Winston Goode pictured inside Nest coffee shop next to Willesden Station where we had a great time Pic: Masbal Cali
Since the late 90s, Winston Goode has dedicated his life to guiding young people to path a greatness in London from coaching football with young people to being the founder and CEO of Juvenis, a company that empowers young people in London to “turn around their lives.” He challenges assumptions and stereotypes within his field of work.
It’s still a quite wet December morning from the day before but that doesn’t stop this CEO from helping young people in London. Winston Goode is up early to do some work with young boys in Willesden. We agreed to meet at the warm coffee shop next to Willesden Station that aligned with his schedule and was a closer journey for me. Not the usual Brixton area where Goode’s charity is located in. Away from the cold weather outside Goode sits comfortably, eating two butter croissants while sipping hot chocolate. Goode wears a Nike hoodie to keep him warm from the typical London weather outside.
Winston Goode has a compassionate outlook within his job and an assertive personality. Goode constantly challenging Southlondonlines (SLL) viewpoints and ideas, finding this this discussion to be more of a teaching. Goode asked follow up questions that challenged my point of view getting me to think about my assumptions and preconceived stereotypes that I had going into our discussion about his charity and what he did at Juvenis. “I’m going to throw this question back to you” and “What does a top boy mean to you”. This is regarding Juvenis top boy report in which Goode emphasised on several times in our discussion. The report ‘The Life of a Top Boy’ discusses stereotypes and assumptions about young black men in London and “provides evidence base to the work we do and is the starting point for future research exploring the various factors affecting this group”.
He has over 22 years of experience working with young people. Goode kind of fell into this work in Juvenis it wasn’t something that he was set out to do, he had a mentor at the time who saw something in him and told him that he would to fantastic at working with young people. Goode began his journey by coaching young people at football in “late 90s coming into 2000” Goode found something that worked for him and in 2015 he founded the Juvenis charity with a team of eight who work full time, part time and a multitude of volunteers. “We’re a family” Goode emphasising that it doesn’t feel like work, he doesn’t “see it as a job” because it is something he’s passionate in referring to work as a “calling”.
Goode told SLL that being a CEO entails having a schedule that is inconsistent, differing from day to day and it requires being a leader which Winston has been doing for years so this isn’t anything new for him. He describes supporting the young people that come by “building that relationship” which is an important factor in building trust. Goode isn’t particularly interested in the why aspect but instead the moving forward in a positive way is what should be prioritised.
Goode added to SLL that the main issue they deal with in their charity is mental health said that is doesn’t just affect young people but their families as well “things that are going on affect us in different ways” “but how do we resolve these issues?” he rhetorically asks. He reflects on the top boy report after SLL asked about his quote on how he deals with stereotypes with young black boys. He responds in emphasising that “we need to challenge the system, we challenge their stereotypes, we challenge those assumptions” the stigma on black boys that we have on and deconstruct it, calling for a change to start now and with us today.
