Toby Gorniak inspires our community, one Hip Hop move at a time
Toby Gorniak is the artistic director of Street Factory CIC and has worked with and inspired many young people in Plymouth with his Hip Hop classes and by teaching the core elements of Hip Hop - respect, peace, love, unity, and to have fun (a requirement at Street Factory CIC).
Working closely with his wife, Jo, Toby unlocks our community’s potential, one Hip Hop move at a time.
Toby is a Roma Gypsy and former refugee arriving in Plymouth, aged 14, with his mother and brothers to escape the racism they faced in Poland. Toby didn’t speak any English but got the basics down within three months. Although in a safer place, the people around Toby looked the same as back in Poland so he remained cautious and reserved. However, he found that dancing was the ice breaker with his peer group.
And this is where it all began – his love of teaching Hip Hop. With the language barrier there, it was a way to connect to others: “It’s very important in that spirit of unity where you teach so they can teach others - everything I have, I shall give.”
We asked Toby G some questions to learn more about his vital work with Plymouth’s communities.
How did you get started teaching people to dance?
When I was back in Poland, I danced with some of the kids there and that got me into basics of sharing knowledge and being together. And then when I came to Plymouth it was something I would do every day with the kids here. It was straight away, this connection between us, without having to speak the same language. We spoke another language and that was Hip Hop. For me, it was really natural to do this. A part of Hip Hop culture is ‘teach to teach’ – ‘everything I have I shall give, anything I give you, share with another’.
Are your dance moves self-taught?
When I was a kid there was no YouTube! I was self-taught. There was MTV and you would watch very closely for just two minutes or so that there were some fly steps on and then you had to just go and try and do it. There was no rewind or record, you just had to watch carefully!
How did you find out about Westward’s Onward House and get involved with that community space?
It was through Jonathan Spurling at Onward House because he used to work in the Freedom Fields park café and the Greenbank kids used to come over to dance in the park. I was invited to the youth club at Onward House and then Terry Leech who was working there for Westward saw me and said we could do a trade – I could have the Onward House space for certain times if I taught the kids there. Before that we’d worked in places like the subway but that was really horrible and dirty. When Terry offered me the space it was incredible as I could properly train. So at Onward we set up the youth club and I also got to set up my own crew as the one I was with were doing really well but their direction was not for me. I set up Brooklyn Breakers, which reflected members staying clean from drugs and being positive. The rules were to have loads of fun!
The hundreds of young people who you work with are from many different types of backgrounds. What sort of issues do they face?
They are mainly affected by isolation, that feeling of having no place and no belonging. When people join us they feel like they have a purpose, they have something to do, somewhere to be. Those who join have to give back and teach another person what they learn. We set the bar high for them and then they feel they’ve achieved something when they reach it. We teach them that they are responsible for their community. They must stand up. Children aren’t given work and responsibility values these days and it’s something they really need.
Have your experiences as a Polish Roma refugee helped you with you work?
It has in the sense of the way I educate. It has helped me work to gain support and acknowledgement. But not personally. I hope that one day being a refugee is celebrated rather than being looked at as ‘just a refugee’.
When did you train as a youth worker and have those skills helped in your current work?
I trained with Plymouth City Council to get into teaching in schools and colleges as I needed a qualification. I was studying constantly. I learnt from many people who walked the walk, not just talked the talk. People who walk the walk have had authentic personal experience and have a lot more wisdom. They learnt the real way, through personal experience.
What motivates you in your work?
I was a kid who was not seen, heard or accepted in the society I lived in. I was one of those people that was broken, lost and didn’t know my purpose - and I overcame that. So, if I’ve overcome that I know other people can. When I was growing up, I needed a mentor, and I didn’t have one. Luckily, I’m resilient. I did have some amazing people who dipped in, helped me and offered opportunities - Terry Leech was one of them. Encounters like that changed the protectory of my life – and I want to be that for others, be that mentor. I want others to have the success I have had. That is what inspires me every day – seeing people win.
Have you experienced inequality and how did you deal with it?
Yes, many times. One bad example was when I was working on a police project keeping youth off the streets of Looe and Liskeard. I was with one one of my first students from Greenbank. He’s a real success now – a dancer, youth worker, has a photography degree and went to London to do his Masters. Well we were on the train home from Cornwall and the train employee checking tickets decided my rail card was a fake. At first I thought she was having a joke but she was like no, I believe this is fake, I’ll be taking that off you and calling the police. I was shocked. She couldn’t explain why and she wouldn’t accept it. I was really annoyed and she was very rude. I called the police and said I wanted someone to meet us off the train in Plymouth and wouldn’t go anywhere until it was dealt with. When we arrived, the police were there and I waved so they could see me but they went over to two black men in suits presuming it was them who called. When I went up to them they responded to me like ‘what do you want?’. They didn’t believe me either and my wife had to bring in my ID. Neither the rude train employee or the police apologised, they just nodded and that was it. I said I wanted the badge numbers of the policemen and they refused! So, I called some contacts I had who worked with the Plymouth and District Racial Equality Council and they got involved. Next morning those policemen were reprimanded but what if I did not had those contacts? Nobody would have cared.
What would you advise others in similar situations?
Always stay calm. Don’t ever be aggressive, as that is what will get you in trouble. Most times people only get aggressive as it’s so frustrating as these scenarios happen too often. You have to be calm and collected. What I always try to remember is what my wife Jo says, “You always got to come home!”. Be patient and cautious in how you stand up for yourself.
How important is your family to you?
They are everything. I live for my family. Growing up I didn’t have a dad, so being a dad is really important for me - to be that pillar of strength, piece of wisdom, and that hug. I am so privileged; my wife and children are amazing.
Are you proud of your Roma and Polish identity?
100%! Gypsy culture is really beautiful. A lot of the time it’s not represented in a nice way, in every society there is good and bad and often the focus is on the bad. If you could really see how beautiful it is, you would be amazed. It starts with God and then goes down through every family member to extended family and our values are to look after one another. We have a tradition where you look after people, and you take others in and help them.
Congratulations on your many awards – particularly the MBE! Have the accolades helped you further your goals?
Absolutely! I see them all as ways to help open doors for other people. Sometimes you get trophies and medals and they just sit in a cupboard. To me they don’t mean much until they can do something. They are a great way to give chances and opportunities to others.
Looking ahead – what does the day job look like these days? What are you doing, what are your plans?
During covid, particularly in 2021 we saw a lot of escalation in domestic abuse and we have helped several women escape danger by getting out and getting involved with our programme.
We also saw a dramatic escalation in mental health issues which is now our main focus for help. We do a lot of face-to-face workshops around mental health. We use theatre, dance, poetry, performance, photography, graffiti and more. We use these as a vehicle to help people get back on their feet, build relationships and resilience. As well as pointing people to other agencies who can also help.
Our programme looks at your dreams. You are taught from such a young age that if you’re coloring in an elephant, then it’s not pink it’s grey and that you must colour inside the lines. All creativity is lost. We do a meditation that takes you back to when you were a kid to explore those dreams. I was doing this with one lady and we went back to when she was six and she got on a bus and to her it was like being in a spaceship. She thought the bus driver was so cool. She always wanted to be a bus driver but life took over but today she sent me this (shows news story of woman driving a Plymouth bus). I sent her to the library to research all she could about what she needed to do to be a bus driver. She did and she contacted bus organisations but could not a get a job. She came back to me and said she was getting nowhere. I said to her that she should ask her family and community for help. If people don’t know you need help, they can’t help you. Ask for help! So she did and then I was in the fortunate position of knowing CityBus management and I rang them and she got an interview and now has the job. People connections matter as much as what you know.
I am also setting up Plymouth Link to help people to work with businesses. The goal is to help people be able to stay in Plymouth and thrive as so many leave. We need to make connections. Business is not a clinical thing, it’s a people thing. The city must help the community. We all have to invest in our communities.
We’re also working on Kindness Awards to acknowledge unsung heroes.
I’m writing a book which will be out at Christmas or in the New Year, called Hip Hop Antidote – Creating Change. And I’m doing something hush hush with Netflix!
We are working on a big funding application with government to get a hip hop theatre with a café, recording studio, computer suite and so on at our current space. So we can not only create artists, but keep artists. Often when artists are successful, they leave Plymouth as there isn’t enough work here. We want to reeducate artists to understand that they are also a business, to know their worth. We need to provide opportunities and creative space to allow artists to thrive artistically and financially.