‘This is me trying to make a positive out of a horrible situation’ – humanist celebrant Halde Pottinger explains how his brother’s passing helped inspire him to enter Ness Factor 2024
Ness Factor 2024 contestant Halde Pottinger says his brother’s passing earlier this year was a motivator to sign up for the competition.
The humanist celebrant is no stranger to death and the work that Highland Hospice generally does through his job, but the first-hand loss was still a shock.
It was a reminder for Mr Pottinger to live each day to the fullest, so when he saw the call for entrants to Ness Factor, he was eager to take on a new challenge.
He will be part of a duo alongside childhood friend Grant MacNicol in Team Fiona, and he is determined to enjoy every second of the process.
“My brother’s passing was a huge part of signing up,” he explained.
“Grant and I wanted to note the milestone of turning 40 by taking on a bit of a challenge, but my brother was just about to turn 43.
“It’s just a horrible wake-up call to happen that makes you re-evaluate things. Everyone goes through that when there’s a sudden passing.
“I very much try to live my life with a ‘seize the day, life’s too short’ approach, but my brother passing brought that home again even more.
“It was a kick up the backside to do more things, because you do get complacent sometimes and life does get in the way. This is me trying to make a bit of a positive out of a horrible situation.
“I read more about it, and it was an opportunity to raise more money for the Highland Hospice. Through my job, I work with them quite regularly, so I know the amount of good work that they do, so it ticked both boxes.
“We’re pushing our comfort barriers a wee bit, and they say you should do something that scares you every day, so this is it.
“When the night comes I might be terrified in the back, who knows, but at the moment I’m feeling really good about it.”
Mr Pottinger’s closest experience to Ness Factor goes back to being in high school bands, although he is used to standing in front of people through his job.
While that has made him a familiar face in the Highland community, he has also garnered a reputation on a different platform – Tik Tok.
When it comes to fundraising, then, Mr Pottinger intends to make the most of his social media connections to create something unique to raise money for Highland Hospice.
“We’ve got quite a few things in the works – Grant is a professional chef who is pretty sought after, and I’m a life coach, so we’ve got our own skills that we can offer out there,” he explained.
“There’s also a project that’s quite close to my heart that we’re working on. When my brother passed away a few months ago, it made me realise how well thought-of he was.
“He was someone everyone would go to with their problems, and you don’t realise how good of a friend he was until horrible things like this happens.
“He was known by a lot of different things, but one of them was Big Red, so I’ve written a song called ‘Big Red’.
“I reached out to the community of talented Scottish musicians on Tik Tok and we’re going to get 30 or 40 people getting involved in putting a tune behind it, record it, and release it as a single. All the proceeds of that will go to Highland Hospice.
“I want to do something for my brother too, and it’s a very happy and positive song because he was a happy and positive kind of guy, so we’re going to try and make it a bit of an anthem.
“I did a song a few years ago for Mikeysline, but that didn’t get released or properly put out there, so I’m trying to go one step further this time.”
