Rising Stars: Meet Benny Glossop

I’d say my story begins at the age of 10 years old, on a summer night, in 1983. I was walking with two friends to the final evening of our town’s annual summer festival, the Virginia BBQ. On the way, at 8:43pm, I had decided to cross the street but there was a truck, a Ford half a ton pick up, driving towards us.

The truck did not have its lights on so I did not see it coming. As I was crossing the street the truck’s front bumper hit me in the middle of my back forcing me to the pavement. The front tires straddled me but as the driver adjusted, the back left tire ran directly over the center of my back. Not knowing he had hit me and thinking he had gone over a pothole in the road, he kept driving.

Shock set in immediately and I got up and started walking toward my friends. I made it about 20 yards before collapsing and passing out in the ditch on the side of the road. Due to the shock, I swallowed my tongue and I was suffocating.

Fortunately, an off-duty volunteer firefighter, who was also a family friend, witnessed the accident and came to my aid right away. My two friends went to get help and he was able to release my tongue and got me breathing again.

The ambulance arrived and the closest trauma center was over an hour away. Because of that distance and my overall bodily damage, it was a “load and go” situation. When I arrived at the hospital the trauma surgeon said that if I would have been 30 seconds later to the ER I would not have made it.

The total extent of my injuries were: every rib was broken, both lungs had multiple punctures and were collapsed, lacerations on both the liver and spleen, internal bleeding in my stomach, they found my appendix to be wrapped around my gallbladder and most of the skin on the left side of my face was torn off due to the force of hitting the pavement from the initial impact.

The extent of my injuries were so severe that once I was released from the hospital I was on bed rest for three months. To make things worse, the Doctors had told me that because of the overall damage my body had suffered, I would never grow up to do physical things. I would not be able to handle the stress of physical contact and, essentially, I would not lead the life of a normal, active 10-year-old boy and I would remain that way as I grew into adulthood. I was told I was going to be weak and fragile for the rest of my life. This was the beginning of where I am today.

I’d say one of the biggest challenges was that from the end of my fifth-grade year to the end of my freshman year of high school, I basically did not grow at all. Everyone around me was changing. They were all growing up so fast, normally. However, I was essentially staying the same.

Thankfully, though, I was able to swim. I swam in my first swim meet at the age of five years old and as a sport, it was my first love. Because swimming is low impact and an individual effort sport, I was able to continue doing that through these difficult years. Although I was small, I was actually quite good and I was able to swim very competitively throughout high school. I believe it was my one saving grace allowing me to be as normal as possible.

Finally, by my 10th-grade year my body had decided to ‘go to work’ and 5 years after the accident the doctors, contrary to their original diagnosis, had given me the green light to assume normal activities. I was still very small and had my struggles, though. In fact, when I got my driver’s license, I was just 5’3, 101lbs (the average size of a 12-year-old girl). But, I was finally getting stronger and doing normal things as best as I could.

Fast forward to 2003 and I opened my own gym in Tampa, FL – TAMPA COMBAT. I offered MMA, Wrestling, BJJ, and Muay Thai classes. I made my professional MMA debut in 2008. At TAMPA COMBAT is where I met Dave “Boon” Benton, subject of the book and movie 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. Meeting “Boon” is how my tactical training and career began.

As I said before, I’m involved in a lot of different works. Nearly 30 years of martial arts training and almost 20 years of tactical, weapons-based environment training has opened many doors and offered a lot of great experiences for me, including working as a television host in the combat sports, extreme sports, and collegiate sports arenas. I’ve had several acting roles in TV and film, and have also worked as a voiceover artist and co-host on the radio. I’m a motivational speaker as well, speaking to audiences that range from schools to corporate events.

I also work as a high threat – high net worth Close Protection Specialist (Executive Protection) and continue to work as a first responder. Also, I am heavily involved as an instructor in the tactical community traveling all over the country training Law Enforcement agencies, military units, and responsible citizens in multiple training facets that include active shooter response, vehicle defense, home defense, and corporate threat management, etc.

I’m a 2nd degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu affiliated with David Vieira and mentored by Christian Broker, a Master Instructor in Kickboxing, and a 3rd degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. I’m a personal trainer and strength coach, as well. I’m currently the Head Coach at the UFC GYM Clearwater location and most days I can be found there instructing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and MMA classes and serving as a Personal Trainer & UFC Fit Coach to many clients.

My best jobs, though, are as a Dad and Husband!

When asked what sets me apart from others: people often tell me they are inspired by my drive and mental toughness. Getting run over by the truck was one thing but on top of that my body has been through a tremendous amount of injuries over the years. I’m 50 years old now and to this point in my life I have had a total of 36 broken bones, 9 screws, 10 torn / sprained ligaments and tendons, Achilles tendon reconstruction, 2 inches of my heel bone removed and have had 5 major surgeries. Because of all of that, I’m full of arthritis and bursitis. My body hurts all the time but I rarely show it. I manage it with my obscenely active lifestyle doing my daily fight training, running every day, open water swimming 3 to 6 miles per week, and trying new things as they may come up. “Motion is lotion”, as they say, and it is really good for my body to stay active. I also eat strictly plant-based and have found that it has been a fantastic form of nutrition for my overall wellness and recovery from my daily activities. At the end of the day I simply choose effort over excuses. When my head hits the pillow at night I’m thankful for another day of choosing mental toughness over letting the pain win.