Gary Robertson, the ‘Dundee Street Poet'Back to Dundee Ambassadors

Gary is an author and poet from the city. He writes in the Dundee dialect and has achieved far-reaching acclaim for his work, which has led to him appearing on BBC Radio Scotland and his poetry being used in a documentary which was shortlisted for the best short documentary award at the 2006 Edinburgh International Film Festival. He is also a fitness fanatic and was the winner of the BBC' s first ever series of SAS: Are you tough enough.

Dundee is everything to me. It's the place I call home and there's no better feeling than coming home. Even when you have been on holiday for a couple of weeks - the feeling of arriving back in the city is hard to beat. Getting into writing has taken my life in a whole new direction and the opportunity to emigrate has cropped up a few times but I just wouldn't want to leave our city. It inspires my work and I would miss my friends and family too much not to mention the Dundee banter.

Dundee has some real characters. We have our own unique culture and dialect which sets us apart from the rest. We take a ‘good slagging' for it as well but I just love the identity that Dundonians have.  Many people talk the city down including Dundonians themselves but this really is a great wee city that we should be proud of. We have come through some real hard times but keep bouncing back stronger and I think old opinions are changing. We should be proud of our local dialect and work together to ensure it doesn't become something from the past - something I strive to do through my work.

Change is everywhere in Dundee at the moment.  In the city that can only ever be a good thing as we need to evolve to move forward. I do wish that they had kept the old Overgate but it's gone now. I also feel that more care needs to be taken with new developments in the city. There are some great new buildings but there are also some going up around the city that doesn't give the best impression of Dundee.

Dundee inspires me every day. I come across a wealth of subjects to write about every day whether it's old architecture in and around the streets or the people I meet. I actually stumbled into writing and it's been one of the best things that ever happened to me. It's ironic because I never stuck in at school and didn't even pass English.  It all started when I went to the Highwayman Centre where I met up with fellow Dundonians and writers Mark Thomson and Kevin McCabe who were already dabbling in writing in Dundee dialect. We were all really keen to promote our local dialect or speaking ‘oary' as it's known here through our writing and things really took off from there.  I'm passionate about keeping our dialect alive and making sure it remains part of our culture.

The arts have come a long way in Dundee. The Rep Theatre just continues to go from strength to strength; and it's brilliant to see more and more young people keen to get into performing and having the facilities to do so at venues like The Space or Scottish Dance theatre. I think we'll see more of this in the future, which will really put Dundee on the map.

Dundee has a massive student population. People come from all over to study here and the universities have fantastic reputations. The city's status as a gaming industry leader is also an amazing achievement which is helping to change the face of Dundee for the better.  I think it's inspiring for young Dundonians to have this all on their doorstep. 

Dundee should be proud of its buzzing music scene. Bands like The View and The Law have inspired a whole generation of young folk to start up their own bands and ‘have a go'. This has created a real buzz and I think the whole creative arts scene in Dundee is only going to get stronger. It's ignited a growing self-confidence within the city over the last few years and people being rightfully proud to say they ‘come fae Dundee!'. Brian Cox is also an inspiration and great role model - he's proved you can do anything you want and reach the very top, wherever you come from.