Rugby is my passion, and I cut my rugby teeth at Preston Lodge, not far from the small fishing village of Port Seton where I was born and brought up. I moved from P.L. to Ross High R.F.C. in Tranent, where I became the president for 10-years, bringing the club from the brink of closure to a now thriving community club with it's own development officer (the first in Scotland). In 2016 (at the grand old age of 53) I retired from playing rugby on a high, when I had the privilege of being part of the Scottish Legends and The Crusaders charity team, beating the Wasps Legends, and ending their 7-year unbeaten record.
My local community means the world to me, and I make an effort to give my time whenever I can. I run a Sporting Memories Group for dementia and stroke sufferers, and I was elected as chairman at the Recharge Youth and Community Facility which is a fantastic small charity working with young people in East Lothian. In 2016, I felt very humbled to receive the Forth Local Hero award... such a great honour to be nominated.
During the past few years, I've dedicated a lot of time to my 'Walk With Scott' charity. Basically it involves a large group of friends walking 57 miles between six local rugby clubs, playing a game of rugby at each one... all in just 2 days!
In March 2017 I was given only a few months to live after being diagnosed with liver cancer, unless a donor could be found... Luckily, I received my transplant in the October, and just seven months later I was fit enough to raise some money by doing a 30 mile sponsored walk. Now, I put a lot of my energy into promoting organ donation and well being, and I regularly speak in public about post transplant health and fitness, and I also talk to patients in hospital awaiting transplants, which (hopefully) encourages positive thinking and self belief.
In 2017, the 'Walk with Scott' charity achieved it's foundation status. So far, over the last 5 years we've helped 50 charities, walked more than 250 miles, and raised more than £250,000.00. Thank you to all who have donated!
Despite everything, I seem to have earned a reputation as one of the funniest comedians, hosts, comperes, auctioneers and corporate speakers in the country, and with my stories of village life, rugby, and everyday occurrences, I can guarantee that whatever your event, it will be a huge success. As I always say... it's a true story!