Hi, my name is Nic, and together with my friends Paula, Halina, Tim, Julian & Elis, for whom I'm writing this on behalf of - a small group of friends of Paul Rideout, who we're coming together to support; he's a very dear friend to us all.

I have no idea how much we can raise, but with our collective efforts we hope to raise a considerable amount to support Paul and his family for the very significant trials ahead.

Life can be unfair, and too often it’s those who don’t deserve bad things that have those bad things foisted upon them. So, this one hit hard – when Paul contacted me to say he was undergoing tests for Motor Neurone Disease (MND), it really shook me. It shook us all!

Paul’s diagnosis has now sadly been confirmed. He’s still trying to compute what he’s been told, as are his family and friends. It feels surreal, but the harsh reality is that it is very real, and time is truly of the essence!

I’ve known Paul for the best part of 20 years – and you’ll understand this if you’ve met him – within 20 minutes of meeting him I felt I’d known him for years, such is his easy manner and friendly nature. In a work environment, Paul is always the consummate professional, yet remains grounded, warm, genuine, and likeable – a loveable rogue if you will! He has that irresistible cheeky charm that makes you feel at ease in his company, and he’s always good company. In fact, I can’t recall a time when he wasn’t, even when times were tough and stress levels in his professional life were high, he not only remained calm, determined and upbeat about any work issues, he always ensured his colleagues were considered and fully supported. And that’s how he’s dealing with this – from time to time he’s sure to think “why me?”, but rather than focus on himself, amongst other things his energies are now directed towards helping others also diagnosed with this rare condition and raising awareness on behalf of the MND community.

Paul has absolutely no clue that we’re setting up this Go Fund Me page for him. Yet!

Paul being Paul, he’ll naturally be somewhat embarrassed, not by his diagnosis and situation I might add, but because those close to him want to rally round and support him. Ultimately, whatever money we can raise will give him a much needed boost and he & his family some additional financial support as he now turns his time, energy and focus into doing what he can to raise the profile and awareness of MND, highlighting how underfunded research into this debilitating and currently, terminal condition is here in the UK. Each day in the UK, 6 people are diagnosed with MND and the same number die from it, which is why Paul has decided not to hide away, but is resolute and determined to do whatever he can – knowing Paul, he will dig deep, come out fighting, and his efforts will make a difference.

Paul has two children - his son George, 19 and daughter Eliza, only 14. Together with their mum, Paul’s raised them and worked hard to try and build them a solid foundation for their futures, and knowing Paul he’ll continue to do that for as long as he possibly can.

Eliza also has her own struggles with epilepsy meaning this family have been hit with the sort of tragic situation most families will hopefully never have to deal with at this point in their lives.

So, we are looking to try and turbocharge support for Paul and to do so I’m hoping that the natural products industry, a small but very close-knit sector, can come together and give generously.

Many of you will have met him, been helped by him, done business with him, spent time with him, and had very enjoyable times in his company.

I know many of you may be experiencing donation fatigue – there are so many worthy causes and charities to which to give and that ask for our help – but this one, this is personal.

We know this guy very well, and I don’t know of a single person who doesn’t like Paul (a very rare thing in life), so please, give what you can because he has always given so much to our industry – and never did he ask for anything in return, he just gave. And so should we. Whether you’re a former colleague, employer, consultancy client, supplier, store owner, trade media, friend – or just someone that’s enjoyed his company, remember those good times and lets all do what we can to ensure Paul and his family get to enjoy more good times together.

Fortunately, Paul is receiving excellent care and advice at what is considered to be one of the world’s leading neurological/MND research facilities, The Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, under Professor Johnathan Cooper-Knock, a leading authority for MND, where he hopes to be chosen for trials offering help to those who’ve been diagnosed with this, currently, incurable disease.

Thank you if you’ve got this far, and if you have, please, I encourage you to click the DONATE button and give what you can to one of our own. So we can raise as much as possible, I kindly ask you to share Paul's story and the Go Fund Me donation link to your friends & contacts, and ask them to share it to theirs - doing so will make a huge difference to how much we can raise and to the lives of some incredibly special people.

Thank you from us all, The Friends of Paul.