Mark Reynolds (1958 - 2005)
Founder and Chairman of The Q Trust
The Independent, 23 September 2005
Adapted from an article by Candida Crewe
In 1993 at the age of 35 Mark Reynolds was forced to retire in from his impressive career in advertising because of the impact muscular dystrophy was having on his health. Not one to be idle, he thought he might try his hand at travel writing, starting with a book on the Mediterranean. Instead he ended up planning a trip to the seven wonders of the ancient world, with the extra motivation of raising money for seven charities. In the process he found he had an extraordinary talent for fundraising.
In 1999 he became a Trustee of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and inspired by his friend, Quentin Crewe who also had muscular dystrophy and died as a result of his condition in 1998 , Mark had the idea of celebrating his life by raising money in his name towards research and therapy for the disease.
So, in 2001 The Q Trust was born. With a series of imaginative events, Mark and his newly formed committee raised nearly £500,000 in an astonishingly short space of time.
Mark was diagnosed with muscle disease at an early age. Neither of his parents were affected - it appeared spontaneously in him and his brother Adam, the sculptor, who died just three weeks before him, also of cardiac failure prompted by the disease. At first doctors believed Mark had a strain which meant he would not live to adulthood. As he grew older they changed their minds and told him he could have children, believing he wouldn't pass it on. But it is a disease all the more cruel for being so arbitrary. Mark's two children both have it. Adam's two young daughters do not.
There is little treatment and no cure. All his life Mark had difficulty walking - the joints stiffened along with weakening muscles. He took to using a stick and during his working life managed an exhausting commute on buses and trains alone. Only when he retired did he resort to a wheelchair. He wasn't too proud to accept help but did try to retain his independence.
With such a disability, Mark Reynolds' achievements were all the more remarkable. He was the youngest director in the history of the advertising agency Collett Dickinson and Pearce - his clients including Hamlet Cigars - but he was particularly renowned for his moral leadership and sense of fair play, his intelligence and total disregard for his physical disability. For eight years he was a Governor and Vice Chairman of the Byam Shaw School of Art and instrumental in its merger with Central Saint Martins in 2004.
Mark's energy and vivacity were extraordinary. The Q Trust is not just a celebration of Quentin Crewe's life but also a testament to Mark's compassion and generosity.
