that make our work possible and sustainable.
Adam Boyce
Director
Adam Boyce is the Head Striking Coach, with over 25 years of martial arts experience, he
specialises in Muay Thai and combat sports striking, coaching amateur and professional fighters
as well as running community and children's self-defence classes.
Ranjit Singh
Director
Ranjit Singh, is also head coach of Wolverhampton Wrestling Club, has dedicated decades to
using sport to empower members of the community and help nurture athletes who went on to
compete in the Commonwealth Game. Has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the
University of Wolverhampton in recognition of his exceptional contributions to sport, community
service, and social impact locally, nationally and globally.
And our wider family
Behind the four directors is a small team of qualified, experienced coaches, mentors and
volunteers – many of whom started out as participants themselves. Two young people, both
former participants who were previously not in education, employment or training, now sit on our
management committee as qualified, DBS-cleared coaches. That progression from participant
to leader is one of the things we are proudest of.
What We Do
More than a gym
At our fully equipped 6,000 sq. ft venue, we offer free, structured sessions led by qualified
coaches. But we are about far more than sport. We build relationships, raise aspirations, and
walk alongside young people as they find their feet. Our work has five main strands.
1. Martial arts and fitness
Open-access sessions, several times a week, in boxing, freestyle wrestling, kickboxing and
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, plus strength and conditioning, weight management and rehabilitation.
Sessions are inclusive and adapted to every level, from complete beginners to those competing
at a serious level. The discipline of martial arts builds confidence, fitness, focus and respect for
others.
Weekly group workshops and one-to-one mentoring covering mental wellbeing, nutrition,
healthy choices and resilience. Our mentors include former participants who now coach, giving
young people real, relatable role models. Through peer mentoring we help young people
develop leadership skills and pass on what they have learnt.
3. Holiday Activities and Food (HAF)
School holidays can be the hardest times for families on low incomes. Our Holiday Activities and
Food (HAF) programme provides free holiday camps for young people who qualify for free
school meals – with daily sport and activity, a hot meal, personal development and enrichment
built in.
The programme is funded through Birmingham City Council’s HAF allocation and delivered with
partner organisations across the city, including our sister CICs 5Up, Apex Up, Aura Up, Don’t
give Up, Elevated Up and partners such as StreetGames. Together, the programme has
reached hundreds of young people across Birmingham each year. In our own venue and with
our own partners, we tailor the offer to the communities we know best, blending martial arts and
fitness with enrichment activities, sports tasters and family engagement.
4. Crime prevention and diversion
We work closely with West Midlands Police, Youth Justice and local schools, taking referrals for
young people at risk of exclusion or being drawn into crime. Targeted workshops explore the
real consequences of criminal activity and the alternatives – led, where appropriate, by staff with
lived experience. The aim is straightforward: offer something better and stay alongside young
people long enough that they choose it.
5. Routes into training and employment
We support participants into training, qualifications and work – from help with CVs and job
applications to coaching qualifications and youth-work pathways. Our leadership development
programme has already seen young people move from participant to qualified coach and
management-committee member. That ladder is open to anyone who wants to climb it.
Our Partners
Working Together
We work alongside a wide network of partners who share our belief in young people, including
West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council, StreetGames, local schools and community
organisations across the city. We are part of a wider family of Birmingham CICs delivering the
HAF programme together, and our work has been recognised by the Police and Crime
Commissioner and by the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.
Our Values
What We Stand For
• Belonging. Everyone is welcome. Everyone matters. No one stands at the back.
• Respect. For coaches, for each other, for the gym, for the community. It is the foundation of everything martial arts teaches.
• Discipline. Turning up, working hard, doing the right thing when no one is watching.
• Honesty. With our young people, with our funders, with each other. We say what we will do, and we do it.
• Progress. Small steps every day. We celebrate what people achieve, not where they started.
Find Out More
Get In Touch
If you would like to know more, partner with us, volunteer, support our work, or join a session, we would love to hear from you.
Visit us: Winster Grove Industrial Estate, Birmingham, B44 9EG
Website: 9up.co.uk