How a former engineering student turned viral investigative journalism into a high-stakes career

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Benjamin Paul Schneider, known online as Reckless Ben, evolved from a competitive slackliner into a controversial documentary filmmaker. By infiltrating organizations and staging elaborate stunts, he has built a career on exposing alleged scams and institutional misconduct, often blurring the lines between activism, performance art, and investigative reporting.

Born in 1995, Schneider grew up in Fairfield, Ohio, where he developed an early interest in slacklining. After graduating from high school in 2014, he enrolled in engineering studies at the University of Cincinnati but eventually dropped out three years later. His transition into the public eye began in 2018 when he founded Ascending Slacklines. By 2021, his physical prowess earned him international recognition on television programs like the Go-Big Show, where he set a world record by performing 27 flips on a slackline in 60 seconds, effectively doubling the previous record.

Schneider’s pivot toward investigative documentary work has been marked by increasingly bold and often legally precarious tactics. In 2019, he gained notoriety for claiming a painting from the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, using a fabricated eBay receipt to retrieve an artwork that had been illicitly hung by a local artist. His methods often involve deep-cover infiltration, such as his 2026 investigation into the Provo Canyon School in Utah. By posing as a prospective student, he alleged systemic issues including physical mistreatment, isolation, and inadequate educational standards within the residential treatment facility.

His projects frequently target controversial entities, ranging from the Church of Scientology to extreme haunted house attractions like McKamey Manor. In 2024, he faced police scrutiny after filming a tightrope walk between unfinished towers at Los Angeles' Oceanwide Plaza. By 2026, his confrontational style led to significant legal challenges, including charges of stalking and residential picketing following a dispute involving a Bricks & Minifigs franchise. While Schneider maintains that his work exposes corruption, these allegations remain unadjudicated in court. His career remains a polarizing example of how independent creators utilize digital platforms to challenge established institutions, often at the risk of personal legal consequences and intense public debate regarding the ethics of his investigative techniques.

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