GROWING UP on the streets of Harlesden, North West London, Aaron Roach Bridgeman never imagined he would be in the position he now finds himself in.

I was embarrassed because the grades were so high and I did not want to come across as some nerd or my friends to feel bad and then shun me

Aaron Roach Bridgeman

Raised by his Barbadian and Dominican parents, Aaron is a highly popular television and documentary presenter.

His list of interviewees is a who’s who of A-Listers in the entertainment world from platinum selling American artist and Fast and Furious actor – Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, multiple Grammy award winning artist Kelly Rowland, to world record Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt and Britain’s very own highly sought after actor – Idris Elba – among those he has interviewed.

From his presenting debut in 2012 on SB.TV – the UK’s biggest online youth platform with over 700 million views and 1.2m subscribers to his hard hitting documentaries such as Channel 5’s Vigilante Street Justice – about people taking the law into their own hands and the Broadcast Digital Award nominated You Match the Description: Stop and Search for the BBC – Aaron has proved himself to be a force to be reckoned within the TV presenting world but is under no illusions as to how different it could have been when remembering his turbulent teenage years.

“I grew up as a teenager in Harlesden, North West London which, at the time, though being one of the smallest boroughs, had the worst gun and knife crime in London,” Aaron begins. He continued: “In fact, Operation Trident first started as a direct response to the violence in the area that I am from. I remember someone being shot in the head and killed as well as an educational tutor my parents had booked for me being savagely beaten and robbed all taking place outside our front door.”

As well as the notorious gun crime in the area, Aaron witnessed stabbings, friends going to jail and the death of his best friend. He was surrounded by violence and criminality which seemed hard to escape and at one time, as an 11 year old, even found himself carrying a pocket flip knife as a form of protection in response to a failed robbery attempt on himself by an older youth. All these compounding experiences began to negatively impact on both his home and school life.

“I began to internalise a lot of frustration and anger related to what I was experiencing among my peer group. I did not respond well to parental discipline or when school teachers tried to assert authority over me because of my erratic behaviour. While I was suspended from school on numerous occasions, they really did not know what to do with me because I got good grades.”

Far from succumbing to a life of crime, violence and even jail as some of his friends had done, Aaron left school with 11 GCSE’s – 10 of those grades A-C followed by three grade B’s in his A-Levels.

“I was embarrassed because the grades were so high and I did not want to come across as some nerd or my friends to feel bad and then shun me.

“But to my surprise when they found out – they were like – ‘you know Roach got 11 GCSE’s’ and were celebrating. It was one of the first times I realized that achievement by one of your own could be accepted and championed with pride as opposed to being frowned upon.”    

Aaron then took the decision to leave his surroundings to study at university. He chose Birmingham University because while it was a city away from home, it was one where he could also feel comfortable knowing that it was populated with people from his racial and cultural background.

He graduated with a degree in Media, Culture and Society before being given a break as an online presenter on SB. TV – a youth entertainment platform dedicated to media and music. Yet while he enjoyed interviewing high profile celebrities from the world of entertainment, he developed a real passion to move into programming closer to home.

“As one who has come from the ends and seen first-hand the issues which impact upon these communities including the youth, I’ve always had a passion to present documentaries on these subjects with the intention of bringing not only awareness to those not in the know but to also offer a semblance of hope to the communities as they share their own stories through mainstream platforms.”

Like many brought up in Caribbean households, Aaron’s parents who had apprehensions about the career path he had taken have slowly begun to change their thinking.

“My mother is very proud and while my father does not say much about it, as most Caribbean fathers do, I know deep down he is proud too,” Aaron enthused.

Earlier this year, Aaron alongside co-host Remel London presented the second series of Unmuted – a topical entertainment show celebrating the arts and culture with award winning British artist Emeli Sande among those to have featured in the first episode broadcasted on Wednesday July 7, at 10pm on Sky Arts.

Last month saw Aaron presenting a BBC documentary on the impact within Black Businesses after the Covid-19 pandemic.

For those young people who like Aaron once did, feel that there is no escaping where they come from to achieve what seems like an impossible dream, he had this to say:

“Where you are from and what you are surrounded by can condition you but it doesn’t define you and I’m an example of that.

“You should never let anything get in the way you pursuing your dreams. The key to success is determination, surrounding yourself with positive people and networking. Before long you will reach your goal and find yourself in a place where you can also positively influence others within your community to do the same.”

Unmuted presented by Aaron Roach Bridgeman and Remel London is on Sky Arts every Wednesday at 10 pm.

Black British Voices