"He sat in the booth for forty minutes without saying a word. Just listening back to his own voice on the track. When he finally took the headphones off, he looked at me and said, 'I didn't know I could sound like that.'"
That's the moment everything changes. Not a curriculum outcome. Not a box ticked. A young person hearing themselves — maybe for the first time — and realising they have something worth saying.
Silkfutures helps young people build confidence, identity and direction through creativity, relationships and real opportunities.
We begin with the person — not a fixed outcome. A young person might first meet us through music, movement, a community session or somebody they trust. From there, we build the relationship and offer the level of support that is right for them.
Music is one of our strongest entry points, but creativity can also mean movement, visual work, storytelling, production, performance or simply finding a new way to express yourself.
We work in Butetown, Grangetown, St Mellons and Ely, particularly alongside young people facing barriers to traditional opportunities.
88% of the young people we reach are from Global Majority backgrounds. 90% live in areas ranked in the top 10% most deprived in Wales.
"It's like they're always listening, even before I say something. I feel part of a team, part of a family."
— Young person, Silkfutures
See the work
AN INTRODUCTION TO SILKFUTURES
The people, the sessions, and the relationships that make it work.
One community · Different levels of support
FIND YOUR PATH THROUGH SILKFUTURES
There is no single route through Silkfutures. Some young people come for one experience; others stay, deepen their practice and eventually lead. Our role is to help each person find the right next step.
01 · FIRST CONNECTION
DISCOVER
Open sessions, community partnerships, movement, music and creative experiences — with no need to arrive knowing exactly where you want to go.
The journey above describes the support a young person can access. Reset to Rise helps us understand the changes that may happen within that journey — a framework earned through five years of showing up.
01
RESET
Stabilising the inner world. Interrupting chaotic patterns. Building the ground to stand on.
02
REFRAME
Rewriting identity and belief. Challenging the "old voice." Becoming the author.
03
REBUILD
Discipline, skills, creative practice. Showing up consistently. Finishing things.
04
RELEASE
A self-aware creative voice. Lyrics that reflect insight rather than old patterns.
SilkCrayon is the professional creative infrastructure behind much of Silkfutures' music and artist-development work. It gives young people access to the same environment, equipment, standards and creative processes used by working artists.
Silkfutures provides the relationships, developmental framework and pathways. SilkCrayon provides a real professional setting in which young people can create, practise and be taken seriously.
Founded in 2020. Young people don't always need a programme — sometimes they need a person.
HOW WE CAME TO EXIST
Silkfutures grew out of a simple conviction: that music has the power to transform young lives — and that no young person should be locked out of that experience because of where they come from or what they can afford.
Nathan Misra started Silkcrayon Studios in Cardiff Bay to support and promote local musicians. But it quickly became clear that the young people walking through the studio doors needed more than a recording session — they needed someone in their corner. Nathan began running workshops, opening the studio to young people from less privileged backgrounds who would never otherwise have access to professional music production, mentoring, or creative space.
At the same time, Toni Andrews was building Lab7 — a youth-focused initiative she founded in 2020 rooted in the same belief: that consistent, trusted relationships can change the direction of a young person's life. Toni brought 25 years of frontline youth work experience, deep community ties, and an operational grounding that the creative work needed to become something lasting.
When the two found each other, the fit was immediate. Same communities. Same conviction. Different entry points that turned out to be the same door. Silkfutures was established as a Community Interest Company to bring those philosophies together — pairing the creative infrastructure of Silkcrayon with Toni's relational and operational expertise. Over five years, what began as two separate visions became one organisation: six programmes, five paid alumni facilitators, and over £260,000 in grant income.
Today, music remains the entry point — but the real work is relational. Every session, every trip, every conversation is built on the belief that when a young person is truly seen and heard, something shifts.
THE FOUNDING TEAM
Nathan Misra
Creative Director, Senior Mentor & Co-Founder
Head of Programme. Experienced music producer. Designed the Pathways framework and founded Silkcrayon Studios.
Board of five. Two young people on the advisory board.
Dionne Rowe
Director
Isaak Bakshi
Young Trustee · Producer
Platinum producer and recording engineer.
Kaylum McGuire
Young Trustee & Musician
Beneficiary turned mentor and facilitator.
Tia Zakura
Young Trustee · Poet
Wales Millennium Centre Youth Advisory Board.
Derrick Bonsu
Trustee · Performance Coach
The alumni pipeline is our headline differentiator. Five former participants are now paid freelance facilitators.
OUR MENTORS
Nathan Misra
Senior Mentor · Head of Programme
Artist, producer, senior studio engineer.
Liam Eaton
Mentor
Artist, producer, boxer. Sports & wellbeing lead.
Benjamin Burrows
Mentor
Benny Flowz — BBC3 Rap Game finalist.
TBO
Mentor
Multi-genre artist from Cardiff.
One84k (Isaak)
Mentor
Certified platinum producer and solo artist.
Kaylum McGuire
Mentor
Previously mentored by Silkfutures.
PROFESSIONAL CREATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE
Silkcrayon Studios is a professional music production facility founded by Nathan Misra in 2020. Based in Cardiff, Silkcrayon has provided high-level artist services across the music industry — from recording and mixing to production and mastering. The studio has worked with emerging and established artists across Wales and beyond.
SilkCrayon is the professional creative infrastructure behind relevant parts of Silkfutures' work. It provides the professional-grade environment where young people experience what it feels like to be taken seriously — the same equipment, standards and creative processes used by working artists.
Silkfutures provides the relationships, developmental framework and pathways. SilkCrayon provides a real professional setting in which young people can create, practise and develop their artistic work.
POLICIES & GOVERNANCE
Silkfutures is committed to transparency and safeguarding at every level. Our policies are reviewed annually and are available in full below.
SAFEGUARDING POLICY & PROCEDURE
Published: Dec 2025 · Review: Dec 2026
Safeguarding officer: Toni Andrews · Reviewed by Dionne Rowe
Silkfutures believes that young people should be valued, encouraged and respected and be involved in decision making where possible. All staff, volunteers and students who work with young people under the age of 18 are subject to this policy. Everyone who participates with Silkfutures is entitled to do so in a safe and enjoyable environment.
Policy aims: This policy applies to all staff and volunteers who work for or on behalf of Silkfutures. It reaffirms the responsibilities of senior management to ensure that all adults who work on behalf of Silkfutures are fully aware of the need to act in ways which promote and enhance the welfare and safety of young people.
Our commitments: Promoting the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practice in a way that protects them regardless of age, gender, racial origin, faith, ability and sexual orientation. All staff and volunteers are accountable for the way in which they exercise authority, manage risk and use resources.
Reporting a concern: Stay calm. Listen carefully. Only ask open questions. Reassure the young person they have done the right thing. Immediately report to and inform the safeguarding officer. Record all details as soon as possible.
If you suspect a child or young person is at immediate risk of harm: Call 999 (South Wales Police). Contact Cardiff Social Services on 029 2053 6490. Outside office hours: Emergency Duty Team on 029 2078 8570. NSPCC Helpline: 0808 800 5000.
We believe in promoting equality, valuing diversity, and working inclusively. This is the world we want for our staff, young people and volunteers — it's the heart of everything we do to protect and promote children's rights.
Our principles: We don't tolerate bullying, harassment and victimisation. We're working to break down barriers in our workplaces and projects through regular consultation, monitoring and review.
Protected characteristics: Our approach builds on the Equality and Human Rights Commission's nine protected characteristics — age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity.
We're committed to becoming an anti-racist, fully inclusive organisation, ensuring inclusion across our workplace culture and organisational work plan.
2026 priorities: Reducing systematic inequalities including access to music. Promoting workplace diversity. Ensuring fair pay across genders. Creating inclusive environments where young people feel valued and respected. Prioritising mental health and wellbeing. Ensuring accessibility and inclusivity in our physical and digital environments.
Our Pathways
DIFFERENT WAYS IN. A CONNECTED WAY FORWARD.
Young people do not all need the same kind of support. Silkfutures creates a connected journey — from a first experience through to consistent community, individual development, specialist creative practice and leadership.
01 · First connection
DISCOVER
Discover brings Silkfutures into communities and creates accessible first experiences through music, movement, nature, outreach and trusted partners. There is no requirement to arrive with polished skills, a portfolio or a fixed ambition.
02 · A consistent creative home
COHORT
Silkfutures Cohort is a weekly creative community. Young people can develop music, production, visual ideas, photography, video, artwork, performance or other forms of expression while learning how to contribute to a shared space. Cohort is not an audition and it is not only for people who already call themselves artists.
Pathways provides sustained one-to-one support shaped around the young person. Creativity opens the conversation, but the work may include identity, confidence, emotional expression, consistency, decision-making and planning what comes next.
Alchemy is Silkfutures' intensive artist-development pathway for a small cohort of emerging artists. Participants receive sustained individual development, professional creative space, peer exchange and opportunities to encounter other artistic practices. Success is not simply the number of tracks completed or released: Alchemy focuses on experimentation, intentionality, artistic identity, response to challenge and independent follow-through.
Rise creates routes into leadership, mentoring, facilitation, paid creative opportunities and appropriate external progression. It does not look identical for every young person. The principle is that development should create meaningful next steps and, where possible, allow young people to contribute to the community that supported them.
Every week we run an open access music and mentoring session for young people aged 11–16 at Grange Boys & Girls Club. No referral needed — just turn up.
Where: Grange Boys & Girls Club, Grangetown, Cardiff
Who: Ages 11–16
Cost: Free
SET PACE SESSIONS
We run weekly Set Pace movement and wellbeing sessions. Young people can be referred to these sessions by a professional, parent, or carer.
Everything starts with a relationship. Music is the entry point. Movement is another route in. Nature is a third. But the thread running through every programme is the same — the person comes first. We invest time before we expect engagement. Mentors show up off-programme: walks, food, honest conversations, fresh juice in the morning. We put the session plan down and follow the young person's lead. If a young person doesn't want to rap, we teach them to engineer. If they need to sit in silence, we sit with them. That is not a failure of structure. It is the model working as intended.
Our mentors train alongside young people — not standing at the front with a clipboard. They bring mood lighting to a community hall and turn it into a studio. They invent rhythm games that ground nervous systems before the music starts. They set homework: "learn the 8 bars you wrote and have a go at writing more." They bring a portable recording setup on residential trips because the most honest writing happens late at night, after a day of being pushed beyond your limits.
This is how Silkfutures works. We show up, we stay, and we let the young person show us what they need.
PRESENCE OVER PROGRAMME
Some of our most significant sessions produce no music at all. A young person staring at the water. A mentor sitting alongside them. An hour in the sun that produces no output. These moments are not failures of delivery — they are the model working as intended. We measure success by re-engagement, by trust, by the young person who comes back next week when they don't have to.
PATHWAYS — INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT
Weekly individual and group sessions in a professional recording studio. Young people work with dedicated mentors to develop their craft and themselves — exploring identity, confidence, and emotional expression through the creative process using professional software including Logic Pro.
Sessions are flexible and responsive. Mentors regularly step away from the studio — to walk, to eat, to sit somewhere quiet. The most significant work often happens off-programme: a conversation on the way to the session, a moment in the car, an hour in the sun that produces no music at all. These are not failures of delivery. They are the model working as intended.
"Something closer to a confessional than a recording booth — not because we make it that way, but because young people make it that way when they feel safe enough."
HOW WE LISTEN
Three card decks designed by Silkfutures — used in every session. Not worksheets. Not assessments. Conversation starters that meet young people where they are.
Hover over each card to see the question on the other side.
PULSE
Check-in on emotional, physical, and relational state. Designed to feel like conversation, not assessment.
SPARK
Creative prompts that open up songwriting, storytelling, and self-expression.
SIGNAL
Reflective prompts used in music sessions. In one session a young person used Signal Cards to talk about losing three friends, the influence of his home environment on his sound, and the confidence music was building in him.
22/23Could not afford studio access independently
22/23Felt confident being themselves in sessions
12Said sessions let them "let stuff out" creatively
11Reported improvements in songwriting & performing
7Felt listened to by mentors and peers
Young people have performed publicly at Cardiff Music City Festival (a Welcome to Wales international music industry showcase) and the National Museum of Wales. Several have released music independently on Spotify, SoundCloud, and YouTube.
Coming in 2026: Therapeutic Rap — a structured, evidenced programme using music as a formal therapeutic tool.
SET PACE
Launched in 2025. Weekly Saturday sessions combining boxing, calisthenics, circuit training, and outdoor activities. Built on the same relational model as our music work — movement as the language, the relationship as the real work.
Every Set Pace session is designed as a rite of passage — a structured experience where young people are challenged physically, held relationally, and returned to the world stronger than they arrived. It's not about reps and sets. It's about proving something to yourself in front of people who believe in you.
THE SESSION BLUEPRINT
01
ARRIVAL & CHECK-IN
Grounding the group. Fresh juice, a catch-up, a stretch. Mentors and young people arrive together — no hierarchy.
02
WARM-UP & MOBILITY
Dynamic warm-ups, everyone moves together. No one left behind. The group sets the pace for the group.
03
MAIN SESSION
Boxing, calisthenics, bear crawls, running drills. Mentors train alongside — not standing at the front with a clipboard. The challenge is shared.
04
COOL-DOWN & REFLECTION
Fresh juice, conversation, and stillness. Space to reflect on effort, mindset, and growth. Mentors teach about nourishment — what goes into your body and why it matters. This is the rite — the moment you face yourself.
"Set Pace is not a fitness programme with mentoring bolted on. It is a relational programme that uses movement as its language. The physical challenge is the vehicle. What happens in the ring — the focus, the consistency, the support of the person next to you — is the real work. Every Saturday is a rite of passage."
Set Pace young people also participate in Facing Fears trips — outdoor adventures designed around challenge, support, and the world beyond their postcode.
SET PACE ADULTS — NEW FOR 2026
In 2026, Set Pace expanded beyond young people. Set Pace Adults is a weekly community fitness and wellbeing session — open to everyone — built on the same values of presence, challenge, and support. It's not a gym. It's a community that moves together.
Set Pace Adults is also a sustainability engine for Silkfutures. Revenue from adult sessions, community merchandise, and commercial partnerships feeds directly back into the youth programmes. Every hoodie sold, every adult session attended, every partnership formed helps fund another mentoring session for a young person who needs it.
This is by design. We're building something that doesn't rely solely on grants — a wellbeing community that sustains itself and the young people it exists to serve.
A consistent, trusted presence in the Grangetown community — weekly 2-hour studio and creative sessions delivered in partnership with Grangetown Boys & Girls Club. This is what "showing up and staying" looks like in practice: a relationship with a community built over years, not months.
These sessions are led by Benny (Benjamin Burrows) — BBC3 Rap Game finalist and one of Silkfutures' most experienced mentors. Benny has transformed the Grangetown sessions into something that feels less like a programme and more like a space that belongs to the young people who use it. From his first session, he paid attention to the details that matter — adding mood lighting, getting the young people to help move a sofa downstairs to make the room more accessible. The studio isn't just functional. It's warm. It's intentional. It's a place young people want to be.
What makes Benny's approach distinctive is his willingness to follow the young person's lead. In one session, a young person arrived wanting to be involved but didn't want to rap. Instead of pushing them into the booth, Benny adapted — he taught them how to engineer the session instead. That young person learned to set levels, record takes, and mix the track. They went from observer to essential. That's the model: meet people where they are, not where the session plan says they should be.
Sessions are structured to separate age and experience groups — allowing for deeper individual engagement at every level. Benny splits the time deliberately: working with the older young people on their own projects first, then inviting the younger boys in for their session. He splits them not out of hierarchy, but because the younger participants can feel intimidated — and giving them space to build confidence before the room fills up makes all the difference. Benny is also training young people to become proficient on the computer — so they can record, mix, and produce for each other. The goal is not dependence on the mentor. The goal is capability.
FROM THE SESSIONS
"The first half of the session was spent making progress on one young person's debut single — a song about someone he hadn't seen since he was 12 years old. Since he's been using Logic Pro at home, he was able to contribute to the mix, actually giving me tips on how to use the Logic stock auto-tune. This was very empowering for him — he was able to participate on a higher level."
— Benny, session notes
"I started with a game I invented called Click Clap Stamp — on the beat, everyone taps their chest, clicks their fingers, claps, then stamps their feet. This helped ground their nervous system before the music started. I saw a dramatic positive change in energy. The second half was four of the boys writing their first ever lyrics — introducing themselves as young people. I set them homework to learn the 8 bars they wrote and to have a go at writing more."
— Benny, session notes
Partner: Grangetown Boys & Girls Club
ST MELLONS PROJECT
Launched as an 8-week programme focused on songwriting, local identity, and building towards a live performance showcase. Due to strong engagement from the young people, it became a sustained programme.
This is a recurring pattern in how Silkfutures works: we start somewhere, the young people keep coming back, and the programme adapts to match their commitment. The St Mellons Project is proof of that. A group of young people found something here — and we stayed.
Partner: St Mellons Youth Club
FACING FEARS
Residential and outdoor experiences — coasteering, gorge walking, wild swimming, cliff jumping, hiking, tug of war, fishing, and nights under open sky. But Facing Fears is not an activity programme. It is a deliberate intervention built on a core belief: when young people are connected to nature, they are connected to themselves.
WHY NATURE MATTERS
Many of the young people we work with have never left Cardiff. The world beyond their postcode is abstract — or, worse, threatening. A bus ride is a border crossing. Open water is unthinkable. Sleeping away from home overnight feels impossible.
Facing Fears makes the impossible concrete. A young person who gets on a minibus for the first time, who jumps off a cliff into the sea, who stays away from home for three nights and comes back taller — that person has proved something to themselves that no one can take away. The natural environment does work that no studio or gym can replicate. It strips away the performance. There's no audience on a cliff edge. What's left is the young person — raw, honest, and discovering what they're actually capable of.
"Some of our most significant relationship-building happens away from screens and microphones. A conversation on a hillside does different work than a conversation in a studio. Both matter. But nature has a way of getting underneath the armour."
MORE THAN ACTIVITIES
Facing Fears residentials are not adventure holidays. They are structured around three pillars that extend the Silkfutures model into immersive, multi-day experiences:
MUSIC ON RESIDENTIAL
We bring the studio with us. A portable recording setup travels on every residential — because the creative process doesn't stop when you leave Cardiff. Some of the most honest writing happens late at night, in a cabin, after a day of being pushed beyond your limits. The music captures what the body has just been through.
HEALTHY ROUTINES
Every residential includes nutrition and movement — fresh juice in the morning, cooked meals together, runs on country lanes, conversations about what goes into your body and why it matters. Young people learn to prepare food, eat well, and understand the connection between how they fuel themselves and how they feel.
NATURE AS TEACHER
Cold water teaches regulation. Height teaches trust. Darkness teaches presence. The natural world provides challenges that can't be faked and moments that stay in the body long after the trip is over. Young people from high-deprivation communities deserve access to it.
Parent and young person feedback from Facing Fears trips is consistently among our strongest evidence of transformation. Parents report changes in confidence, self-awareness, and independence that last long beyond the trip itself. Young people come back with stories they tell for months — not about the activities, but about the moments they surprised themselves.
New for 2026: Silkfutures has a new weekly presence at Cardiff West Community Venue — deepening our work in Ely.
Development Model
THE RESET–RISE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Not dry theory. A framework earned through five years of showing up — documenting what actually happens when a young person is genuinely supported to develop on their own terms. Each stage has defined progress indicators, observable behaviours, and clear criteria. This is what makes the model credible.
01
RESET
Stabilising the inner world
To interrupt chaotic patterns, reduce emotional volatility, and create safety. Young people often arrive carrying survival instincts, peer pressure, trauma, or confusion. Reset gives them the ground to stand on.
A young person is in Reset when attendance is inconsistent, emotional responses are reactive or volatile, and safe relationships with mentors have not yet formed. Reset is the foundation — if a young person is not stable, they cannot progress.
Core themes: emotional regulation, nervous system grounding, boundaries and routine, trust-building, detaching from harmful influences.
02
REFRAME
Rewriting identity & belief systems
To challenge the "old voice" — the street identity, trauma reactions, or fear-driven worldview — and rebuild a centred, internal sense of power.
A young person is in Reframe when they begin naming triggers, reflecting on past vs present self, taking accountability, and talking about the future with openness.
Core themes: identity, agency, accountability, new narratives, becoming the author of their own life.
03
REBUILD
Discipline, skills & creative practice
To build the habits and competencies needed to live differently. This is where consistency, craft, and practice are installed.
A young person is in Rebuild when they show up consistently, finish tasks and creative projects, and respond to structure positively. If a young person's creative voice still glorifies harmful themes, they remain in Rebuild regardless of other progress.
Core themes: routine, work ethic, creative skills (writing, recording, performance), accountability and standards.
04
RELEASE
A responsible & self-aware creative voice
To develop a voice that reflects insight, responsibility, and maturity — not old patterns or destructive paths.
A young person is in Release when their lyrics and themes show maturity and self-awareness, they make intentional creative choices, and they begin influencing others positively. This stage connects craft to character.
Core themes: storytelling, values, emotional intelligence, artistic integrity, truth and reflection.
05
RISE
Leadership, contribution & influence
To turn their transformation into leadership — supporting younger participants, modelling excellence, and using influence responsibly.
A young person is in Rise when they support younger participants, help facilitate sessions, and consistently represent Silkfutures' ethos.
Core themes: leadership, mentorship, role modelling, community impact, responsible influence.
Rise has no exit. It is mastery.
FROM PARTICIPANT TO PRACTITIONER
Rise is not a metaphor. Five former participants are now paid freelance facilitators within the programme. Young people who arrived in Reset are now the adults that newer young people reset around. This is the alumni pipeline — and it is the most concrete evidence of what Silkfutures actually produces.
Two young people also sit on Silkfutures' advisory board, directly influencing programme design and organisational direction.
DELIVERY PARTNERS
Embedded in the community, not parachuted in.
Grangetown Boys & Girls ClubSt Mellons Youth ClubAction for ChildrenCardiff Music ConferenceAnthem
THE PACE APPROACH
How every session is run.
P — PLAYFULNESS
Meeting energy with energy, creating space to breathe.
A — ACCEPTANCE
No conditions, no prerequisites, no judgement.
C — CURIOSITY
Asking rather than telling, following rather than leading.
E — EMPATHY
Feeling alongside, not managing from a distance.
Impact
EVIDENCE THAT'S EARNED
Our latest records show 68 young people and 259 individual engagement records in 2026 so far. Sustained re-engagement is the hardest thing to achieve.
This year SO FAR
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Young people
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Recorded engagements
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Delivery dates
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Mentors represented
Our 2026 records show more than reach. Several young people have engaged between 10 and 21 times, demonstrating the sustained relationships at the centre of the Silkfutures model. Activity is represented across Silkfutures, Grangetown, St Mellons and Set Pace.
2025 IN NUMBERS
The complete previous-year picture.
474
Session attendances
133
Young people
349
Hours of mentoring
88%
Global Majority
5
Alumni facilitators
90%
Top 10% deprived (WIMD)
WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE TOLD US
Self-reported data from 2024–25 programme evaluations. These are not satisfaction surveys — they measure change in how young people experience themselves.
86% said the project helped them create and be creative
76% felt personally encouraged and supported
45% reported improved mental health and wellbeing
22/23 could not afford studio access without this programme
OUR THEORY OF CHANGE
If a trusted adult shows up consistently, uses creativity, movement and shared experiences as relational tools, and follows the young person's lead — then young people who are furthest from traditional support will develop emotional stability, creative confidence, identity, direction and the skills to lead others.
We measure this through the Pathways framework (Reset → Reframe → Rebuild → Release → Rise), session-level data captured through the Pathways app, self-reported outcome surveys, parent and referrer feedback, and the alumni pipeline — the number of former participants who become paid facilitators.
The alumni pipeline is our strongest evidence. Five former participants are now delivering the work. They came in as young people who needed support. They left as the people who provide it. That transition — from supported to supporter — is the outcome we're building towards for every young person we work with.
FUNDED & SUPPORTED BY
BBC Children in Need (£105k), The Phoenix Fund (£50k), Postcode Community Trust, National Lottery Community Fund Wales, Ashley Family Foundation, CWVYS, Anthem, Sound Connections, Principality Building Society, Cardiff Council. Total: over £260,000.
WHAT WE DON'T YET HAVE
No formal independent evaluation yet. We hold strong self-reported data, the alumni pipeline as proof of concept, and session-level tracking through our Pathways app — and we're working toward external scrutiny. We welcome it.
Stories
THE PEOPLE IN THE WORK
Real stories from young people, parents, and the community around Silkfutures.
THEO
Set Pace · In his mum Naomi's words
Theo was first introduced to the Set Pace family through a friend. He has autistic spectrum disorder and severe social anxiety. There would be times he wouldn't leave the house for days at a time. He came out of mainstream education and was very isolated for the best part of a year. He found passion through exercise and learnt he loves to train, but again this was always alone. He has a mind for discipline, but his confidence and fears have always stopped him from joining a community.
One day a very close family friend who could see his passion and potential offered to take Theo to meet Nathan, Liam and a few of the other boys at an informal training session. That day Theo asked me to stay in the gym and not leave him, due to his fears and anxieties. The genuine nature of the leaders at Set Pace allowed him to feel instantly safe. The following week he was being collected and going without me, and this continued week to week.
He came more out of his shell, pushing himself with the gentle encouragement and reassurance from the leaders. He even went on a three-day trip with them last summer — something he has never been able to do. He would come home refreshed, smiling, energised. A spark seemed to light back up in him.
Not only that — I noticed his respect, manners and attitude improved after spending time with the elders too.
I can't quite put into words how much Set Pace has improved Theo's quality of life. But to give a small insight: he has gone from being withdrawn, isolated and struggling to express himself — to being able to manage big emotions, feel part of something, develop his sense of worth and confidence, have visions and goals for his future, work through his social struggles, create bonds and feel a part of something bigger. All whilst exploring his passion for training and having amazing male role models to look up to.
I am so thankful to all of the team who have gone above and beyond for Theo's part in Set Pace and always made him feel comfortable, safe and welcome.
— Naomi, Theo's mum
KAYZ
Kaylum McGuire · St Mellons · Participant → Paid Facilitator
Kaylum has been with Silkfutures for four years. He came through as a young person in St Mellons — one of the areas we keep showing up in because the young people keep showing up for us.
Over time, something shifted. He stopped being someone who received the work and started being someone who understood it. With the team's support, he pitched and delivered his own 12-session programme for young people at risk of exploitation. The final sessions took place in a professional recording studio. Six young people recorded their own music.
Kaylum is now a paid facilitator, running weekly sessions in St Mellons. The young people in those sessions don't know him as a former participant. They know him as the person who shows up for them.
That's the point.
TBO
Multi-genre artist · Cardiff · Participant → Mentor
TBO came to Silkfutures in 2022. He was young, he was struggling — with his mental health, with alcohol, with finding a way through. What followed was years of one-to-one work, in the studio and outside it. Conversations that had nothing to do with music and everything to do with who he was becoming.
He kept coming back. So did we.
By 2025 he was on a Facing Fears residential trip, in the sea off the Welsh coast, helping 12-year-olds push through their own fears. When asked what he'd learned about himself on the trip, he said: "I'm someone who's a born leader who likes to inspire and help others — someone that can give you a helping hand when you need it."
He said his favourite part was watching the younger ones grow more confident. That he was teaching and learning from them at the same time.
TBO is now a mentor within the programme. What he went through didn't disappear — it became the thing that makes him good at this.
MARCELLUS
Age 12 · Cardiff · In his mum Manya's words
My son has always struggled with confidence, his ability to mix socially and self-doubt. Fast forward to a year later and he is like a different child, and I truly believe this is due to the positive impact from being around the team at Silkfutures and Set Pace.
They focus on more than just music ability, sport and fitness — they help young boys to find who they are, face fears, gain inner confidence, and due to being surrounded by people who believe in him my son is now believing in himself too. As a mother there is nothing more I could wish for. Children often believe the praise we give them is bias because of love, but through this wonderful group of people he is now gaining it from others.
My son's highlight of the week is spending time with them and I'm so grateful it's around wholesome, wonderful people who bring such a positive impact to his life.
"You've done wonders with his confidence in all areas of his world right now — I don't think you realise. He's a self-doubter. He lacks self-confidence. But in all aspects he's growing, and I genuinely feel it's since you and the boys have been part of his life."
And later, when funding ran out and sessions stopped: "He was gutted. Honestly, you were the highlight of his whole week."
— Manya, Marcellus's mum
Young people
IN THEIR WORDS
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"That day flipped a switch. I felt like I belonged. For the first time in my life, I didn't feel like some mistake."
— 18, Cardiff
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"It changed everything. I went from not leaving the house to getting on trains by myself. It sounds small, but it was huge. I'd lost hope, and then people started listening to me. Properly listening."
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"Silkfutures has helped me not only develop and improve my musical ability, but my creativity and ingenuity in general. This has enabled me to improve my mental and physical well-being."
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"Facing my fears is something mental as well as physical — breaking down the barriers in order for you to become the person you need to be, being comfortable with the uncomfortable until it's natural."
— 21, Cardiff
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"I'm someone who's a born leader who likes to inspire and help others — someone that can give you a helping hand when you need it."
— On what he learned about himself on the Facing Fears trip
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"Facing fears is the only thing that makes you grow as a person."
— Facing Fears trip, 2025
Parent voices
WHAT PARENTS SAY
Feedback from the Set Pace Facing Fears residential trip, 2025.
"This trip has taken him out of his comfort zone, provided him with a sense of achievement, confidence, self-awareness and teamwork."
— Parent
"It has done him the world of good. He's taken part in activities I never thought he would. He's come home with a really positive mental attitude."
— Parent
"When he's around Nathan, Toni and the team I see a side of him I've been praying to come out."
— Parent
"It has been life-changing for him. He's trying things he never had confidence to and taking ownership of his plans."
— Parent
"Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Since being around you all I truly believe he's starting to feel it."
— Parent
"If you ever need help fundraising, getting awareness, whatever — I'm more than happy to help."
— Parent
EVERY CONTRIBUTION REACHES THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO NEED IT
Your support funds mentoring sessions, studio time, outdoor experiences, and the facilitator pipeline that turns young people into leaders.
Donate
WHAT YOUR MONEY DOES
We don't have layers of administration. Donations go directly to the work — sessions, studio access, outdoor trips, and paying the alumni facilitators who deliver it.
£10
One-off donation
Gets a young person to their session — covering travel and a meal so nothing stands between them and showing up.
We welcome grants, multi-year partnerships, and core funding from trusts, foundations, and statutory funders. Our programmes are costed transparently and we report honestly — including on what we don't yet know.
If your organisation works with young people in Cardiff — or wants to — we're open to partnerships that extend our reach without diluting our relational model.
We look for people who can be present without an agenda, who listen before they advise, and who understand that trust is earned slowly. Lived experience is valued. Consistency matters more than credentials.
Someone who can show up consistently. Someone who doesn't need to fix everything in one session. Someone who knows that the conversation on the walk to the studio matters as much as the session itself.
Sustainability
BUILDING SOMETHING THAT LASTS
Grant funding powers the work. Earned income protects it.
Silkfutures is a Community Interest Company, not a charity. That's deliberate. We believe youth organisations shouldn't exist in a permanent state of precarity — waiting for the next funding cycle, reshaping their work to fit the next funder's priorities. So alongside our grant-funded programmes, we're building earned income streams that feed directly back into the work.
SET PACE ADULTS
Weekly community fitness sessions open to adults. Every session attended helps fund a young person's mentoring. The adults community grows, and the youth programmes benefit directly.
COMMUNITY MERCH
Set Pace clothing and branded merchandise — designed in-house and sold through setpace.co.uk. Profit goes to Silkfutures. Wearing the brand is a way to be part of the community and support the mission.
SILKCRAYON STUDIOS
Professional studio hire, production services, and artist development — commercial work that generates income while providing the infrastructure young people train in. The same studio. The same standards.
This isn't about replacing grant funding. BBC Children in Need, The Phoenix Fund, and our other funders make the core programmes possible. But earned income means we can invest in things grants don't cover — equipment upgrades, staff development, the quiet work between funded projects. It means we're not starting from zero every time a grant cycle ends.
The goal is an organisation that can sustain its commitments to young people regardless of the funding landscape. We're not there yet. But we're building towards it.
100% of individual donations go directly to programme delivery. We're a Community Interest Company — there are no shareholders, no profit extraction, no corporate overhead. Just the work.
Referrals
JOIN OR REFER A YOUNG PERSON
Looking to take part yourself, asking as a parent or carer, or making a professional referral? Start here and we will help find the right route.
I WANT TO TAKE PART
If you are a young person — or a parent or carer asking for one — email Toni to ask about open sessions, Cohort, Pathways or Set Pace. You do not need to know which route is right yet.
Professionals can use the referral form below. Tell us about the young person, what they are navigating and what interests them. We will respond within 48 hours.
Those who have never had a trusted adult consistently show up for them
WHAT TO EXPECT
We'll have a conversation about the young person — what they're dealing with, what they're interested in. We don't rush intake. If we're the right fit, we'll arrange an introduction. If not, we'll tell you honestly and help connect them elsewhere.
