They asked for a kindness, not a donation

On Saturday Jonni Manson would have turned forty. At noon his family put a website up.

They did not open with a fundraising total. On rememberingjonni.co.uk the family wrote that, rather than looking for donations, they wanted people to pick one small act of kindness and actually do it. The target is 500 pledges. People have already started: check on a quiet friend, keep the door open for a cuppa.

Jonni died in 2024. He was a Shetland strongman and weightlifter, a regular on the local scene, known, Ryan Taylor wrote in the Shetland Times, for “immense physical strength and his deep love for his family and friends.” In 2014 the Shetland News called him the isles’ strongest man after the northern isles contest in Kirkwall. He played senior football as well.

The new site is a memorial and a scrapbook. Friends can leave a story or a photograph on a memory board. There is a gallery, and a playlist of the heavy gym tracks he trained to. Shetland News, covering the launch, says the family have invited the isles and the wider strongman and fitness crowd to add funny moments as well as the solemn ones.

The Times is clear about the clock. The pages are live “for a limited time.” What people add will be saved offline and given to his children, so they have other people’s stories of him as they get older.

“We would be honoured if you would help us raise awareness and openness of men’s mental health within the community and build a beautiful collection of stories and moments for Jonni's children to cherish as they grow up,” the family said.

After he died, Shauna Moar, who lifts as a strongwoman, told the Times she was “utterly devastated and heartbroken” because he had such a big heart. “Didn’t matter where I was or how long it had been, he’d always greet me with a big cuddle.” Dhanni Moar called him a unique individual. “Everywhere we went people loved him and he left a lasting impression on everyone he met.”

Last weekend, at the Shetland Weight Training Club contest in Lerwick, the Manson family presented the sportsmanship cup that carries his name. Cameron Nisbet won it for the second year running. The first winner, in 2024, was Ethan Bradley.

On the site there is also a small private tool that runs on your own phone: a Grey Rock for a heavy thought, a Gold Safe for a moment of gratitude.

In February 2025 the Shetland Football Association gave £400 to Mind Your Head, the isles’ mental health charity, in tribute to Jonni and another former player, Iain Goodlad. The money came from fines for clubs that skipped monthly meetings.

If you are struggling, Mind Your Head works in Shetland. Samaritans is 116 123, free, any time.