Ryan Benz

Hi, I'm Ryan. Mindfulness educator, life coach, yoga teacher, inspirational speaker, and Appalachian Trail Thru-hiker. I’m super stoked to meet you!

Please allow me to introduce myself.

When I reached my early 30’s I had everything I was told I was supposed to want in life; a wife, a home, a college degree, and what many would consider to be a “successful” career. I was chasing the quintessential American Dream, the conventional definition of “success,” and as a result, lost sight of everything that was really important.

I became disillusioned, wondering how I could have accomplished so much yet feel so empty inside. Rather than feeling the happiness and fulfillment that I thought I would gain from it all, I felt overwhelmingly stressed, anxious, depressed, and suffered from frequent panic attacks. On the surface I had achieved so much, but deep down my life lacked meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. I felt completely stuck.

A divorce left me alone for the first time in my life, so I turned to meditation and mindfulness to try to cope with the change, and it totally changed my world.

I was finally ready to start living the life I wanted, rather than the life others expected of me.

I let go of everything I knew, including my career of 10 years and the “success” I spent so much time building, and hiked the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, all 2,189.8 miles of it.

I often refer to the day when I completed the hike as the first day of the rest of my life. The moment when I was screaming from the top of that mountain, I had never felt more alive.

Trail angels made that journey possible for me—complete strangers who go out of their way to perform random acts of kindness to help hikers along their path. Often times these acts of kindness are what it takes for a hiker to pull through and continue on their journey when they feel like they have reached their breaking point.

Those moments proved to me how powerful kindness can be, and it brought me here, committing myself to being a trail angel for others wherever they are in their journey of life.

My story is one about going against social norms, letting go, and taking risks in authentic ways. A story about discovering my truth and pursuing it relentlessly, creating a unique path to ultimate freedom and happiness.

Now, my life’s work is to help you find your path, too. Because I truly believe that you have to become the hero of your own journey before becoming the mentor in someone else’s.