There were two neighbourhoods that raised me when I was growing up in Toronto. Havenbrook, and Flemingdon Park. Last week I reflected on my years in Havenbrook…this week, I’m looking back at Flemmo. I proudly rep both locations and their influence on my life.

The Flemingdon Park neighbourhood is located around Don Mills and Eglinton. While my family physically resided on Havenbrook Boulevard, north on Don Mills, I did spend a lot of my time in Flemmo. I attended kindergarten there, my dad would play soccer there every Sunday at the park, I had a brother and sister that lived there, and it naturally became my second home.

I learned about being militant from my experiences in Flemingdon Park. I learned about perseverance and how to be strong-willed and thick-skinned from a lot of good soldiers in this neighbourhood. Men that faced constant adversity, yet still walked with their chests high—these are the individuals that helped me to become the man that I am today.

Flemingdon Park had the best ballers in the city: the Falcons. We were a resource centre league and would play around the city from Jane and Finch to Regent Park and beyond. We were good though! We would beat teams by like 20-30 points, and sometimes we’d play so good that they’d chase us outta there! They’d throw rocks at us, and we’d literally leave the neighbourhood with the ball in our hands after a win. We’d come in by bus, and we’d run out of there by foot! It was grimy…but we loved it! We weren’t necessarily running from them, but it was the culture. You win, and then you bounce. Quick!

We often had our backs against the wall. Whether we played great, or we had an off day, we always had to come on the scene confident, and prepared for anything. These ball fans were serious! The rec centre staff would set up the chairs for the spectators, and you better believe that if they didn’t like what was going down, these people would get up out of those seats, fling the chairs onto the court and boo like they never booed before. Chairs flying. Random objects coming at us. Hostile, but passionate!

You had to stand up for yourself as an athlete—and most importantly, as a man—when you were dealing with this community. Spectators that wouldn’t let you mess up, and wouldn’t let you get away with anything! Because as much as those chairs would be neatly re-aligned by the refs, if you made a bum move on the court…you’d better duck!

Sometimes you didn’t even have to do something bad. You could do something sick: you could dunk on a man in spectacular fashion, and just out of sheer hating….chairs flinging again! Boos! Objects!

How could you not develop tough skin growing up in that type of environment? How could you not be a soldier when you were trained with warriors? If I play tough and if I am an enforcer on the court, then this is why. This is what I know from day one.

I owe these guys a lot, my teammates and friends. The community. We went through a lot. We learned a lot. Many of my comrades from Flemmo took the path of hip hop: they were talented rappers then, and continue to be great musicians now. One day soon I’d like to do something special for our former stomping ground, the Flemingdon Resource Centre, and the courts where I learned my craft. I’m also ready to rejuvenate my basketball camp, because I remember how important and significant those formative years were to me.

Havenbrook and Flemmo, boy! These are classic Toronto neighbourhoods that brought me so many classic Toronto moments that I wouldn’t trade for the world.