Ben Swanson

I lost 100 days of my life in the hospital, and I find Discovery in a derelict state shortly out of the hospital.

It's kind of interesting of who rebuilt who, because Discovery was kind of some of my reborn identity coming out of

burn accident and raising a family that was just thousands and thousands of hours of blood sweat and literal tears transforming it from basically a derelict captain ben swanson is a seasoned mariner entrepreneur and the founder of discovery journeys drawing from a lifelong dream and a decades-long journey of perseverance he creates unforgettable experiences on the waters of alaska while inspiring others to pursue their passions overcome adversity and define success beyond financial achievement

You almost live in a Discovery Channel or National Geographic.

Wildlife around every corner, fresh food for dinner.

Every now and then you've got to pinch yourself and just say, you're living somebody's dream.

Well, fortunately for me, my dad was my or my folks were pretty adventurous.

Right on.

So my dad was a commercial fisherman in the 70s in southeast Alaska and fell in love with southeast Alaska.

But the reality of having a wife and young son at home was they were apart a lot.

Trying to combine both worlds, he ended up selling the fishing boat and buying a sailboat, which originally we were going to sail around the world.

Right on.

And just as life happens, things change, circumstances change.

And we ended up exploring Alaska with that boat.

And that was in 1980.

And so I grew up doing it.

I grew up on boats.

Some very early memories are on and around the water, living on a boat.

We moved on board when I was eight years old.

And until I left home at 17, we lived on a boat.