Growing up in the crime-riddled neighborhood of Brownsville, legendary heavyweight champion Mike Tyson faced financial struggles and an unstable household. Primarily raised by his mother, Lorna, Tyson’s father was never in the picture after he left. Overweight and shy, Tyson often got bullied, which led to street fights and petty crime in his early teens.
He was arrested multiple times and later sent to reform school, where he discovered boxing at age 13. This changed his life entirely. Initially, training under Bobby Stewart, Tyson would go on to train under the guidance of Cus D’Amato, a legendary trainer who remoulded Tyson into a champion. It appears ‘Iron’ Mike wants to do something similar for the children in Los Angeles.
Tyson and his son, Miguel Leon Tyson, alongside The Heal Los Angeles Foundation and Prince Jackson, the son of Michael Jackson, recently unveiled the next phase of their partnership. Titled ‘The Passion Project,’ the initiative is geared to help children from underserved communities across Los Angeles discover and follow their dreams.
In a video shared on Instagram by Tyson to promote the initiative, Tyson, Miguel, and Jackson celebrated the inaugural event held on May 18th at Hayvenhurst, the historic compound of the legendary Jackson family. “We are here at the Beautiful Hayvenhurst, where my family moved from Gary, Indiana, in 1970 to Los Angeles to start working with Motown,” Jackson said.
“We are here to celebrate the inauguration of the Passion Project, which is a passion of both the Heal Los Angeles Foundation and the Tyson Cares Foundation,” he continued. The initiative is currently engaging 20 students, offering them opportunities to explore their passions through activities such as voice acting, cooking, swimming, jiu-jitsu, STEM camp, and more.
Miguel also shared his views on the new initiative, stating, “A lot of kids, especially in the inner city, don’t get the opportunity to even know what they’re passionate about… Now, we just have 20 kids. They tell us what they’re passionate about, and then we find organizations, whether it’s a science center in downtown LA or whether it’s voice acting.”
Meanwhile, Tyson himself shared his thoughts on the new initiative, looking back at his own childhood.
Mike Tyson reveals how he found hope as a child
Tyson spent the entire day surrounded by the children, part of the initiative, and others who were there to support the event. He looked back at glimpses from his own past to share his perspective on the matter. “I’m so proud of my son and Prince Jackson because from my experience, I know kids just need hope for a better life,” Tyson said.
Tyson described himself as a “bad kid” who was heading for the “prison system or the graveyard.” However, “then I met Cus D’Amato. It gave me hope for a better life. My life totally changed,” he recalled. This has led Tyson to believe that when anyone from any walk of life gets hope for a better life, “they could accomplish anything,” which has prompted his son and Prince Jackson to start the initiative.
It appears Mike Tyson still carries the scars of his childhood, as he joins his son, Prince Jackson, and Heal Los Angeles Foundation to help children avoid what he had to go through as a child. What do you think about ‘The Passion Project’?
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