The former Marine who Prince Harry dubbed a “real hero” after flying home
with the horrifically injured trooper, has come a long way since he was
blown up in Afghanistan. “Everyone thinks I’m a footballer, or a drug dealer,” jokes Ben, 25, flashing
one of his 150-watt smiles.
“In all fairness, I’d probably think I was a footballer if I saw me, but it’s
good because if they think that, then they are not seeing my injuries, which
means I must be doing all right.
“People say, ‘That’s a nice car, mate. Must have cost a fair bit,’ and I
tell them, ‘Yeah, it cost me an arm and a leg!’”
It is five years since Ben stood on a Taliban landmine which blew off his
right leg and left arm
It would have been easy to settle for life in a wheelchair and try to eke out
his compensation to support himself for the rest of his life.
But Ben McBean is made of sterner stuff. The anniversary of the day he nearly
died means more to his family than it does to him, he admits, adding:
“Normally, for me, it’s kind of just another day."
He says: “I was lying there and the London Marathon was on TV. I knew I wanted
to do something and that could be it, but I also knew I would have to get
off my ar*e to achieve it.”
But first he had to get used to using a prosthetic leg, and he recalls falling
over a few times.
He continues: “When they gave me my running leg I ran down a hill, fell over
at the bottom, and the physio said, ‘Great. You’re ready’.”
Despite his life-changing injuries, Ben was awarded less than £300,000 in
compensation, an amount that would have to cover his care needs for life.
With guidance from parents Joyce and Jamie he invested the money, buying a
derelict 25-bedroom house in his home town of Plymouth.
He says: “It was proper horrible, all the tramps used to live in there.
“Even when I bought it and we were getting the builders to do it up, they
still treated it like it was their home, trying to just walk in like they
had squatters’ rights.” It took a year of legal battles for Ben to secure the property, and he
insisted on finding the tramps somewhere else to live.
He says: “I couldn’t just turf them on to the streets. I finally got it all
sorted out and got some students in there, renting, but I had a few dramas
with them getting drunk, punching the windows through and kicking the walls
in.”
The property also had a bungalow in the grounds and a plot of land, and Ben’s
investment paid off when developers bought them off him at a big profit. He reinvested the money in three apartments on a redeveloped site which
promises to be one of the smartest addresses in the South West.
It means Ben is now conservatively worth more than £2million and he says: “It
is just something to fall back on in the future. “I wasn’t convinced at first about buying property but it has paid off. I am
not a property developer or anything, but I have got a few properties under
my belt.
“Hopefully one day I will sell up. I really wouldn’t mind owning a hotel. I am
learning as I go.”
Ben is also making a career of motivational speaking and is in demand, having
already given talks to big business, banks and football clubs, including
Chelsea.
He says: “I wouldn’t say I am inspiring people — that would be big-headed —
but I am just sharing my experiences, having a laugh and enjoying meeting
people.
“People ask me what Afghanistan was like and I tell them, ‘Actually, I had
a really good time — until I got blown up!’
“I grew up a bit, saw a lot of things, did a load of things, got close to my
mates. We were just doing our jobs. “People forget that everyone wants to be there, otherwise they wouldn’t have
joined. “I wanted to be there and I don’t put people off joining the Forces now.”
With his hard work and success so far, Ben can afford to start looking to the
future.
He says: “At some point I will hopefully meet a girl, settle down and have a
family. That’s what I always wanted. I have just been set back three or four
years.
“I was engaged but it didn’t work out, so we are not together at the moment. I
was really shocked when it ended because I was not good with girls anyway so
when it happened I was like, ‘That’s it, I’m never going to meet anyone’,
but I have met more girls than ever since then.
“It’s frustrating because I look kind of normal so they don’t know I’m
injured. If I go on a date I have to explain why I can only carry one drink
back from the bar each time, or why I have to get the chef to cut up my
steak.
“I find that difficult, but it’s OK. I’m not out to try to meet a girl at the
moment, so maybe I will seem more normal.”
For the future, Ben will carry on with his property portfolio, motivational
speaking and his charity fund-raising.
He says: “When I came back, my mum and dad were really scared that they
couldn’t afford to get any older or get sick because I was almost like a
new-born baby again, unable to feed or dress myself.
“Now, if I say I am going out or going to drive to London, they don’t need to
worry. All I have wanted to do since my injury is to get back to normal —
and I’m almost there.”
BORN: March 1987
SCHOOL: Lipson Community College, Plymouth
2005: Joined 40 Commando, Royal Marines
OCT ’07: Sent to Afghanistan
MAR ’08: Blown up
JUN ’08: Awarded £161,500 compensation, later raised to £281,150
on review
APR ’09: Ran London Marathon, raised £13,000 for Help for Heroes
OCT ’09: Trekked to Everest base camp
DEC ’09: Won Overcoming Adversity Award at The Sun’s Millies
APR ’10: Left Marines. Ran London Marathon again, with stress
fracture
SEPT ’12: Completed Three Peaks Challenge for the Child
Bereavement Charity
NOV ’12: Joined Millies judging panel
Source: The Sun Uk
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