Ben Fanelli & The Heroic Minds Story
2009
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2021
At 16 years old Ben Fanelli was chasing his dream of playing in the NHL when he woke up in the hospital to news that sports, school and life as he knew it would never return. On top of that he was told there were three bleeds in his brain.
Ben competed in triathlons and duathlons before sharing his story across schools, arenas, and businesses, while also raising funds for brain injury research. He held onto a 1% dream of playing hockey again while embracing a fulfilling life outside the game.
Against all odds, Ben returned to play for the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL, captain his team in his final season, won CHL’s humanitarian of the year and attended camp with the New York Rangers (NHL).
Ben began The Heroic Minds Podcast (over 100k listens) where he interviewed individuals with heroic life stories to uncover why the world is becoming increasingly vulnerable and what leads to resilience, courage and high-performance.
Ben was intrigued by the fact that we are spending more money each year on “mental health” while the problem continues to intensify, resources continue to go unused, and alternative, proactive approaches are not being provided.
Ben graduated with a Masters in Counselling & Psychotherapy and began building the Heroic Minds platform.
