The Ben Hooper
Extreme Marathon Swimmer, Adventurer, Author, Speaker and Mental Health Advocate
Ben holds the only WOWSA verified attempt to swim the full extent of the Atlantic Ocean.
In 2016, Ben set out to conquer the last great bastion, according to Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE, to swim every single mile of the Atlantic Ocean - 3,000km - Africa to Brazil.
Swim the Big Blue Expedition - The official story - Due out 2026!
About
My name is Ben Hooper
Ben is a newly qualified Mental Health nurse, Extreme Marathon Swimmer, author and inspirational speaker, and a former police officer from the UK who has overcome dying, five times, to be here to tell the tale.
Bio
Ben Hooper, 47, lives in the lush rolling hills of Britain's west country.
With a background of police, mental health and pushing the limits, Ben embodies the British spirit of adventure.
He is an inspirational ocean marathon swimmer who holds the only verified attempt to swim every mile of the Atlantic Ocean, and the founder of ‘Swim the Big Blue’ expedition. Ben is considered by many to be one of the most ambitious adventurers in British history.​
When not swimming, finding new wild swim spots and places to explore, he practices as an NHS, newly qualified mental health nurse who champions his patients and contributes to the RCN and NHS.
Ben also writes for his regular column in The European Magazine, for Feral Productions (Hereford) on stage and is currently working with a publisher on his expedition memoir: Swim the Big Blue Expedition - The Official Story. This is in addition to other fictional pieces.
Between swimming, distance and gym training, writing and working, Ben is a family man who enjoys travel, food and learning new languages.
Sir Ranulph Fiennes, quoted in
The Guardian
“The expedition has the potential of becoming the modern-day equivalent of Sir Edmund Hillary’s conquest of Everest.”
The Washington Post
(video brief)
“After years of preparation, 38-year-old Ben Hooper is hoping to become the first person to swim across the Atlantic Ocean.”