A Friend Like Ben
by Emily Raij
Although Pride Month serves as a critical reminder that the fight for equality continues, the parades and celebrations this past June, after a year without, were a much-needed rainbow during a stormy pandemic. In honor of Pride Month, one Orlando-area father recently spread some sunshine by sharing an inspiring video on TikTok that eventually went viral. In it, the world got to see the heartfelt reaction of him and his husband when they met their daughter for the first time.
Ben Ptashinsky-Skinner, or Equity Ben as he’s known online, is an Actors’ Equity Association member, comedian, and singer. The video he posted to TikTok, titled Acceptance Through Visibility, showed Ben and his husband Aaron being introduced to their adopted baby girl, Charlotte, at the hospital four years ago right after she was born. Ben was visibly emotional, capturing his feelings on fatherhood by writing, “That moment I knew parenthood was thicker than blood.”
This dad has a way with words – and videos. Growing up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Ben considered becoming a rabbi because, “I thought that was the only way to make a living talking to people,” he says. Ben still celebrates the Jewish holidays with his family and is teaching Charlotte to say hamotzi, the Hanukkah blessings, and the Four Questions, but he pursued a very different professional path. Over the last 15 years, Ben has honed his craft creating and performing in Disney World shows from Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial at Magic Kingdom to an award-winning, Ringling-style production that earned him a spot in the International Clown Hall of Fame.
(Yes, Ben is aware his life resembles Cam’s on the hit sitcom Modern Family, and no, he didn’t write for the show.)
Most recently, Ben starred in For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, a fan favorite at Hollywood Studios. He also wrote and starred in a one-man comedy stand-up show called Where Ya Ben? in Windermere, where he lives.
When performances were put on hold during the pandemic, Ben, a two-time winner of Orlando Weekly’s Best Actor award (and he’s up for the award again this year), found other ways to entertain while also helping his community.
“Because I had so many families come to see me daily at Walt Disney World, especially children with special needs, it broke my heart that they couldn’t see me anymore,” he says. “So, I welcomed them into my routine while I read to my daughter every night for 365 nights.”
His Ben Time Stories series on Instagram ended after a full year with a variety show he wrote for the last night, when he also debuted his children’s book, GoodyBen Makes Lemonade. The book is about dealing with life’s disappointments, something Ben felt was missing from the many children’s books he read each night.
“It teaches children that there are going to be bad days, and that is OK,” says Ben. “I’m really proud of it.”
He is also proud of helping his fellow Disney cast members when they’ve needed it most. Ben and Aaron raised money for Castgiving, an organization that helped provide Disney cast members and their families in need with food baskets and donations during the pandemic. Additionally, Ben performed free stand-up shows for approximately 1,000 cast members over the last year. Ben says Aaron also gives back to their community through his job. He manages a Jeremiah’s Italian Ice location in Windermere and offers a cast member discount there. Customers can also enjoy an @EquityBen treat at the store, which is vanilla ice cream swirled with both cookie butter and Scoop Froggy Frog (mint chocolate chip) Italian ice.
“We have helped support cast members through all of COVID,” says Ben.
When pandemic restrictions lifted and Disney World reopened its doors, however, Ben realized he wanted to spend more time with his family and decided to retire as a cast member to become a stay-at-home dad.
“Being home has so many more benefits,” he says. “I’ll still gig, but the priority is Charlotte. Being a dad and being able to always be here for her without hesitation has been a dream.”
The hours Charlotte is at camp or school serve as Ben’s office hours, when he creates online content for his Instagram account. His popular cooking video series, Any Schmuck Can Cook, started after he simply asked viewers, “What do I do?” He had never cooked before and was suddenly in charge of feeding his family when Aaron returned to work after they brought baby Charlotte home. Ben now makes Insta-worthy yet family-friendly food.
“The other day, I made sashimi-style tuna poke stacks,” he says. “Basically, I’m teaching people that you can eat healthy, inexpensive meals and feed your family.”
Ben decided to focus on eating healthier and exercising after an upsetting new-dad moment with newborn Charlotte.
“She was crying in the middle of the night, so I got her back to bed, but I couldn’t make it back up the stairs,” Ben recalls. “I was almost 400 pounds.”
That was in December 2017, and Ben started losing weight by the next month. He’s since lost more than 100 pounds.
“I made smaller decisions, tiny changes here and there,” he explains.
Those tiny changes have led to a big improvement in Ben’s health. He can certainly keep up with Charlotte, who makes frequent, laugh-out-loud appearances in his videos.
“Everything I do is a little over-the-top,” says Ben.
For his fans and his family, that means lots of laughs and lots of love.