Former gangster turns his life around to set up own music school

When Joshua Agilan was 15, he got roped into a gang.

Joshua grew up in a broken home and was alone most of the time, so when his friends asked him to join a gang, he went along with it.

He soon came to regret that decision when he got caught up in gang-related activities -- including a serious fight where someone ended up dead.

Joshua's life took a drastic turn when he met his mentor, Jeremy from church who helped him realise that he was wasting his life away and should start doing something more productive with it.

Getting out of the gang was no small feat, but with Jeremy's guidance, he emerged from his experience and realised what he wanted to do with his life: Music.

He started to get formal training playing the drums and soon became a familiar figure in the Singapore drum scene.

With the help of family and friends, Joshua got enough funding to set up his own music school, Drumstruck Studios in 2006, offering courses in contemporary music including Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Drums, Keyboard, Pop Piano and Bass Guitar.

From just four students a month, his pool of students has grown to over 160.

Joshua also started Dhoom Super Band to get Indian youths involved in contemporary music instead of getting involved in bad company like he did in his younger years.

He said: "If you love something that you do, you'll probably excel in it."

Check out Joshua's Realife story and the worst things about being in a gang in the videos below.