Skydive To The Nordics: Ben Bradley’s £50,000 Challenge
Four countries, Four skydives & a £50,000 Fundraising target for Mental Health and military support.
COBWOB CIC director Ben Bradley is preparing for Skydive To: The Nordics (Challenge Series), an endurance fundraising challenge planned for late May or June 2027.
Based in Manchester, Ben also leads The Council of Bens. His Nordic challenge will combine a skydive in each country with an Arctic crossing, the worlds first "Skyathlon"™ (Skydive, Swim, Bike, Run), a 315-kilometre cycle and a coast-to-coast run.
At its heart and the very start, is a return to Norway, where Ben suffered a serious knee injury during his Royal Marines service. This will be his first visit back since that injury.
Skydive To The Nordics: the four-country challenge
The planned series brings together four different tests of endurance, each beginning with a skydive:
Norway: an Arctic crossing.
Finland: a Skyathlon™ combining swimming, cycling and running.
Sweden: a 315-kilometre cycle.
Denmark: a coast-to-coast run.
Ben is aiming to begin in late May or June 2027. Exact dates, routes and operational details are still being developed and will be shared as planning progresses.
Returning to Norway after a life-changing injury
Ben served in the Royal Marines for nearly eight years. While deployed in Norway and teaching military skills in the Arctic environment, he suffered the knee injury that led to ACL and MCL reconstruction.
The impact extended far beyond his physical recovery. He went from being fit, active and looking ahead to the next stage of his military career to being unable to walk. That sudden change contributed to a major depressive episode and gave him a deeply personal understanding of why support through injury and crisis matters.
For Ben, returning to Norway is a chance to create a new association with a place that has carried difficult memories. He wants the experience to help raise money for organisations supporting mental health, military personnel and people in crisis.
His motivation is, in his own words, “to prove to myself that I walk the walk, as well as talk the talk.”
Supporting CALM, Combat Stress and Rock2Recovery
The campaign is fundraising for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), Combat Stress and Rock2Recovery.
These causes connect directly with Ben's experience of military life, injury, recovery and mental health. The challenge gives supporters a practical way to back that purpose through the official GiveStar fundraising page.
Building on community fundraising
Ben says that people attending his events and fundraising independently through them have raised nearly £50,000 so far in 2026. Skydive events have been a significant part of that work and helped inspire the Nordic series.
That earlier fundraising is separate from the new £50,000 target for Skydive To: The Nordics. This campaign starts a new fundraising effort, with its progress shown on GiveStar.
COBWOB's role in sharing the challenge reflects a straightforward belief: an ambitious event can give people a reason to come together and support causes that matter.
Ben's longer-term ambition is to use what he learns from this first expedition to develop challenge events others can take part in.
For the Benpire's take on the launch, read The Council of Bens' Skydive To: The Nordics story.
Donate, share or help the challenge reach more people
Donate: contribute through Ben Bradley's GiveStar Nordic challenge appeal.
Share: pass the campaign to your workplace, community group or someone who would connect with the story.
Get involved: contact Ben about media coverage, community support or potential partnerships.
For interviews and enquiries, email Ben@COBWOB.com.
Ben is available for press opportunities across the UK.
Follow the preparation on Instagram at @benbra.cob and @Cobwob.CIC.
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