When Bryan Keith was in the audience for Brave he never imagined he would be taking on the catwalk himself one day.
But next week the 77-year-old will be stepping out on stage alongside 23 other men to raise funds for Friends of Anchor.
Many in Aberdeen might recognise Mr Keith, as he was the founder of Bon Accord Glass. The joiner and glazer also gave business lectures at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.
In 2000, he even received an honorary degree from the university.
He had never been off work sick a day in his life, nor had he needed any hospital treatments.
But, within three days of visiting the doctor in 2018, he was sent to the cancer unit after being diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer – resulting in a total of 37 treatments.
Determined to face diagnosis head-on
After completing that round, Mr Keith rang the bell in the Anchor unit to mark the end of his treatment so hard that he pulled the rope off – going back the next morning to fix it himself so others could still celebrate the end of their time there.
But unfortunately, that would not be the last time Mr Keith would be on the unit.
Although he felt fine for a while, he started to feel “jittery” again and went back to the doctor shortly before the pandemic hit.
After many tests, they discovered cancer had spread to his spine and treatment resumed immediately.
Mr Keith described this time as the worst he has felt, remembering how long it took to find out what was wrong and feeling like “there was no end to it”.
“I think it was a bit depressing, to be honest,” he explained. “But, I’ve never been depressed in my life.
“It’s just one of those things I was always so busy – I loved being at work, I loved being busy. Then everything just came crashing down.”
Left struggling to walk and lacking power, it took him the best part of a year to feel more like himself again.
He applied his determination and faced the diagnosis head-on, bringing the same tenacity to his treatment plans as he did to his businesses.
Being around good people ‘cheers you up’
Mr Keith is surrounded by a lot of good friends, and his two sons Martin and Bruce who would all lift his spirits and check in on him regularly.
Martin, who lives in Aberdeen, has been a “massive help” to his dad, doing odd jobs around the house and checking in on him. Mr Keith stayed with his son and his family for a while until he was back on his feet again.
Being an independent person, he moved to Aberdeen to be closer to his family and the hospital. He has been keeping himself busy decorating and making the house his own in Craigiebuckler.
He said: “Martin phones more or less every day and I’ve got a few pals that have phoned me every week for the last couple of years which is brilliant.
“It’s amazing and it cheers you up. Even when I moved in here there were odd days when I couldn’t get painting or something, but Martin has helped.”
Mr Keith is thankful for the “fantastic” staff at Friends of Anchor for everything they do for patients.
“Every day when you went in there they offered you a massage or whatever you were wanting, different things like that,” he said.
“It’s a good place to go, there was never any hassle. It was just fantastic.”
Taking part in Brave never crossed his mind
The retired entrepreneur is no stranger to fundraising for charities. He would even go out of his way to raise funds for another local cancer charity before he was diagnosed himself.
At the age of 55, he began taking flying lessons – a lifelong dream – and got his license within a year, going on to buy his own helicopter which he used to run Bond-style flights for Clan.
A few years ago, Mr Keith attended Brave to cheer on a friend – “never thinking” he’d be on the catwalk himself.
Kilted Chef Craig Wilson, from Eat on the Green, nominated him for this year’s show and now he is thoroughly enjoying rehearsals.
And although he is the oldest model, Mr Keith has been doing his best to keep the mood light – even doing some push-ups one night to cheer the group up when things briefly felt flat.
“I think they’re a bunch of funny boys”, he chuckled. “The youngest one is 25 and he’s never without a smile on his face I’d say.
“They’re all nice guys, they’re all fantastic, and they’ve all got a story to tell.”
Brave takes place at the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen on May 5 and 6. Tickets are on sale now on the Friends of Anchor website.
