Ben James is a popular male plus size model and body positive activist from Yorkshire Ben became a model in 2018 and has quickly become one of Britain’s most recognized male plus size models within a huge growth category in the fashion industry, modelling for leading brands including Burton, Ted Baker and ASOS.

Ben played Rugby throughout his childhood and teens and suffered with the debilitating effects of celiac disease when he retired from the sport and subsequently gained 8 stone which resulted in Ben suffering with body confidence insecurities and adverse effects on his mental health.

Ben committed to a balanced diet and fitness routine and successfully got back down to a healthy body weight but his experience has spurred him on to advocate for male body positivity on social media, campaigning to boost other men’s body confidence and reject the unrealistic beauty norms and outdated definition of what success means for men. Ben’s uplifting content and real talk has attracted a following of over 200k across Instagram and Tik Tok and he regularly champions self-esteem, body positivity and mental wellness throughout his content.

In 2019 Ben was proud to take part in a Simply Be advert that was created in direct response to the criticism aimed at Love Island’s lack of body diversity. Using a line up for curve and disabled models, the brand recreated a classic Love Island image.

Ben is passionate about raising awareness for a need to normalise real men’s bodies in the media as he recognises the powerful effect a lack of representation can have on young people’s mental health and wellbeing.