Ben joined us in the winter of 2006 and became an instant favorite. For years he has been among Imagine's most popular instructors. A native of Palo Alto, California, Ben grew up surfing the cold, heavy waters of Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz. From the earliest age, he developed a lifelong devotion to the aquatic lifestyle. At the University of California, San Diego, Ben earned his degree in Economics and was also a shooting guard on the Tritons basketball team. After working for a local surfboard company and teaching surf lessons in Southern California, Ben moved to Lake Tahoe where he taught snowboard lessons for kids, before finding his way across the country to Imagine. From ocean waves to powdery snow to warm chlorinated pools, the element remains the same, as does Ben's talent for world-class teaching.