Keith Winestein
Keith has had a long and remarkable career in the LGBTQ+ and health charity sector. From volunteering to produce audio versions of the Capital Gay newspaper, he was on the streets in the 1980s collecting money for Frontliners and was a Buddy for young men dying from AIDS.
For 13 years he coordinated World AIDS Day in the UK and produced the first public information about the Red Ribbon. He chaperoned Diana, Princess of Wales, at two Concerts of Hope at Wembley Arena for World AIDS Day and attended her funeral representing the National AIDS Trust.
More recently he has challenged mental health stigma and discrimination by dedicating 11 years to ‘Time to Change’ at Mind, played a role in establishing the first national TRANS Helpline and has just been asked me to become a Trustee of Men Talk Health, encouraging men to talk openly about mental health.
What does your identity mean to you?
Society has changed in unimaginable ways since my childhood in Leeds. I really thought I was the only Pouff in the village. So many things have improved but the struggle against ignorance and discrimination continues. I am a survivor having lived through the AIDS crisis in the UK.