Storyline
Benjamin Daniel Breedlove (August 8, 1993 – December 25, 2011) was an American Internet personality from Austin, Texas, known for his vlogs on YouTube. On the night of December 25, 2011, he died from complications of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at the age of 18
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 18 December 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 three near-death experiences.
"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."
Breedlove on the third time he "cheated death".
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 due to cardiac arrest on the evening of Christmas Day 2011.
News of his death received media attention from around the world, on 27 December, two days after his death, his story first appearing on Australia's Ninemsn before coverage spread out through the world on other major media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, ABC, CBS News, MSNBC, Fox News, MTV, The Independent, Herald Sun, The Washington Post, People Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal.
On December 29, Breedlove's funeral was held at the Gateway Church, in Austin, Texas. More than 1,400 people attended the service, and another 11,000 watched online. He was interred at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery in Austin, Travis County, Texas, USA. A day after Breedlove's death, Kid Cudi said in reaction, "This has really touched my heart in a way I can't describe, this is why I do what I do." Cudi later dedicated his third studio album Indicud (2013), to Breedlove and all his fans that have died; the dedication can be found in the album's liner notes.