London Man's Friends And Family Give Him The Surprise Of His Life At Pride

This year’s London Pride festivities were more poignant than ever for Dean Eastmond.

Sadly, the 21-year-old Eastmond has spent much of the past year battling cancer and, thus far, his treatments have been unsuccessful. So friends and family conspired to cheer him up by making a heartfelt video that describes Eastmond’s year in a series of words other than “cancer.” The clip was shown to a crowd of 10,000 in London’s Trafalgar Square, during Pride celebrations on July 8.

“We know this year has been unbelievably tough for you, but one word is never big enough to define a whole year, even if that word is ‘cancer,’” Eastmond’s pals said in the video. They praised their friend in terms like “tenacious,” “inspirational” and “resilient.”

“I word I would use to describe his year would be ‘passion,’” journalist Amy Stutz said in the video, which can be viewed above. “Despite everything, he has continued to fill his soul with passion to make change.”

The video was produced in collaboration with Shape History, a London- and New York-based advocacy group that is focused on social change. Shape History’s Executive Director Mike Buonaiuto told HuffPost that Eastmond’s story had “truly touched and inspired” him and his team. The young LGBTQ rights advocate and journalist also launched an online queer culture magazine, HISKIND, in hopes of inspiring other young people. “It’s our hope more people will find his work and be inspired,” Buonaiuto said.

Eastmond confessed to being “so overwhelmed and shocked” by the gesture.

“I have no idea how they kept it as quiet as they did, but it was a beautiful last moment until I re-start chemotherapy,” he told HuffPost in an email. “The video has really shown me how important my friends are to me and, apparently, how important I am to them!”

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