Ben Davis was a normal healthy size as a child. But by the time he was 22, his weight had skyrocketed. He was 358 pounds and depressed, not really caring about much.

In 2008, Christmas Eve, his grandmother asked him if he was happy with his life. That one question changed everything. Realizing he wasn’t happy, he decided he’d had enough. He started running. Started with a jog at first, a bit at a time, one foot in front of the other – and he didn’t stop even when it got hard. Then he did a 5K! “I learnt about bloody nipples, but kept running”.

With his dogged persistence and commitment, the weight started melting away. “I ran 7 miles and 15 miles and 20 miles”.

And then he ran a marathon! With his dad and brother for company! The part shown where he completes the marathon at 4.45:57 with father and brother is so inspiring.

Ben lost 120 pounds.

He went on to complete two Ironmans and a handful of other marathons.

What a guy.

To see the changes he made is phenomenal. Notice how his smile makes an appearance and gets progressively wider and brighter at every stage of achievement.

He really does look happy. He took his life into his hands and found the bravery to change it for the better.

(Ben’s site: Ben Does Life)