At Strength To Lead, we believe sport can be a lifeline — and few people understand that better than Mohamed Weheliye, our Director of Boxing and Head Coach at our flagship gym located at 1836 Weston Road.

A licensed boxing coach, youth mentor, and community worker, Mohamed is also the founder of the Weston Youth Boxing Academy, the foundation through which he now works alongside Strength To Lead. We sat down with him to talk about his path into coaching, his philosophy on mentorship, and why he believes boxing can change — and save — lives.

A Legacy of Giving Back

Mohamed's drive to coach didn't come out of nowhere, it began with his father.

"My father did a lot for kids, so I enjoy giving back to my community," Mohamed says. He believes boxing is one of the most effective tools for keeping young people away from street gangs and drugs, and points to it as a powerful outlet for the mental health struggles many young people face today.

More Than a Sport

For Mohamed, boxing is a vehicle for something bigger. His foundation doesn’t work just to teach boxing, but to use the sport as a foundation for mentorship, education, and guidance, leveraging the discipline and commitment boxing requires to teach larger lessons.

That philosophy is built directly into Strength To Lead's programming. At the Weston Youth Boxing Academy on Weston Road, boxing classes are paired with classroom sessions covering essential life skills, including financial literacy and nutrition, giving young people tools that extend far beyond the ring.

Bringing the Gym to a Community That Needs It

When Strength To Lead helped establish the gym at 1836 Weston, it allowed Mohamed and his foundation the chance to expand the work they do in their local community.

"The community is full of a lot of drugs and gangs, so I'm trying to deviate the youths from that," he explains. "Away from the streets, and the violence that's going on in Toronto: teaching them to box to give them a positive way of life."

For Mohamed, the gym represents a positive alternative influence in a neighbourhood where young people don’t always have one.

The Measure of Success

Ask Mohamed what success looks like, and his answer is simple and direct.

"Saving a life," he says. "If I could save even one youth, to be successful, and out of gang and street life, then I think I did my job."

It's a mission that drives everything he does at Strength To Lead: one young person, one lesson, one round at a time.

Strength to Lead is building a brighter future for Weston through sport, mentorship, and community. Visit our "Strong Hands, Strong Mind" boxing gym at 1836 Weston Road to learn more.