fit for purpose
Hackney boy Leon Rolle is better known as DJ Locksmith from chart-topping drum and bass band Rudimental. He took a break from his busy tour schedule to speak to Ellie Smith about his younger years playing football, the changing face of East London and why he thinks fitness holds the key to unlocking potential in inner-city kids
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hough now better known for his BRIT awardwinning music career, Leon’s first passion was football. His talent was spotted early on he spent a number of years playing for the Arsenal youth team. When it came to making the move into professional football, Leon didn’t quite make the cut. “It was a tough lesson for me,” he says. “It’s very hard to deal with rejection as a teenager — especially when it’s the thing that you love.” Looking back, it’s clear to Leon that this early rejection has fuelled him throughout adult life: “I came to the realisation that talent only takes you so far,” he says, “Hard work, sacrifice
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and incredible mental strength are the other bits you need to get through. I now try to take that with me wherever I go — whether it’s music, the gym or in everyday life.” As a hot-tempered teen, Leon quickly realised that he needed exercise to help manage his emotions. “You have to have a good temperament if you want to succeed at anything in life. It took me a long time to realise that I had to control my temper and I found that within exercising and fitness — it gave me a way to channel the negativity and anger and turn it into positive energy.” He worries that inner city kids don’t have the same outlets. “When I was growing up we didn’t have phones — we used to go to the park and kick a ball BEAST
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