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Ben Smith is a social entrepreneur, mental health charity founder, award winning global adventurer, fundraiser, author and inspirational speaker.
From attempting suicide twice to running 401 marathons in 401 days, we challenge you not to find something in Ben’s life story that isn’t relatable.
As a speaker, Ben is extremely open and honest and his story is one of genuine courage and determination which has, to date, inspired over 264,000 people and helped drive genuine cultural change in some of the world’s biggest organisations.
Growing up Ben suffered at the hands of bullies. It had a huge and lasting impact on both his confidence and self esteem. At 13 he discovered he was gay but felt the need to cover this up through fear of being attacked. At 18, then again at 21 he tried to take his own life because he saw no other way out.
Throughout his 20s he led a life dedicated to pleasing others, successful on paper, at 29 he suffered a TIA (transient ischaemic attack) temporarily losing his sight, hearing, feeling in his left arm and speech. This was a huge wakeup call and he was left with two choices, either carry on or make a change, we’ll let you guess which one he chose.
At nearly 18 stone, a 40 a day smoker, heavy drinker, working 60+ hours a week in a job he didn’t really enjoy and covering up the fact he was gay, he decided to take the leap and come out. This set in motion a series of events that would lead him to become the happy and healthy person he is today.
Ben’s talk to the students was amazing! You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium and the students found it both thought-provoking and inspirational. There were some really challenging issues raised to help students understand the power of their words and actions. Throughout, the students were mesmerised by the journey that Ben has taken, the obstacles he has faced and ultimately how he has overcome them and learned to deal with his past. We would thoroughly recommend booking Ben to speak at your school as he covers many of the issues young people face today. He is an inspiration to all, and we hope to work together moving forward.”
Ben was a huge hit on Friday! The children loved hearing all about his journey and he pitched his talk so appropriately to meet both their age and entertainment requirements. I loved how he got the feel of Yarrells so quickly and adapted his talk to fit our values and ethos. Ben was very personable, moving between seriousness and humour seamlessly; he was easy with the children and just brilliant at managing the ad hoc nature of the questions that came his way. Ben’s message of not letting others and their words define you, but to define yourself in your own words and through your own actions was powerfully conveyed and I know it resonated with everyone in the room, children and adults alike. Ben’s talk was a perfect presentation for our end of year celebrations and prize-giving.”
Inspirational Speakers has been providing high profile keynote speakers and entertainers for over 25 years.
Address:
Stratford-Upon-Avon, CV37 1RD
Phone:
020 7993 2724
Sporting Champions introduces world class Inspired Athletes for the Schools and the education sector.
