Fashionista gets in the ring for recovery

Friday 13 December 2019

An islander who started a fashion company after overcoming heroin addiction is putting her boxing gloves on to raise money for the charity that helped her get clean.

Lauren Burnett will be one of 24 novice fighters stepping into the ring at the Royal Jersey Showground on Saturday 21 December.

The event has been organised by personal trainers Cameron Elliott and Tom Frame of Transform Together, who wanted to raise funds for a charity close to both of their hearts, Silkworth Lodge Charity Group.

Pictured: Tom Frame and Cameron Elliott of Transform Together.

The charity supports islanders suffering with alcohol or drug addiction, including with residential rehabilitation, and help rebuild families and lives destroyed by substance misuse.

In addition to the event raising funds for Silkworth, each fighter has been raising funds for a charity of their choosing.  

Lauren said that when Tom, her partner and Cameron’s business partner, mentioned the White Collar Boxing Event to raise funds for the charity she felt “compelled to support and fight on the show".

Video: 24 white collar fighters will be stepping into the ring for the event.

Not only did she decide to start training to take part in the charity fundraiser, Lauren - who has always been open about her journey to overcome addiction and uses her social media following to encourage compassion towards suffering addicts - chose to personally raise even more money for Silkworth.

It is not the first time Lauren has supported the drug and alcohol rehabilitation charity, which helped her get clean through their 12-step programme. She previously used her fashion company, ‘Luella Rockerfella’, to raise funds, including through the 'Hat Project'.

Inspired by Lauren's experience of covering a head wound she suffered at the height of her addiction, the Hat Project saw female prisoners make Luella-themed baseball caps. The process helped them learn a new skill, while the hats were then sold to islanders with profits going to Silkworth.

Talking about her inspiration taking up the White Collar Boxing challenge, she said: “I remember being in the depths of addiction and my brother, Alex, was a boxer. I’d see how he’d train for his fights, running up steep hills when I could barely walk up the stairs without getting out of breath.

“We used to watch the Ringside and 24/7 Sky Sports boxing shows when a big fight was coming up. The boxers always trained to war music, I used to find it so motivating, but always thought I haven’t even got enough lung capacity to walk to the shops. I used to think if I could use that same fight to get off drugs maybe I could be fit one day.

“When I was 30-days clean I joined a gym and fell in love with my personal trainer, Tom. I know! How cliché!

“Tom was also a boxer and I loved the mindset boxers needed to have. Determination, discipline, respect, self-belief and confidence. I was drawn to that mindset.”

Pictured: Lauren was inspired to start boxing by her brother, and her partner.

Seven years and two kids later, Lauren finally got a taste of boxing, and admits that training hasn’t always been easy. 

“Training has been difficult as both Tom and myself are training for a fight whilst working with the kids, but we hope to show our children discipline and inspire them that through hard work and dedication they can achieve their dreams too,” she explained. 

With only few days to go before her big day, Lauren has promised to fight with the “same momentum I fight addiction on a daily basis".

She also said she was glad to see Silkworth’s CEO, Jason Wyse, put on his gloves. 

Cameron said the training camp has been a success, with some of the competitors losing up to three stone and 10% body fat.

“Most importantly, they channelled their energy into a sport that will truly change their perspective of life and give them a newly formed love for health and fitness,” he added. 

“For a lot of competitors, the camp has helped them battle through anxiety and depression and the Transform Together gym has become their 'safe place' for life.”

Former British and commonwealth champion Kevin Mitchell, “who’s lived a life fighting his own personal demons too”, as Cameron said, will also be joining the Peaky Blinders-themed event, which will include a three-course meal.

Pictured top: Lauren Burnett in training alongside a photo of herself while she was battling addiction.