A school teacher from Queens, New York, is helping transform the lives of troubled students through dance, music and the arts.
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The kids he targeted were the ones having trouble at school, the fighters, the rebellious students.
It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster, but for Lamont O'Neil, it's very much his real life.
"That's the group I've been drawn to the most, I guess because they need it the most. They're the ones who need more opportunities to be able to see themselves in a positive way," he said.
It has been 20 years since Mr O'Neil, or "Mr O" as his students call him, founded a public school curriculum called Discipline Through The Arts.
In that time, he has helped transform the lives of hundreds of students. Men such as Rayvon Johnson, 24, and Jahzeel Campbell, 23.
Both have been in the program for about a decade and say that without Mr O and the program, they do not know the direction their lives might have taken.
"I feel like if I didn't come to this team, I honestly wouldn't be here," said Mr Johnson, who is about to graduate from university with a theatre major.
"I thought it was just a step team, but it was so much more, it was a place to grow and discover your talent. The team has helped me build character along with my talent. It has also helped me realise that you're here for a reason, you are special."
Mr O'Neil and his team, The Nubian Gents and Feminine Fire, are in Canberra as part of their Australian tour and will visit six local schools on Monday and Tuesday.
Canberra-based charity Kulture Break is hosting the first leg of the team's tour. Francis Owusu founded the organisation 12 years ago as a way of empowering "young people to believe in themselves through the arts".
"For me growing up, I struggled with who I was, my identity, my self-esteem and for me, dance and music empowered me to shine and for me, I always wanted to give the opportunity for young Canberrans to do the same," he said.
Mr Owusu said youth-based arts programs could have a very powerful impact on young people's lives.
Mr O'Neil agrees and said students learnt about goal-setting, team work and discipline.
"I think the group does a great job of laying down a foundation where you can learn and employ skills that you can use anywhere else, in whatever you do," he said.
"There's a formula we have that every experience we give should stimulate the mind, stirs the heart and motivates the will."
