One van. One father. One son. Thirty-one cities. 30,724 pounds lost among 1,516 participants. 1,255,740 views on YouTube. When Ben Davis makes a promise to his Meemaw, he means business. It was Christmas Eve of 2008 when Ben’s grandmother expressed her concern for him simply by asking whether he was happy. 

 

“I was 360 pounds,” Ben told me. “I was in a deep depression, I had lost a relationship as a direct result of the depression—I was, in no way, happy—and her inquisition that night … it pushed me to really examine my life and spurred me to get it together. To get a grip and get my life back on track.” Inspired, he went home that night and got his grandmother a last-minute gift: the URL of a Tumblr blog he had started to track his progress. He knew the implicit promise would be a tough one to keep. He called the blog Ben Does Life. “It wasn’t just the weight loss,” he explained. “I wanted to overhaul everything. I wanted to find that happiness Meemaw was asking about.” One of Meemaw’s gifts to Ben that Christmas Day was a button-down shirt, size XL. “If it’s too small, you can exchange it,” she said. “It’s about three sizes too small,” he replied. “But I’m going to keep it. I plan on fitting into it.” 

 

One Step At A Time

 

[Picture: Ben, pictured here with the infamous Meemaw, began his journey in 2008 at 358 pounds.] Ben rallied his family for support before taking the first steps of a journey that even the most optimistic of Meemaws couldn’t have imagined. On January 1, 2009, he weighed in at 358 pounds. A year later, he was more than a hundred pounds lighter. That’s unusual enough, but for Ben, it was just the beginning. “I realized, This isn’t about me,” he told me. “This is about life and finding health and happiness. This is for the greater good. This isn’t a six-months-and-quit thing. This is a life thing. I was very fortunate to have my dad and brother involved to keep me accountable. Doing this as a team—it’s made all the difference.” With the support of his father and brother, Ben ran a mile. A 5K. A 10K. A half marathon. A full marathon. Two more full marathons, for good measure. And then: an Ironman. That’s a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile marathon, in that order. The family trio—father and two sons—crossed the finish line together on my computer screen and then hugged one another while I, ever the journalistic professional, blubbered into my computer keyboard. Ben had just accomplished a personal best, and I had just broken a weeping record that had hadn't budged since that one BFF died in Beaches. It was a pretty special day for both of us, basically. Ben’s YouTube video of the entire experience, “My 120-Pound Journey,” has 1,255,740 views: In that video, Ben explains his success with compelling simplicity: “I kept going.” Is there a medal for understatements? Because Meemaw ain’t seen nothing yet. 

 

The Do Life Tour 

 

Ben’s latest effort, the 31-city Do Life tour, crossed the finish line in Seattle a little over a week ago. The tour was born when Ben got a call from his dad. “He said, ‘Hey … this summer, let’s travel the country and organize free 5Ks. Let’s hit as many cities as we can,’” Ben told me. “Two weeks later, we had it all mapped out.”  The 5Ks themselves were low-pressure, informal get-togethers where participants were encouraged to do life however they like: cycling, rollerblading, or walking. Everyone was welcome, and everyone was encouraged to enjoy his or her own unique experience. No one tackled the 5K on a unicycle or on horseback as far as I know, but I get the impression Ben would have asked for a spin on the unicycle or attempted to high-five both man and horse. “We operate under the idea that if people come, if people are inspired, if people can connect with other people who are going through the same thing they are going through, everything is going to work out. And so far, it has. And it’s been the coolest six weeks of our lives. […] On the road, my dad and I are having a great time. Not many days go by where we don’t find ourselves laughing until we cry. We’re definitely not ready to kill each other. I do think, however, that he’s hit his threshold of my Taylor Swift playlist.” 

 

Reaching Out 

 

When I showed up for the San Francisco stop on his tour, Ben called me out as a new person in the crowd and introduced himself. He did that with each and every person who walked into the little clearing in Golden Gate Park. And as he greeted them warmly, they told him what he had done for them, one by one. “Every time I feel fat, I watch your video,” one woman told him while thanking him for inspiration. Another man was just starting his weight-loss journey; Ben introduced him, and we all clapped for him in one of many strikingly sincere moments among strangers. “People are dealing with a huge variety of issues,” Ben told me later. “We came into this tour thinking we were a movement geared toward weight loss, and we certainly have heard some really great weight-loss stories, but we have been sincerely touched by how many people are applying the Do Life idea to everything: substance addiction, alcohol addiction, agoraphobia, eating disorders, everything. We’ve heard some really emotional stories and shared many tears across the country. It’s been a life-changing trek.”

 

[Picture: Ben meets a starstruck Billy the Dog, who helped the San Francisco 5K set a dog-attendance record with four dogs. Billy finished the 5K successfully and received many congratulatory bellyrubs for his efforts.] When race time came, men, women, children and dogs alike took off, with Ben jogging alongside everyone, looping back to make sure no one got too lonely. As someone covering the event, I hadn’t originally intended to participate in the race itself, but I couldn’t resist joining in, my backpack of equipment bouncing as I jogged with a big, clunky camera in my hand. Despite how ridiculous I looked, I even managed to strike up a few conversations along the way. While the miles rolled past us, we talked about our friends, our families, and what had led all of us to this. I finished last, along with a few new friends. Some would say we got lost, but I like to think that, thanks to Ben, I’m just becoming a woman who quite literally goes the extra mile. 

 

What's Next 

 

When Ben and I parted ways, he was getting ready for his second Ironman. A week ago, he crossed that finish line for the second time—two hours earlier.

 

[Picture: Step 1: Start somewhere. Step 2: Keep going.] “Two and a half years ago, I weighed 360 pounds,” he wrote on his blog. “I could barely walk, I was depressed and I was searching for something to live for. Two and a half years ago I began down a road that brought me here.” So … where will that road lead him now? “So many ideas. So many plans,” he answered. “For one, personally, I’ll be hunkering down for the next six months to write a book about this whole thing. [...] People can rest assured, though, that stuff like the tour will be happening consistently. Many more opportunities to hang out and meet people and share this journey together.” Again, he offered his strategy in a nutshell: “We just want to keep going.” I’m sensing a theme here.

 

Do Life With Ben

 

If you’re interested in joining the movement, Ben is waiting for you, and he believes in you already. “If you want to do something with your life, if you really want to do it, just do it,” he wrote. “I promise that you can. You just have to do it. And when you do, you’ll be happier for it.”

 

[Picture: Click - and Do Good!] Starting now, Tonic is committed to helping you do life with a series of three Ben-themed deeds. For today’s deed, pledge to do life this weekend with your own 5K—whether you’re walking with family, trotting along behind a dog or two, or standing up on the pedals of your bike. It's only three miles, but Ben has proven that those three miles can become the start of something great. No matter how you decide to get to that finish line this weekend, just keep going. A very reliable source once told me it can work wonders.