Born in Reno, Nevada and grew up in San Francisco. Received a football/baseball scholarship at University of the Pacific and majored in Sports Management. The last two years of his life has been dedicated to the cancer community.

Ben moved to Boulder, Colorado in 2002 to take a job as the Sales and Marketing Director of RallySport Health and Fitness. Two years into the job he met two-time terminal cancer survivor Sean Swarner. At the time Sean was attempting to climb the highest mountain on every continent to raise awareness for his charity, The CancerClimber Association, and to give hope to those fighting cancer. He still had Kosciusko, Denali, and Mt. Vinson left to climb.

Sean hounded Ben for 6 months for a free membership. Ben wouldn’t budge. Until one day at a BBQ the famous beer pong match happened. Sean and Ben battled at beer pong for hours and learned much about each other. Sean was a survivor, a mountain climber, and a hero. Not really a specialist in fundraising, PR, and Marketing. Ben saw and opportunity to help Sean raise awareness and scream from the highest mountains in the world the message of hope and inspiration.

A month later Ben cashed in his 401k to support him and Sean and help make this dream a reality. With Ben’s background and Sean’s desire to Keep Climbing they were off to change the world. With a few thousand dollars and a lot of hard work the seven summits have been completed and hundreds and thousands of cancer patients across the world have drawn hope from the CancerClimber Association.

“ I live life by the 4 L’s… Live, Love, Laugh, and Learn. Everyday is a new experience. Live it, love it, laugh at it and learn from it. Focus on the good and discard the bad. It is easier to be mad and mean then to forgive and smile. Practice random acts of kindness. Hug those close to you and tell them how wonderful they are. Help a stranger, open a door for someone, carry your neighbor’s groceries, or just look at someone and give them a compliment. You will make their day, change their life, or just make them smile. I love life, I see the good, and hope for the best. You can’t fail if you don’t give up…Keep Climbing!”

Thank you Love Hope Strength!!!! I am so honored to be a part of this event! Shannon, you’re the bomb, thank you for putting this together.