Shifting the Needle Podcast with Geraldine Gallacher and Lesley Sackey
Most people think boxing is about fighting. Lesley Sackey believes it is about something else entirely: rebuilding trust, reconnecting with your body, and discovering what you are capable of when life has knocked you down.
A former international boxer and gold medallist, Sackey is the founder of Fight Forward, a social enterprise supporting women recovering from domestic abuse through boxing, and the founder of Pillow, a technology platform designed to help survivors navigate life after crisis.
In this episode of Shifting the Needle, she shares how elite sport, personal adversity and entrepreneurship combined to create a new approach to resilience.
Lesley did not begin boxing as a child athlete. She discovered the sport in her twenties after searching for a form of exercise that felt engaging and challenging. What she found inside an old boxing gym was not simply fitness, but a way to understand herself under pressure. Her first fight ended in defeat. Exhausted, overwhelmed and physically unable to respond, she learned a lesson that would shape her entire career: failure is often the foundation of future success.
Within six years, she had won a European gold medal and represented Great Britain. But the greatest lessons from boxing happened outside the ring.
Despite her achievements, Sackey experienced an abusive relationship. Like many survivors, she did not initially identify her experiences as abuse. "I was a champion boxer. I knew how to fight back. I had a voice. How could this happen to me?"
Her story challenges many assumptions about who experiences domestic abuse. Survivors include senior executives, professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders. Abuse often operates through coercion, control and psychological manipulation rather than physical violence alone.
Importantly, many women only recognise abuse after leaving a relationship, during what is increasingly described as the post-separation period.
Post-separation abuse refers to controlling or abusive behaviours that continue after a relationship ends. This may include:
For many survivors, leaving is not the end of the experience. It is the beginning of a new and often complex stage of recovery.
That journey became the inspiration for Fight Forward.
Fight Forward is a social enterprise that uses boxing to help women rebuild confidence, resilience and connection. The programme focuses on women who have moved beyond immediate crisis and are ready to begin rebuilding their lives.
Participants undertake a structured ten-week programme combining:
The goal is not competition. The goal is transformation. At the end of the programme, participants step into the ring in a supportive boxing showcase. Winning is not the measure of success. Simply showing up often represents a profound personal victory.
One of the most powerful insights from the conversation is the connection between trauma and the body. Survivors frequently describe feelings of disconnection, numbness or loss of confidence. Physical movement can help restore a sense of ownership and strength.
As Sackey explains, boxing provides:
The process allows participants to experience themselves as strong, capable and resilient.
Domestic abuse is not simply a personal issue. It affects workplaces, teams and organisational performance. Many employees experiencing abuse continue working while managing significant emotional, financial and practical challenges.
Key issues include:
Sackey argues that employers need practical systems that provide confidential access to support. This thinking led to the creation of Pillow.
Pillow is a digital platform being developed to support people navigating life after domestic abuse. The platform aims to provide personalised guidance by connecting individuals with:
The objective is to reduce the complexity of finding help during an already overwhelming period. For employers, this creates an opportunity to offer meaningful support without requiring employees to disclose highly personal experiences directly.
Throughout the conversation, Sackey returns repeatedly to lessons that apply far beyond sport.
Her first boxing defeat became the foundation for future victories.
Resilience is not pretending to be strong. It is developing confidence that recovery is possible.
Boxers are given a count after being knocked down. Sometimes the wisest response is to pause, breathe and recover before standing again.
Progress rarely happens inside comfort zones. Whether in leadership, entrepreneurship or personal recovery, challenge often creates growth.
Before winning gold, Sackey imagined not only victory but the feelings, sounds and emotions that would accompany success. The mind often moves toward the future we repeatedly rehearse.
Perhaps the strongest theme running through the conversation is community. Fight Forward participants continue supporting one another long after the programme ends. They celebrate achievements, share challenges and create the sense of belonging that many survivors lose during abusive relationships. Recovery does not happen in isolation, it happens in connection.
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