Entrepreneur, World Record holder, calculated risk-taker, fun person to be around.
When I’m on stilts, I can’t stand still.
I have to be in constant motion to maintain balance. My mind must be in focus.
Running is almost easier. There is inertia. I find a rhythm.
I get the same surge of endorphins as runners do in shoes, but when I'm towering above the ground, it’s not the solo sport that running is. Everywhere I run on stilts, people stop and gather around in disbelief. They take pictures and ask questions. I like that - how being farther away from people it brings me closer to them.
Stilts are just one way I have found to experience life in extraordinary ways. I have traveled to dozens of countries to try to see the world through a kaleidoscope of cultures. I have built two businesses - not as an executive in a suit coat, but an entrepreneur testing new ideas. I quench my adrenaline addiction with a variety of extreme sports, some of which have given me a few brushes with death. And I’m constantly surrounding myself with new and exciting people who inspire me to be a better person.
Maybe my life is a little like being on stilts.
With my drive to be productive and use my energy to test limits, I can’t stand still.
I’m looking to push boundaries, explore, solve problems, and connect with others who want to do the same.
My Story
I was born in Chicago, but my parents, who are Jewish, moved our family to Israel when I was three. An American citizen, I grew up as an Israeli and consider Hebrew my native language.
Maybe it was the cultural divide between my family and my country, with me caught in between, or maybe it was just youth, but by the time I was a teenager, I gravitated toward mischief. I was like many teenagers who find themselves at odds with the traditional educational system, so I rebelled against it.
Adults always told me if and when I could just channel my energy into something good, I could be something.
It was the Israeli military that made that shift for me. All young people in Israel are required to serve. So at 18, I enlisted. I was part of the entire population of young people in the country funneled into this new, structured life. Through it, I figured out how to make my life productive.
Since then, I’ve traveled around the world, started two businesses, created a camp at Burning Man for Israeli expats called the Flying Falafels and broke a Guinness Book World Record.
A few years ago, I got serious about my training for the 100-meter sprint on stilts. I first set the record in August 2018 at Burning Man, but to seal the deal, I attempted it again in Boulder, CO two months later. This time, I set a new record of 13.45 seconds. Soon after, I was at a bar talking to a guy and I mentioned I was the fastest man on stilts. “You’re not the fastest man. You’re the fastest sprinter,” he told me.
Challenge accepted.
So now, I am training to run the 2021 London Marathon on stilts for charity. No one has attempted a half marathon on stilts, let alone a full one, which would make it another record if I can pull it off. It’s an ambitious goal, absurd maybe. But every record broken at one point seemed crazy.
Curious about the stories behind some of these adventures? Check out my blog.
BEN IN BUSINESS
CREDENTIALS
Entrepreneur, business owner, producer, world-record-holding athlete, Google Local Guide Level 9, Burning Man theme camp leader, X-IDF military combat veteran, certified hypnotist, world-traveler, radical adventurist, Experienced skydiver, snowboarder, scuba diver