From suffering the effects of bullying for years to becoming an endurance athlete and fundraising hero, Ben Smith’s story is one of the most inspirational on the circuit. Motivated by his desire to ‘find his happy’, Ben, having achieved his goal and the incredible 401 Challenge, now uses his platform to support others in creating a fulfilled life. Whether he’s presenting to school children or business associates, Ben’s talk motivates every demographic to pursue their ambitions, and live unapologetically as themselves. For corporate clients, the message that an empowered workforce is a productive workforce is highly impactful, leaving a long-lasting impression at events.
The son of a military family, Ben went to boarding school at a young age, where he endured years of mental and physical bullying. Battling with his sexuality, and low self-esteem, Ben’s mental health was in despair, and he was driven to suicidal thoughts. Fast forward to his late 20s and Ben, who was over 16 stone and having suffered a Transient Ischemic Attack, decided to tackle his demons. Crediting a local running club with helping him find his happy, Ben not only transformed his life, but was motivated to do the same for others. Founding and completing the 401 Challenge, 401 marathons in 401 days, between 2015 and 2016, Ben provided essential awareness for anti-bullying and smashed his fundraising target to secure £330,000 for Stonewall and Kidscape.
Speaking at over 400 engagements internationally, the power of Ben’s personal journey has inspired nearly 100,000 individuals to nurture a happy life. Teaching his audiences the importance of living authentically, Ben explores the topics of LGBT+, mental health and healing through sport, using his captivating story as an example. In 2016, Ben shared a TEDxYouth talk titled ‘Happiness’ which addressed how he changed his life through an improved mindset. Equally relevant for corporate audiences, Ben instills the skills required to triumph over adversity and establish strong mental resilience, which are highly beneficial to business environments. Elite Travel, Insurance Institute of Ipswich and Cintra, have already utilised Ben to inspire their employees.
Establishing the 401 Challenge, and the 401 Foundation, Ben’s ventures are supporting his aim of building confidence, self-esteem and ultimately happier lives for others. The recipient of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award, and the Pride of Britain National & Regional Fundraiser of the Year 2016, Ben’s positive influence has captured the nation. Set to embark on his next great feat in 2022, the USA Challenge will see Ben run a marathon in each state capital and cycle between them, he will complete 14,000 miles in just 104 days.
How to hire Ben Smith
Contact the Champions Speakers agency to provisionally enquire about Ben Smith for your event today. Simply call a booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
"Great Place to Think is a quarterly programme where we invite external speakers to challenge, stretch and inform our thinking with the aim to stimulate ideas and discussions. We invited Ben Smith to speak as part of Pride month and he gave a powerful talk, sharing his personal story and how he came to run an incredible 401 marathons in 401 days. Prior to the event, Ben took time to get to know our organisation and find out what we wanted from the session. He told us that he would be talking very honestly about some issues that people may find emotional or upsetting and at the session we were able to signpost people to the support we offer internally. Ben finished his talk by saying: “My life fully started when I embraced myself wholeheartedly. This success and happiness all came when I accepted my truth and dropped all of the shame.” Feedback following the event was very positive. One delegate said: “Your story made me cry and laugh. So inspiring (you almost made me think about running!)." Having booked lots of guests for Great Place to Think, Ben was a natural and engaging speaker who provoked discussion about being our authentic selves. I would highly recommend him as a speaker on topics covering mental health, anti bullying, resilience and LGBTQ+." - Geraldine, Learning & Development Advisor, RHP
"Ben's delivery of his personal story and journey was done in an authentic way. The audience could really relate to Ben and found his talk very moving. It really did start a conversation within the Company to talk more openly about mental health." - Gilead
"Your talk set an important tone for the rest of the day. The day was attended by 150 members of the paediatric multi-professional teams mainly from the Great North Children’s Hospital, but also colleagues’ working across the North East and it was a great success." - The Great North Children’s Hospital
"Ben was an amazing person, really friendly and really approachable. He talked to the delegates on numerous occasions as he walked around the hotel, at the airport etc. His presentation was so inspirational. Throughout his presentation you could have heard a pin drop. His delivery was so good and his story was just so interesting. We had delegates sobbing because they had family members who could relate to his story and many delegates admitted to a tear in their eye, including me! After his presentation people were certainly talking about it and I heard only excellent comments about how interesting his story was, how inspirational he was etc. I have to say it is one of the best I have seen and thank you for your help. It was so good. We wish him luck in America in 2021." - Elite Travel
- 2016 - Completed the 401 Challenge: 401 Marathons in 401 Days
- 2016 - Recipient of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award
- 2016 - Pride of Britain National & Regional Fundraiser of the Year
- 2016 - Awarded the Power of Light Award from the Cabinet Office and former Prime Minister Theresa May
- 2016 - Gave a TEDx Youth Talk
- Founder & CEO of The 401 Foundation
