“As a child, I made a vowto become the person I neededbut never had.To be a good human.”

2018 New Year Honours · Buckingham Palace

The boy nobody wanted. Honoured by the Crown.

“Is that your real hair?”

That was Prince William's question as he pinned the MBE to Toby's jacket. Toby went to the Palace in trainers.

The honour recognised his work with young people in Plymouth: volunteering in dozens of schools, performing for more than a hundred charities and building Street Factory with his wife Jo.

TEDx

Four TEDx stages

• TEDxExeter, 2017: “Helping young people find their genius”, with Jo.
• TEDx Sapiens UP School Youth, Warsaw, 30 April 2026: “Transforming pain into purpose”, in the country his family fled.
• TEDxWorthing, 5 October 2026: “We Begin Here”. Video coming soon.
• TEDxAURAK, Ras Al Khaimah, 26 November 2026.

Brussels · 9 April 2025 · Roma Week

That Boy at the European Parliament

Toby's film, an unedited conversation with a former neo-Nazi, had its premiere at the European Parliament. It went on to win the Audience Choice Award at the Ake Dikhea? Festival of Romani Film in Berlin.

Since then it has toured Europe: British embassies and the British Ambassador's residence in Slovakia, UCL, the University of Sheffield, the Pilecki Institute in Berlin, the Latcho Dives Roma Festival in Leipzig, Kraków and the Remembrance Museum in Oświęcim. Next stop: a private screening in Dubai.

Infamy · Netflix · 2023

“So you want me to be me?”

A Netflix director called with a part: a hip hop therapist called Toby, who speaks Romani, Polish and English and dresses like him. No acting training. He said yes, and found his name on his own trailer door.

Infamy is a Netflix drama about a Roma teenager with big dreams.

Television & radio

On national TV

• BBC One, We Are England: “Hip-Hop Family”, a half-hour on Toby, Jo and Street Factory (2022).
• BBC Unsung Hero Award for the South West (2019).
• ITV: “Being with Toby makes you believe anything is possible,” the reporter said to close the interview.
• Channel 5 and the Health Lottery: Street Factory chosen by Simon Cowell as a top community project.
• BBC Children in Need video with Rick Astley (2020).

Roma Spirit

Representation. Visibility. Pride.

At Roma Spirit 2025, broadcast on Slovak national television, Toby shared the stage with the President of Slovakia. He was then invited onto the international jury of Roma Spirit in the Czech Republic, live on television with President Petr Pavel.

In Slovakia he also screened That Boy privately at the British Ambassador's residence, and featured in a four-page NOTA BENE magazine profile, “True Strength”.

Middle East School Leadership Conference · Dubai

A keynote on a torn Achilles

Flown from the UK to open the conference, Toby delivered his keynote with a torn Achilles tendon. The room of school leaders gave him a standing ovation.

He returns to the UAE this November for the Dubai launch of Good Man Circle on 8 November and TEDxAURAK on 26 November.

World Roma Federation · 2026

Ambassador of Empowerment

“For every Roma child who needs to see what is possible.”

A global role carrying responsibility for Roma leadership, dignity, inclusion and systemic change. Toby accepted it, in his words, “in service, to our people, our future, and our place in the world.”

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Queen's Baton Bearer

Toby trained like an athlete for six weeks to carry the Queen's Baton. On the day, all he had to do was walk, and carry his city with him.

Street Factory · Plymouth

From a Saturday class to BBC Young Dancer

Max Revell started breaking and popping classes at Street Factory when he was nine. In 2019 he was named BBC Young Dancer.

Street Factory also formed the UK's first deaf hip hop crew, and its piece Hip Hop Virus was named best community piece across the country at Breakin' Convention.

Centre for Roma History and Culture · Oświęcim · 2026

A permanent place in Poland's history

In 2026 Toby's photograph and life story were selected for permanent exhibition at the Centre for Roma History and Culture in Oświęcim, Poland's first publicly established cultural institution dedicated to preserving Roma heritage.

Recognised for his contribution as a Roma activist, humanitarian and international changemaker, his story now stands as part of Poland's cultural history for generations to come.

For a boy who once experienced discrimination in the country of his birth: a legacy his children and grandchildren can visit, learn from and be proud of.