Tokio Myers feels "lucky enough" he didn't go down the "gang route".
Tokio Myers
The 33-year-old pianist - who was crowned champion of 'Britain's Got Talent' - feels fortunate his life has taken a different path and he was not caught in a bad group of friends and led astray.
Speaking to the Metro newspaper, he said: "I grew up in a rough area, a council estate.
"It was very easy to go down many different routes.
"When I talk about the struggle, it;'s about growing up on an estate and being lucky enough to have not gone down the gang routes."
And though Tokio is glad he was not involved in a bad crowd, he has admitted it would have been possible for him to be "easily influenced".
He added: "You're a kid, you're easily influenced. You don't have the hindsight that you do as an adult. It definitely came up a few times but I don't know - someone was watching over me."
And Tokio is not the only one who thinks he was saved from leading a different life.
He continued: "I've got kids said to me that they too, could go down that road."
And now Tokio feels responsible to have a positive influence on others.
He said: "I feel like it's my responsibility as a big grown man to actually be like, 'No don't choose that, check this out.'"