Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping team member to climb Ben Nevis

By Jamie White – Head of Communications

A team member at mystery shopping and performance improvement company Douglas Stafford is preparing for the challenge of a lifetime to raise money for charity.

Curtis Pitter, who works in the Video Editing and Quality Control department at the company’s Lakeside North Harbour head office in Portsmouth, will climb the highest mountain in the British Isles – Ben Nevis.

Curtis is taking on the gruelling challenge in aid of The Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity, after being diagnosed with the condition.

In his spare time, the 21 year old is a keen rower for BTC ARC in Southampton and likes to keep fit, but admits training for the climb has been tough with a combination of running, rowing, swimming and cycling to help him prepare.

As a youngster, Curtis had aspirations to join the RAF and applied for a role as a pilot. However, after passing the aptitude tests and interview, he was called for a medical, and it was during his medical in that he was diagnosed with PKD and was forced to terminate his application.

“My family have a history of PKD. My father was lucky enough to receive a kidney donation from my mother eight years ago. Thanks to her, he is fit and well,” he said.
Curtis will be scaling Ben Nevis with a close friend and former colleague – and admits he is looking forward to the 1,344 metre climb on August 9th.

“A very good friend of mine and I have been talking about climbing Ben Nevis for well over a year now. This year, we have found the time to be able to do it.

“The PKD Charity does great work raising awareness of the disease, funding research into treatments and cures and providing support to those who suffer from PKD,” he added.

Anyone wishing to sponsor Curtis can do so by texting the word CPKD93 and an amount of £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to 70070, or at his Just Giving site – https://www.justgiving.com/curtis-pitter/