Meet Sean “Heisenbeard” McKenzie

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My name is Sean, former lighting and stage tech turned civil servant. I'm a big geeky metalhead who is always up for some kind of new adventure. 

I first heard about Chris's house through the Braw Beard and Moustache Championships. The charity raffle at the event has raised money for Chris's house the for the last couple of years.  

When I first had the idea of doing the kilt walk I knew I wanted to do it as part of a larger community instead of just myself. After reaching out to John Jackson to ask if I could use the Brawtherhood name for the team the choice to support Chris's house just made sense. Braw beard have raised money for them before, so there's that connection, plus mental health and suicide prevention are a big thing for me personally. It felt like the perfect choice. 

It very much does, not only to me but to all of us in the team who took part in the kiltwalk. All of us have been through our own struggles with mental health or have had family/friends who have struggled. Some of us have unfortunately lost people we cared about who took their own lives. On top of that some of us have gone through our own issues with suicidal thoughts and feeling like there was no other way out. Without organisations like Chris's house there is a strong possibility that some members of the team wouldn't be here today. We simply want to give back and to help others in similar situations. 

For me personally, I had a moment of realisation a couple of years ago. I'd gone through a seriously rough time with my mental health and only got through it thanks to my family, friends, and an amazing therapist. Afterwards I realised that I had to speak up about it and let others know that they aren't alone. Since then, I've had several friends open up to me about issues they're dealing with and have supported them through whilst they work their way through. 

 7 of us took part in the Glasgow kiltwalks big stroll, a nice 14.5 mile wander from Clydebank to Balloch. (The other once are: Kathryn White, John Sneddon, Stephen Jones, Scot McKay, Rey and Laura Wilson.)

It was absolutely brilliant! The 7 of us had a blast. We had some fun along the way to keep our morale up and help the miles pass quicker. The sore feet at the end were all well and truly worth it. 

This biggest challenge of the day was the heat. When we started at Clydebank it was overcast and fairly cold, but a couple of miles in the clouds parted and the temperature rose significantly. Thankfully we had all come prepared so it wasn't too arduous. 

 Not really, I'd taken part in the same event in 2018 so knew what I was getting myself in for.  

The proudest moment was when we realised just how much money we had actually raised. The day after the kiltwalk our fundraising pages were sitting at a combined £990. Then one of the team, Scott, donated the last £10 to push us over the £1000 threshold. Really proud of the whole team for spreading the word and very thankful to everyone who donated. It made the whole experience even better .

Do it! Organisations like this literally save lives every day. We're taught too often not to speak about our emotions or bother people with our problems and then and up in the darkest of places because of it. Chris's house and organisations like it give people a space where they can reach out to someone about what is going on in their lives without judgement or fear of it being used against them. It was an organisation like it that helped me back in 2020 and started me down the path to therapy. My life is now all the better for it. There are so many people out there with stories similar to mine but there are always more people who need that help.  By supporting organisations like Chris's house you aren't only changing people's lives, you're saving them.