Ben Reiter (@benreitermma) is the best human I know. If you’ve read my book, you’re well aware of Ben. Ben was a wrestler in college, and after graduation he moved down to Peru to work at an educational charity teaching English in a village outside Arequipa. While there, he founded numerous charities and was driven by his true north of helping people.

Ben Reiter is the reason I initially visited Peru many years ago, and he helped me move down there and launch my MMA career. Ben and I both fought professional MMA in Peru under the tutelage of Ivan “The Pitbull” Iberico. Ben became a fairly famous MMA fighter in South America, and eventually got recruited to fight in Bellator, a large promotion based in the United States. But even though he’s from Long Island, he remains an adopted “Peruvian” to this day. He married his wife Fiorella and has two children.

Now Ben lives with his wife and kids in Philadelphia and works for the charity Beat the Streets Philly. He was able to combine his passion for combat sports with his love for helping people. Ben is an inspiration in the truest sense of the word. I couldn’t be more happy to call myself a friend!

For more of Ben’s story, check out my book: The Cage: Escaping the American Dream