Ben Breedlove

Benjamin Daniel Breedlove (August 8, 1993 – December 25, 2011) was an American Internet personality from Austin, Texas, known for his vlogs on YouTube. On Christmas Day 2011, he died from complications of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Ben Breedlove grew up in Austin, Texas, where he was a senior at Westlake High School. Ben lived with his parents along with his older sister Ally and younger brother Jake. In 2010, he began making video blogs on YouTube, in which he dealt out relationship advice to his peers.

Breedlove created the OurAdvice4You channel on YouTube in November 2010 with friends, Justin Miller and Megan Parken. On May 23, 2011, he launched his second channel, BreedloveTV, where he would answer questions about dating, relationships, and advice.

At an early age, Breedlove had been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

On December 18, 2011, Breedlove released a two-part video on YouTube, titled "This is my story", in which Breedlove revealed his heart condition as well as the impact it had on his life, using note cards. He also mentioned his near-death experience.

"I was at school, walking in the hall. I could tell I was going to faint, so I sat on a bench. I passed out. The next thing I know, I woke up with EMS around me. I couldn't talk or move, I could only watch what they were doing. They put the shock pads on my chest. I heard one of them say 'They are ready'. And the other guy said 'Go!'. I passed out again. My heart stopped and I wasn't breathing for 3 minutes."

On May 5, 2009, Breedlove underwent surgery to insert a pacemaker. The pacemaker helped regulate his heart rhythm. In the video he shows a red scar on his chest, where the pacemaker had been inserted.

Breedlove died at the age of 18 due to cardiac arrest on the evening of December 25, 2011.