Colorado Voices
It's a HardKnox Life
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Founder Mark Salazar uses his gang-upbringing to prevent other Pueblo youngsters from doing the same
HardKnox, a Pueblo gang prevention and intervention nonprofit, prevents Pueblo gang activity by taking feuds from the streets to the chess board
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Colorado Voices is a local public television program presented by RMPBS
Colorado Voices
It's a HardKnox Life
Clip | 4m 41sVideo has Closed Captions
HardKnox, a Pueblo gang prevention and intervention nonprofit, prevents Pueblo gang activity by taking feuds from the streets to the chess board
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship[chess piece tapping] [chess piece tapping] I'm a firm believer that the game of life is very much like the game of chess.
[chess piece tapping] If you can think two, three steps ahead, respect with respect to the game of life, you're already talking yourself out of acting a fool, before you even know it.
[chess piece tapping] My dad introduced my brother and I at a young age how to play chess.
But it wasn't until I was incarcerated in prison that I played a lot of chess, because I was, you know, spent a lot of time in solitary confinement.
[chess piece tapping] Growing up in the gang culture, you know, in the late 80s, early 90s, you know, in the late 80s, early 90s, I actually had looked forward to going to prison simply because I had thought simply because I had thought that's where people like I belong.
I'm not an OG.
I wasn't but I had the privilege of growing up amongst them.
I was intrigued with the I'm not going to say the lifestyle simply because its more of a death style as opposed to a lifestyle, because we all know the end result.
The first time I was only in solitary confinement, in a six-by-nine cell, 24 hours a day for only 18 months.
I did a lot of chess playing with individuals while I was in solitary confinement because when you're locked down 24 hours a day, You have a lot of time to think.
[chess piece tapping] We used to create our own chess boards, then we would just holler our numbers and alphabets across from cell to cell.
It enhances your critical way of thinking, and in doing so, I was able to shift my paradigm and actually see life from a different viewpoint.
I had a conversation with this individual, I guess you could say I guess you could say he was a heavy hitter, to say the least.
I had asked him, I said, “What do we all consider prison to be?” And, we came to the conclusion that we all consider prison to be the school of hard knocks.
And so I asked him, I said, “Have you ever seen a doctor, a dentist, a lawyer, a judge go to college, obtain their degree, solidify their position in the community as such, only to go back to college to obtain the same degree?” “Why should any of us that graduate from the school of hard knocks?” [chess piece tapping] “When I get out,” I said, “I'm going to go back to school and get my degree and I'm going to go back to our old stomping grounds, which is here on the East Side, one piece over and start up my own nonprofit working with at-risk youth.” Perfect.
Then, this piece moves right here.
Mark, he's the one who first got me into chess, and he taught me what I really wanted to do.
Okay, So at first, I would come mainly because of the pizza.
But when Mark slowly started to teaching me how to get better at chess, I started getting good at it, and I started beating my opponents.
Now it really helps me to think before my actions, because I would just do stuff and I would get in trouble at school a lot, but like in chess, you have to think with every move you make, and just like in real life you have to think with every move you make.
Same exact thing.
If it's anything I've learned throughout life, its that the enemy of logic is emotion.
Wow, you actually got it right.
As I stress to them time and again, is that if they play this game of life with their heart, theyre going to end up with a lot of heartaches and a lot of wrecks because they're making emotional decisions.
I'm striving to break them of that impulsivity.
You cant move anywhere, its game over.
Huh?
It's checkmate.
It's game over.
[laughing] a couple of my people on my football team, I'll tell them to come, and they'll come.
Usually none of them really have played chess, but a couple of my teammates, they came here once, and theyve been coming here ever since.
They just get hooked, and I don't really know whats about it, its just addicting, you know?
It just really gives me a strong feeling.
Like I'm really good at everything.
Yeah.
And like I'm getting sharper every single time.
Oh!
(laughing) I guess if you think about it, with chess, you're trying to use different pieces or different positions, to try and get to the quarterback quarterback's the king.
Exactly.
Pretty similar.
Traditional schooling teaches our youth what to think and what to believe, whereas through the school of hard knocks, what I'm striving to do is teach them how to think, My hope is that these youngsters can apply that same sense of logic with respect to the game of chess, to the game of life.
[chess piece tapping]
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