My bredren Darren, also known as Stepsie, joins me to talk about his early years: being born in Hackney, his first memories at his grandparents' near Walthamstow Market, and growing up mainly in Leytonstone. He remembers the sport he enjoyed and explains how taking payments to protect other pupils became part of his school life.
Where he grew up
Darren told me his first memories are at his grandparents' house off Walthamstow Market on Buxton Road, and that he was born in Hackney in 1975 before moving to Leytonstone with his mum. He grew up mainly in Leytonstone but says he’s been “all over the place.”
Family was complicated: he has a younger brother from his mum, and twin brothers on his dad’s side — one of whom has since passed away, which he mentions with respect.
School life and sport
He started at Davis Lane for nursery and primary, and says he was sporty — a decent sprinter and a goalkeeper who sometimes played above his year group.
When he moved into secondary, he joined the new Leytonstone School and was excited about being among its first intake. He dates this roughly to the mid‑1980s, around 1986–87, though he’s not precise on the year.
He also admits to some behavioural problems at school; those issues eventually led to exclusion and a transfer to Tom Hood, a school he says was nearer home and the place he probably should have gone to initially.
How protecting others led to trouble
Darren explained that at school he often defended kids who couldn’t defend themselves. Over time that role morphed into other pupils offering to pay him for protection — not because he wanted to be a bully, he says, but because he intervened when people were being picked on.
He’s careful not to glamorise it, but he admits the dynamic caused problems. One pupil who couldn’t pay gave him a Commodore 64 computer instead, which later caused questions from the boy’s parents and contributed to the situation that ended with his expulsion.
Darren also reflects on being influenced by gangster films of the era — Scarface and The Godfather — but keeps emphasising he saw himself as someone who stepped in for the vulnerable.
Adapted from this guest conversation with AI assistance. Each person’s experiences remain their own. The video is the original conversation.
Read the video transcript +
Yo welcome everyone, Legions Word. And yeah, today I've got my good bredren with me still, Darren, yeah? Also known as Stepsie. What do you prefer to be called? Well, Stepsie's like what a lot of people know me, but my name is Darren, innit? That's my natural name, innit? Alright, cool, so Darren, yeah. Let me just start, just early years, yeah? That's like from you, just say from being born, growing up, where did you grow up? Where? Well, my first memory of growing up would be at my grandparents' house, rest in peace both of them, off Walthamstow Market, Buxton Road. Yeah, that was like my first childhood memories. Alright, let me just stop you there then, where was you born? 1975. Where was you born? Mother's Hospital, Hackney. Okay, yeah, and then you started living in Walthamstow? Yeah, my nan's house and my granddad's house, yeah. Then me and my mum, my mum got a place and we moved to Leytonstone, innit? Yeah, I grew up mainly in Leytonstone, but I've been all over the place. Alright, then, have you got any siblings? Yeah, again, I've got my younger brother on my mum's side, yeah, and then I had two twin brothers on my dad's side, unfortunately one of them passed and, yeah, he's no longer with us, rest in peace as well, my little bro, and yeah. So wait, let me just stop there, so you got your mum and your dad? Yeah. So you got from your mum and your dad, you got from your mum's side? No, from my mum, no. From your mum? Same mum, so my brother on my mum's side, same mum, yeah, and then I've got brothers, you just got the same dad. Cool, so under one household, not one household, your first, your mum and dad, you got two, it's you and your brother, innit? Yeah. You and your brother, and then if I'm understanding, you've got twin brothers? Yeah. Yeah, rest in peace. Alright, cool, sweet. So, alright, then you grew up in Leytonstone, what school did you go to? My first, I went nursery, juniors, Davis Lane, Davis Lane nursery, primary, junior. Primary school, primary, because you got a bit fast, I just want to know, primary school, what primary school? Primary school, yeah, Davis Lane. Okay, Davis Lane, and was you good in school, was there any issues with schooling? Nah, yeah, maybe a few little behavioural issues, but then, yeah, not really no issues, issues. Cool, alright, so what, sportly, was you sporty? Yeah, I was quite athletic, so I was a good runner, sprinter, and I played football in it, so when I was in junior school, I was in the second year, and I was playing for the fourth year team, yeah, even though they only had me in goal, but I was a good goalie still. Okay, so you played a year,
Yeah, alright, cool. So when you left primary school, what school did you go to? Initially, I went to Leytonstone School, which was a new school. I was quite, like, excited to go there, innit? Because, like, we was going to be the first. What year is that, anyway? What year is that? So I would have been 11, going on 12, in the first year. So the Leytonstone School was a brand new school. It closed down. It was Leyton Senior High for girls, I believe, yeah, on Coleworth Road, just behind Whips Cross. What year? Yeah, what year? So, first year. But I don't know what year. I don't know. Oh, what year would it have been? Okay, so that would have been, let's just say, I think, 11. So that would have been about 86, innit? 86, yeah? Yeah, 86. 1986, okay. Yeah, 86, yeah. And did you complete all your schooling? No, unfortunately, again, a little few behavioural issues. I got excluded from Leytonstone School, and I went to the school that I really should have gone to in the first place, which was only, like, three minutes from my house in Leytonstone there, Tom Hood. Right, so when you got expelled from Leytonstone, you ended up going to Tom Hood? Yeah. Okay, what did you get expelled from Leytonstone for? Just comment on it a little bit, because you don't just get expelled, do you? What did you get expelled for? I was running, I was, well, I'm not trying to glamorise crime, that's not the purpose of why I'm here, but then I used to get guys to pay me protection. You've got to laugh. No, no, no, this is important to me. No, no, no, let me get something straight. You got expelled? Yeah. Because people was... No, no, no, let me start again. Even before you finished... Sorry, let me just have a bump here. Before you even finished, you said you didn't want to talk about crime, yeah? No, I would have to naturally talk about crime. No, no, I'm just saying, because you're in school... But I'm not trying to glamorise it. No, no, we're not glamorising anything, but I'm just saying, and me asking you, as of what you're saying, 1986, yeah? 1986, so you're 12 in 1986? No, I'm 12 in 87. In 87, so 86, 87, and you're getting expelled around them times? Yeah. So if I'm right, you left primary school at 11, no? Yeah. So when you went into secondary school, what you started... So let me get straight to the thing. Your people paying you to protect them from who? To protect them from people who trouble people, innit? There's a lot of... We had, let's just say bullying was all fit. Right, but you're not a bully? Nah, I wouldn't have thought I'm a bully. But what I'm saying, in today's terms, like we look at schooling today, we're not trying to... Nah, nah, nah, nah, couldn't be considered... I couldn't be considered a bully, because I used to always defend people who was, like, unable to protect themselves. Right, but this is... And then that's where...
concept came of people wanting to pay for that thing. All right then, so see, they're looking to pay you, yeah? Yeah. They're looking to pay you. So the teachers, you find yourself, they're paying you for looking after them and then you get expelled for being... Because in today's world, if you're looking after someone in school... Yeah, there was a little bit, there was a little bit thing like, as in like one guy, he didn't pay and then he gave me, he couldn't, he didn't have the money and he actually gave me what was like one of the first computers, which was a Commodore 64. So he gave me his Commodore 64 and then obviously his mom and dad's asking where's his Commodore 64? He's giving it to me. Yeah, okay, so if I'm going to be, if I'm listening, that's like, you see like you got the bullies in the school. Yeah. Now, if you're being helpful, the thing where you made a mistake, if we're looking back really early, is you took things off him to help him. So you was just doing it another way then? No, no, no, no, let's just, look, look, you see what I'm saying? Like, look, don't get it wrong, there was always films that I was intrigued and fascinated by, the Scarfaces, the Godfathers, these kind of films and extortion, like the Mafia. But listen to what I'm saying. So if I saw someone who was being picked on by someone who, they're just only doing it because the person's weak, yeah, I would intervene, yeah? Now, if someone then says to me, oh, thank you, I'm going to give you, if I give you, just to say £10 a week. Yeah. £10 a week in 1986, 87 at school, do you get what I'm saying? When I was at school, that was, well, it was all right. All right then, cool. Quite a few sweeties and ice cream at the ice cream shop. All right, so let me not, let me not, I'm not going to not stay here, but I'm saying to you, like, cool. So this is how I'm going to analyze it, yeah? Yeah. So what is the difference between what they was doing, just on a serious note, yeah? Yeah.
