A former Dumbarton Academy pupil admits he is still in shock after the website he started in his bedroom helped him scoop a top award.

John Robertson – also known as The Everyday Man – was celebrating last week after taking home the Lifestyle Influencer of the Year award at the Scottish Influencer Awards in Glasgow.

John, born and bred in Dumbarton, writes about all things fashion, fitness and lifestyle in a role he admits he never intended would become his full-time job.

Speaking to the Reporter, he insisted he doesn’t see himself as an ‘influencer’ as such, instead preferring to be known as a blogger – just as he had when he started.

He said: “It was 2013, I don’t think there was even such a thing as an influencer, to be honest.

“It was more just that I was writing a blog. I still class myself as a blogger more than an influencer.

“But over the period of the past 10 years or so it just grew traction and became something that was a lot more structured, a lot more established.”

John started writing blog posts from his laptop over a decade ago, writing on a variety of topics, such as a review of a movie he had watched or feedback on a book he had read.

But it wasn’t until about three years into his online writing that things really started to take off for him.

It was then he was first approached by a PR agency in London, who asked John if he would try out some of their client’s products – Nike - and then blog about it.

 “I was completely gobsmacked,” John continued.

“Like I couldn’t believe it, that a massive company like that would want me to write about their stuff.”

John’s lifestyle tips have now taken him all over the world, to places such as Seville, Iceland and Las Vegas and he recalled an encounter with one of his fashion heroes.

He added: “I’ve always been a big fan of David Beckham, he was like my idol growing up.

“And it was one of the brands I always wanted to work with, and Haig Club - obviously the whiskey he is affiliated with - got in touch to invite me on a trip.

“He was there, I got the chance to meet him and we got to hang out and that’s still one of the pinnacle moments for me.

“Because I’m thinking, this is essentially a wee project I started in my bedroom all those years ago and now it's given me the opportunity to meet the guy who has been my idol.”

John’s website, theeverydayman.co.uk has blog posts from a Scandinavian travel guide to advise to youngsters on their higher education.

But he hasn’t let his life mixing it with the stars let him forget his roots, and he admits he loved growing up in Dumbarton.

He finished: “It’s somewhere that I still go back to when I can.

“I love that area, I love the fact it was so close to Loch Lomond and Glasgow, that’s why it's such a great place to live as you have the best of both worlds.”