Scotland’s best-loved amateur weatherman is toasting a flood of donations to his favourite charity after joining forces with a nearby bottled water firm.
But even Windy Wilson failed to forecast how popular their partnership would become.
The Auchterarder influencer teamed up with bosses at ió fibrewater, thinking it might result in a handful of donations from his 400,000 followers.
Instead the scheme has raked in more than £500 for Cardiac Risk In The Young in the first six weeks.
And now Windy, 58, and the ió fibrewater crew are raising a glass to their future fundraising success.
Money raised from the pairing will help to fund more community heart screening sessions for young people.
It comes after Windy’s son needed open heart surgery in 2020.
The 14-year-old had gone for tests for something else entirely when doctors detected a heart murmur.
It turned out to be a hole in the heart and ‘Young Windy’ underwent successful open heart surgery.
He is now a fit and active 18-year-old who passed his driving test this week.
“It was pure chance that his heart defect was picked up,” said Windy.
“He could have died otherwise.
“I’ve done a fair bit of fundraising for various charities over the years, but my main focus now is going to be on Cardiac Risk In The Young.”
Hundreds screened thanks to Windy Wilson heart sessions
Fans who make an order from the ió fibrewater website are encouraged to use the code WINDY20 at the checkout.
That gets them 20% of their bill – and a 10% donation to Cardiac Risk In The Young.
There is no routine heart screening for young people in this country.
So funds raised by Windy through the ió fibrewater scheme and other efforts will help to pay for special sessions.
“The last time we screened just just over 200 young people, aged 14-35, from all over Scotland,” said Windy.
“We’ve picked up about half a dozen cases that were referred for treatment.”
Windy Wilson’s meteoric rise to unlikely celebrity status
Windy’s amateur weather forecasts grew out of his love of golf.
It was his job to book the course for outings with his pals, so he got accustomed to keeping an eye on the weather.
He started posting forecasts on Facebook in his inimitable style and quickly picked up a cult following.
He now has around 400,000 followers between Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.
His fundraising started about 10 years ago.
In that time, he has raised around £200,000 for charities including CHAS, Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation.
Six years ago he took up running.
He now competes regularly in marathons, ultra-marathons and other long distance events in aid of charity.
But he insists the real stars are his followers, who he dubs “Team Windy”.
“The charity stuff is all down to them,” he said.
“There’s no way I could have raised anything like that much money without them.”
Fibre key to better gut health
Tullibody entrepreneurs Mohsin Laginaf, Aly Reid and Jay Curthan set up ió fibrewater with the aim of boosting people’s gut health.
Their fibre-infused water is made with chicory root and contains 20% of the recommended daily fibre count.
It is supported by Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Roehampton.
Buyers are encouraged to try the ió fibrewater ‘12-day challenge‘ and drink one bottle a day.
Those who have report improvements in their sleep and mood, better digestive health and a reduction in snacking.
Asda has recently come on board as a stockist.
Mohsin said the company was delighted to have Windy Wilson and his supporters on its side.
“It’s a really good fit for us and we’re looking forward to a positive long-term partnership,” he said.
Conversation