MY STORY

Sayce Holmes-Lewis is an entrepreneur, sports coach, mentor and activist providing strategic counsel and cultural insight within the public & private sectors, whilst also delivering aspirational keynotes on the importance of community, racial equity, personal growth & resilience.

Sayce is the founder & CEO of Mentivity, an award-winning mentoring organisation, and alternative education provision that provides aspirational support for young people, schools, parents, and carers across London, Brighton, Barbados, Kenya and Uganda. Founded in 2016, Mentivity has touched the lives of thousands of young people with their adaptable, holistic approach and proven record of expertise in coaching, mentoring, and support.

Sayce feels extremely fortunate to be doing work that he truly loves, using his platform and vast network within business, sport, education, and government to advocate for diverse and underserved communities. During the first COVID-19 lockdown, Mentivity launched the Raising Aspirations Project (RAP) in conjunction with Goldman Sachs, a mentoring program designed to divert Black British youth away from school exclusions, crime, criminality, and serious youth violence; whilst also creating a visual pathway to inspire passion in education and career development. Mentivity was also awarded a £125,000 donation from the Goldman Sachs Fund for Racial Equity in June 2020, signaling the start of a long-term partnership.

For over two decades Sayce has coached & mentored young people, from local grassroots talent to accomplished world-class athletes such as Jadon Sancho of Manchester United F.C., Reiss Nelson of Arsenal F.C., Ademola Lookman of Atalanta B.C. and Tammy Abraham of Roma F.C. As a former professional football player, Sayce understands the unique challenges faced by players throughout their careers. From the often devastating impact of the Academy process to the mental toll of racism, injuries, and intense media scrutiny at professional clubs. His unique and personalised coaching programs offer respite to athletes of all levels.

Sayce’s love for the game is unwavering and he now champions the emerging digital era of grassroots community football, coaching and managing the Wall of Entertainment's YouTube football team The Wall FC, founded by actors, Percelle Ascott and Joivan Wade. Sayce studied a combined full-time degree in Youth and Community Work with Sports Development at the University of East London whilst juggling a full-time coaching career, fatherhood, a semi-professional football career, and a part-time role as a Youth Worker. His passion for youth development is deeply embedded in his vision of fostering communities that create exponential impact. His mission is to support young people to realise their optimum potential, without the need to code-switch or erase the identities that uniquely connect them through culture, estates, boroughs, and postcodes.

Sayce’s dedication to racial equity and social justice stems from an encounter with the Metropolitan police at the age of 14 in which he was brutally assaulted on the way home from school in South London. Despite having CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts of the assault, the case was thrown out by the CPS due to lack of evidence. The impact of this injustice remained with Sayce for almost two and a half decades, during which time he leaned into his community for support in overcoming PTSD. Sayce has since been stopped & searched over 30 times, which further compounded the psychological impact of complex racial trauma.

During the lockdown of May 2020, while carrying out food drop-offs to bereaved community members, Sayce was once again harassed, tormented & searched by the Metropolitan Police after being racially profiled and labeled as a drug dealer. Amidst a global outcry of Black Lives Matter, Sayce filmed the incident. It soon went viral across social media, highlighting ongoing issues the Black British community face, and drawing parallels with the policing of Black communities across the diaspora.

Once again, Sayce leaned into the global community to amplify the issue and challenge police conduct publicly. This initiated a new level of dialogue and transparency with the Metropolitan police and mainstream media. Leveraging the direct engagement, Sayce initiated a ground-breaking, solution-led training program at New Scotland Yard, in partnership with the Metropolitan Police.

In sharing his story and facilitating dialogue around best practices, Sayce has demonstrated that respect, integrity, and cultural equity are at the heart of positive policing. Sayce now trains the Metropolitan Police on how to effectively engage with the Black community in relation to stop & search. Sayce’s formidable activism and youth advocacy work have resulted in appearances on Panorama, Sky News, Bt Sport, Sky Sports News, BBC News, ITV News, Channel 4 News, Good Morning Britain, Channel 5, RT UK News, LBC Radio, and the Victoria Derbyshire Show.

As a result of Sayce’s work with Mentivity, Mentivity were named as winners at The National Mentoring Awards 2019, as National Mentoring Programme of the Year. In October 2021 Sayce was named as a BBC 1Xtra Future Figure, as one of 29 Black Britons making history today by BBC 1Xtra and the BBC alongside Lewis Hamilton and Stormzy. Sayce and Mentivity were also named winners of the Mayor of Southwark's - Civic Award, for exceptional contributions to civic, educational and community life in Southwark over the course of his lifetime.

More recently, in November 2022 Sayce won the award for 'Most Inspirational Person of the Year’ at the 2022 MBCC Awards in Birmingham, for his tireless work with Mentivity. Sayce was also named as one of the 40 x 40 Future Leaders by the Black Cultural Archives (BCA) in their 40th Anniversary Awards in October 2022. Sayce is now an ambassador for the BCA and it is soemthing he is extremely proud of. In October 2022, Sayce was also named by Uber as a Black Changemaker Award Winner 2022 for his work with Mentivity. Last but not least, Sayce was awarded Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA), in the summer of 2022 in recognition of his work with Mentivity and his unwavering commitment to young people and the wider commuity over the last seven years. Using his platform and vast network within business, sport, education, and government, Sayce is a formidable advocate for underserved communities.