Celtic icon Scott Brown and Rangers legend Graeme Souness back campaign fighting painful skin disease

Daily Record

12-05-2025

Graemen Souness was inspired to do his own challenge by his young friend Isla Grist, who suffers from the agonising EB condition - known as the 'butterfly disease'.
Old Firm legends Graeme Souness and Scott Brown have bridged the Glasgow football divide to support Scots fighting a painful skin disease.
Former Gers boss Souness swam the Channel last week for EB charity DEBRA – and now he's asking everyday people to sign up to JOIN TEAM EB and do their own challenge.
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Charity ambassador Scott Brown, who starred for Celtic, is also taking part in the challenge and is asking other Scots to join in.
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DEBRA are urging Scots to do any challenge - a run, walk, cycle, swim, dance, or something else physical for their summer campaign, backed by the Daily Record.
Graeme was inspired to do his own challenge by his young friend Isla Grist, who suffers from the agonising EB condition - known as the 'butterfly disease'.
Graeme said: 'I want to thank everyone who has supported our challenges – and also invite you all to join in, helping to raise vital funds and awareness to help people like Isla through the pain of EB.
'The challenge we faced was tough, but everyday life is much tougher with EB. So I hope lots of people reading this will get on board and JOIN TEAM EB – you can sign up to do any sort of challenge you want.
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'It's hard pushing through a physical or mental challenge, but you feel a great sense of achievement and it makes you really think about how lucky you actually are in day to day life.
'I hope lots of you will join us to show support for people like my friend Isla living with EB – and hopefully you will enjoy the experience too.'
Graeme again took on a gruelling swim for DEBRA – but this time doubled the distance.
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'We completed the 59 (nautical) miles of the English Channel, to France and back, landing back to English shores on the Thursday.
'I was in a pretty bad way that night, still trying to recover from the seasickness, heat exhaustion and dehydration but woke on Friday feeling a bit more like myself.
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'I'm carrying a few aches and pains but it's nothing compared to what Isla and others like her go through every minute of every day.'
Graeme admits he was struggling at the mid point of the marathon swim – but speaking with Isla got him through it.
'I was seriously flagging in the middle but a call from Isla really gave me the boost (and perspective!) I needed to forge on. She was having her gruelling five-hour bandage change but typically for her, she still wanted to call me to spur me on.
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'This is why we are doing this – and it's why we are now asking anyone who wants to push themselves for a brilliant, really important cause to JOIN TEAM EB.
'It's open to everyone, we want to have a real spirit of unity behind DEBRA to one day find a cure for EB – everybody is welcome.'
DEBRA ambassador Scott Brown is proud to support the charity and is fully behind the summer challenges campaign as we work to raise funds and awareness to help those living with EB.
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Scott is working on ideas for his own challenge in support of DEBRA – and hopes to encourage Scots to JOIN TEAM EB.
Scott said: 'I don't think I'll be swimming the Channel but I'm definitely looking at ideas to do a challenge of my own for DEBRA this summer.
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'It's amazing to see how people can push themselves, the power of inspiration and of wanting to help.
'What Graeme has done is incredible – but the idea now is that everyone can be a hero, everyone can sign up and support the team to help people who really need it.
'That's really exciting and honestly any sort of challenge people feel they want to do for us is amazing – you don't have to do something crazy, it can be as big or as small as you feel is right.
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'It's about welcoming everyone together to one big team to help people who really face ordeals and challenges every second of every day of their lives.
'That's why I am part of Team EB and why I hope more and more people will get involved, so we can create something really special.'
Scott has a few ideas already for his own TEAM EB challenge – and it seems the first fundraisers to sign up have caught his eye with their crazy idea.
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'Whatever it is, I will take on something that pushes me and makes me fight through struggle – it's something I have always done and always will.
'I hope the people of Scotland will get behind us and JOIN TEAM EB – kids like Isla deserve a shot at a better life with our help.'
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