“I had friends who never got to achieve their full potential – one of them was murdered – and others dropped out of school, and this motivated me to work harder.”

After leaving school with few GCSEs and feeling unsure about his future, Dwain Brown, from Romford, wasn’t sure what he could do.

Now, the spoken word artist, qualified counsellor and behaviour mentor wants to show kids that anything is possible.

Teenagers aren’t known for their love of poetry, but Dwain is convinced it’s the best way to spread his motivational messages.

He has launched a campaign on crowd funding website Kickstarter, where supporters can help him raise the £800 he needs to publish a book of poetry aimed at teenagers.

After helping pupils realise their potential he wants to spread his motivational message across the country, but needs some help.

Dwain said: “I’ve always enjoyed poetry but I didn’t get the chance to explore that at school.

“As I’ve got older and had the opportunity to explore it, I began to see how powerful it can be to send messages.

“I know how pupils feel when they are discouraged, and underachieving, and I want to show them why they should never give up on anything.

“These teens have so much potential and I hope my poetry can encourage them.”

In his book, Ordinary to Extraordinary, Dwain has drawn on his experiences as a counsellor at St Edward’s Church of England School, Havering Drive, Romford.

He said: “In school we see things such as bullying, self-doubt, those who are self-harming, broken homes, depression, no father figure and many more issues that may affect a student’s learning, creating self-defeating barriers.

“So in this book I look at these factors and express my own stories to encourage others to keep fighting no matter what they are going through.”

The poems challenge topics such as sexist portrayals of women and the dangers of stereotypes and are illustrated by Swedish graphic designer Mia Borstrand.

At school, Dwain found he didn’t always receive support and encouragement from his teachers.

He said: “I remember going into my English class and I was a few weeks behind.

“The teacher just looked at me and said there was no point coming in.

“I felt small and ridiculed, which was horrible.”

To support Dwain, visit kickstarter.com/projects/dwain-brown/ordinary-to-extraordinary. To see his videos, visit youtube.com/user/Dwainsvision.

To see Mia’s work, visit miaborstrand.com.