THE daughter of a prominent Scottish businessman has urged people not to worry about “stigma”, warning: “We are losing far too many people to mental health.”
Speaking for the first time since her father’s suicide, Zara Finnie said mental health should be a “constant focus”, and not only thought about once tragedy has struck.
Her father Kevin Finnie, a well-known business figure in Ayrshire, took his own life in July, leaving residents stunned.
In response, the people of South Ayrshire have rallied to support the Finnie family and raise awareness about the importance of men's mental health by offering support groups and information on where to seek help.
Finnie had a successful career, founding Treehouse Leisure Group in 1999 and opening The Treehouse in Ayr and Kilmarnock. He also managed Kilmarnock’s Life Night Club and Prestwick’s Café Bonne. Recently, he opened The Buf in Ayr and Prestwick alongside One 11 Bar and Restaurant.
The 55-year-old shared his recent struggles to his personal Facebook account before his body was found in a South Ayrshire property on July 18.
The following day, local businesses and competitors shared their condolences via social media. The Red Lion Bar and Restaurant said: “Bit numb this morning tbh. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kevin’s family … Being in business is rough at the best of times but it seems that he has had a particularly brutal time later, we hope he is now at peace.”
Finnie’s eldest daughter, Zara Finnie told The Sunday National: “I was completely overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from everyone.
“Every time someone local commits suicide there is always a spike in awareness for it, but I think what we need to work on doing is making it a focus all the time.
“One social media post getting to the right person at the right time could save their life and that’s why it should be a constant focus in local communities … we are losing far too many people to mental health.
“I think there is such a stigma around men’s mental health because unfortunately it does seem to be the ‘happiest, loudest, funniest’ person in the room that doesn’t talk and ends up losing their battle to mental health.”
With support groups being promoted heavily on the town’s Facebook group, Prestwick – Just Saying, the 24-year-old said: “Support groups are massively important for the people strong enough to go to them but I think something needs to be put into place to help the people that maybe don’t have it in them to go to them.”
Finnie thinks her father avoided in-person support groups because, as a well-known and respected figure, he feared running into someone he knew.
Following Finnie’s passing, Release Ayrshire actively promoted their #ChatItOut slogan during Prestwick’s annual music festival, Prestfest, which took place this year at the beginning of August. Release is an online support service for men which provides bars and restaurants with merchandise and leaflets for those needing help or someone to talk to.
The Finnie family expressed their deep gratitude for a similar support group, Andy’s Man Club, by holding a collection for both Myeloma UK and Andy’s Man Club following Finnie’s funeral, which took place on Friday August 16, at St Leonard’s Parish Church in Ayr.
Founded in 2016 in memory of Andrew Roberts, Andy's Man Club (AMC) was created by his mother, Elaine Roberts, and brother-in-law, Luke Ambler, to provide men with a free, non-judgmental space to talk. The charity started in Yorkshire and now holds UK-wide meetings every Monday at 7pm.
Alex McClintock, the senior project development champion for AMC, said: “It’s just about normalising the conversation. It is hard because we’re not encouraged as men to talk about the things that we should be talking about.
“[AMC] have got a lot of partnerships with football teams, charities and local businesses and seeing us on your t-shirts and programmes might be enough to trigger that one man to reach out and ask for help.”
AMC was named Charity of the Year 2024 for its work across more than 200 groups throughout the UK.
“When we get nominated and win these sort of things, it just shows you that we’re making a difference to somebody and they feel so passionate about AMC that they want to give us something back by nominating us.
“But you know, it’s not just about AMC getting recognition, it’s about getting that awareness to let men know that it’s okay to talk.”
Zara Finnie expressed interest in getting more involved with groups like AMC, saying: “I think we’re very lucky to have two busy venues in Prestwick that we will definitely do more to raise awareness and money for causes like this and offer our venues to help stop this from happening to someone else’s Dad, brother, partner or son.”
Alarming figures from the National Records of Scotland reported earlier this week that male suicides rose by 34 in 2023 compared to 2022.
If you have been affected by anything in this article, please contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org Find Andy’s Man Club here - www.andysmanclub.co.uk
