From the Edge of Jail to Saving Kids’ Lives, Turning At-Risk Boys into Better Men

In this powerful and confronting conversation, I sit down with Brenden Wilkins, former footy player, strength coach, gym owner, and founder of Teens Take Control, one of the Sunshine Coast’s most impactful youth programs.Brenden grew up in western Sydney, surrounded by sport, pressure, and a social circle that pulled him dangerously close to a criminal underworld. Some of his mates went to jail. Some didn’t make it out alive. He admits he was one decision away from blowing up his own life.Everything changed when he found out he was going to be a father.That moment forced him to clean his life up and commit to becoming the kind of man his kids could look up to. Today, he uses the same discipline, toughness, and physical training that saved him to help disengaged and at-risk teenage boys build self-worth, respect, structure, and purpose.Through Core Strength Fitness and Teens Take Control, Brenden works with young men who are written off by schools, already in youth justice, or heading there fast. His approach is unapologetically old-school, hard physical training, clear rules, consequences, respect for women, responsibility, and contribution to community.In this episode, we talk about nearly going off the rails, losing mates to crime, the fine line between tough love and compassion, why physical suffering under load opens kids up emotionally, what modern boys are being lied to about masculinity, and what actually works if we’re serious about reducing youth crime.This is not theory. This is lived experience, hard conversations, and real outcomes.Subscribe for more conversations on physical, mental, and spiritual fitness.The M26FIT Podcast is proudly hosted by Magnus Olson.Find out more about M26FIT here: https://linktr.ee/m26fit