Speakers SANDBOX | Changemaker Talent

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Sony Artisan Ben Moon is a visual storyteller whose captivating stills and video have been featured in ads for top adventure and music companies, including Patagonia, Brooks, Yeti, and Epic Records; and publications, including GQ, The New York Times, and National Geographic. Early in his career, he focused on climbing and surfing, capturing the spirit and joy of the wilderness spots where he chose to play himself. Recently, he’s shifted the balance over to film to share the nuanced human stories that have the power to touch us and connect us to each other.

Ben’s breakout short film Denali is a love letter to the dog that roamed rocky cliffs alongside him, waited at the bottom of countless walls while Ben climbed with his buddies, lived with him in his car for a time, and laid by his side in the hospital bed, through his years-long battle with colorectal cancer. The 8-minute film chronicles one perfect afternoon as the film’s namesake neared the end of his life. Denali swept the festival circuit, then went viral, receiving more than 17 million views and countless shares, catapulting Ben into the film world and leaving viewers hungry for more.

Ben recently expanded this story into a personal memoir called Denali: A Man, a Dog, and the Friendship of a Lifetime (Penguin Books, 2020). The book dives deeper into Ben’s navigation of adolescence and early adulthood as an empath, his coming of age as a visual artist, his fierce battle with cancer and the even more difficult journey he took after surgery and chemo, learning how to manage his new reality and work his way back to climbing, surfing, and living life on his own terms as an athlete and an artist. The memoir shot to number one in its category in the first week.

Invisible Wonders

In photographer Anand Varma’s hands, a camera is not just a tool to capture what he sees—it’s a way to illuminate the layers of beauty and complexity that are otherwise hidden from the naked eye. He has devoted years of his life to developing innovative techniques—even building some of his own equipment—to create intimate, dramatic and surprising images of nature. His ultimate goal: to spark a sense of wonder about our world.

In this rare and fascinating glimpse into nature, audiences witness a wide range of natural phenomena, including the secret life cycle of the honeybee, the lightning-fast behaviors of hummingbirds, and the terrifying capabilities of parasites. His images and video slow down the fast, speed up the slow and magnify the miniature to reveal worlds just beyond our perception.

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Featured Presentation

Featured Presentation

Blue Mind

J knows that inspiration can come through adventure. It can come simply by walking and talking, through writing, images, and art. Science and knowledge can also stoke our fires. But J also knows that what really moves people is feeling part of and touching something bigger than ourselves. At every turn, he encourages people to disconnect from the grid and reconnect with themselves, those they love, and the special places they care about.

J’s research, expeditions, and work as a guide have taken him to coasts and waterways across North, Central and South America, to Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe, where he continually finds that the emotional connection to waters of all kinds—rather than force or financial gain—is what keeps his colleagues and collaborators working hard to understand and restore our blue planet.

His current focus is on what he refers to as Blue Mind, a powerful new universal story of water. In this narrative, society embraces all of the physical, ecological, economic, cognitive, emotional, psychological, physical, and social benefits of healthy oceans and waterways. By connecting neuroscientists and psychologists with aquatic experts and artists to ask and answer exciting new questions, J shows how blue mind positively impacts all facets of life, including health and wellness, education, parenting, the arts, architecture and design, urban planning, sports, recreation, and travel.

Request Availability

Featured Presentation

Blue Mind

J knows that inspiration can come through adventure. It can come simply by walking and talking, through writing, images, and art. Science and knowledge can also stoke our fires. But J also knows that what really moves people is feeling part of and touching something bigger than ourselves. At every turn, he encourages people to disconnect from the grid and reconnect with themselves, those they love, and the special places they care about.

J’s research, expeditions, and work as a guide have taken him to coasts and waterways across North, Central and South America, to Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe, where he continually finds that the emotional connection to waters of all kinds—rather than force or financial gain—is what keeps his colleagues and collaborators working hard to understand and restore our blue planet.

His current focus is on what he refers to as Blue Mind, a powerful new universal story of water. In this narrative, society embraces all of the physical, ecological, economic, cognitive, emotional, psychological, physical, and social benefits of healthy oceans and waterways. By connecting neuroscientists and psychologists with aquatic experts and artists to ask and answer exciting new questions, J shows how blue mind positively impacts all facets of life, including health and wellness, education, parenting, the arts, architecture and design, urban planning, sports, recreation, and travel.

Request Availability

Featured Presentation

Blue Mind

J knows that inspiration can come through adventure. It can come simply by walking and talking, through writing, images, and art. Science and knowledge can also stoke our fires. But J also knows that what really moves people is feeling part of and touching something bigger than ourselves. At every turn, he encourages people to disconnect from the grid and reconnect with themselves, those they love, and the special places they care about.

J’s research, expeditions, and work as a guide have taken him to coasts and waterways across North, Central and South America, to Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe, where he continually finds that the emotional connection to waters of all kinds—rather than force or financial gain—is what keeps his colleagues and collaborators working hard to understand and restore our blue planet.

His current focus is on what he refers to as Blue Mind, a powerful new universal story of water. In this narrative, society embraces all of the physical, ecological, economic, cognitive, emotional, psychological, physical, and social benefits of healthy oceans and waterways. By connecting neuroscientists and psychologists with aquatic experts and artists to ask and answer exciting new questions, J shows how blue mind positively impacts all facets of life, including health and wellness, education, parenting, the arts, architecture and design, urban planning, sports, recreation, and travel.

Request Availability

Featured Presentation

Invisible Wonders

In photographer Anand Varma’s hands, a camera is not just a tool to capture what he sees—it’s a way to illuminate the layers of beauty and complexity that are otherwise hidden from the naked eye. He has devoted years of his life to developing innovative techniques—even building some of his own equipment—to create intimate, dramatic and surprising images of nature. His ultimate goal: to spark a sense of wonder about our world.

In this rare and fascinating glimpse into nature, audiences witness a wide range of natural phenomena, including the secret life cycle of the honeybee, the lightning-fast behaviors of hummingbirds, and the terrifying capabilities of parasites. His images and video slow down the fast, speed up the slow and magnify the miniature to reveal worlds just beyond our perception.

Request Availability

Featured Presentation

Invisible Wonders

In photographer Anand Varma’s hands, a camera is not just a tool to capture what he sees—it’s a way to illuminate the layers of beauty and complexity that are otherwise hidden from the naked eye. He has devoted years of his life to developing innovative techniques—even building some of his own equipment—to create intimate, dramatic and surprising images of nature. His ultimate goal: to spark a sense of wonder about our world.

In this rare and fascinating glimpse into nature, audiences witness a wide range of natural phenomena, including the secret life cycle of the honeybee, the lightning-fast behaviors of hummingbirds, and the terrifying capabilities of parasites. His images and video slow down the fast, speed up the slow and magnify the miniature to reveal worlds just beyond our perception.

Request Availability

Featured Presentation

On stage, Ben shares his journey as an artist and a man, along with how he finds solace in the gift that a non-human companion gives us; the daily practice of unconditional love.

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