By the time Utah Valley University alumnus Ben Kjar was considering where to wrestle in college, he had already overcome and achieved more than most people do in a lifetime.
By the time Utah Valley University alumnus Ben Kjar was considering where to wrestle in college, he had already overcome and achieved more than most people do in a lifetime.
Because Kjar was born with Crouzon syndrome, a craniofacial disorder that led to childhood bullying and numerous surgeries, he was no stranger to overcoming obstacles. And as for achieving goals, he had already done that, too, as a three-time Utah state wrestling champion at Viewmont High School.
His next goal: an NCAA national championship. And he chose UVU to help him get there.
“I absolutely loved wrestling in front of my hometown crowd,” Kjar said. “I thought that was such a cheat code for me.”
Kjar tells his story in a new documentary movie called “STANDOUT: The Ben Kjar Story,” premiering in theaters this month. The film depicts the challenges Kjar faced to live an extraordinary life and achieve his dreams, including becoming UVU’s first-ever All-American wrestler.
Kjar said he had verbally committed to attend a different university, but the presence of then-UVU wrestling coach Greg Williams, who had coached Kjar at youth and club levels, swayed him — along with a healthy dose of divine intervention.
“I know it sounds weird, but God told me to go to Utah Valley,” Kjar said. “And then I found my wife here, and I live right here in Pleasant Grove. So, God’s just really good. It was a divine thing.”
Kjar never lost a home match in his entire UVU wrestling career, from 2006 to 2011. Wrestling with family and friends in the stands “gave me confidence, it gave me strength, it gave me passion,” he said. “I wasn't just fighting for myself. I was fighting for everybody.”
In his senior season, Kjar was unseeded entering the 2011 NCAA Championships. Still, he made it all the way to the national semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Anthony Robles from Arizona State. His fourth-place national finish earned him All-American status, a first for the UVU program.
"We're really excited for Ben and feel that it was appropriate for him to become our program's first All-American,” Williams said after the tournament. “All of his hard work has truly paid off."
Since his college wrestling days — he also placed fourth in the 2012 USA Freestyle Olympic Trials, and in 2023 he won gold at the Veterans World Championships in Loutraki, Greece — Kjar has become a sought-after inspirational speaker. But he hadn’t found the right fit to tell his story in movie form, despite multiple offers, until director Tanner Christensen approached him.
“Ben Kjar and I grew up in the same small town in Utah, and while his facial difference may have set him apart in our community, it was his personality and charisma that truly made him stand out,” Christensen said. “Over the past two years as we’ve worked on this documentary, I’ve come to realize that Ben’s story is even more remarkable than I could have ever imagined.”
“It was really important for me that it wasn't just about a film, but the purpose behind it,” Kjar said.
With Christensen as director, Christensen’s father, T.C., as director of photography, and “A Minecraft Movie” director Jared Hess as producer, Kjar’s story was ready for the big screen.
UVU film student Frasier Perez had worked with T.C. Christensen on a previous film, so when T.C. invited Perez to join the crew for “STANDOUT,” Perez was excited for the opportunity.
“It's super rewarding to see the finished product on the big screen,” Perez said. “And it's even more of a reward to hear people enjoy it, to hear the crowd applause, and to hear the media surrounding it after the release. It’s a real confidence booster for a creative.”
Perez’s credits on “STANDOUT” include sound recording and location scouting, but he says he “double dipped” in several other roles.
“It’s kind of the nature of documentary filmmaking; you only have three or four people on set,” he said. “I just helped out wherever I could.”
The experience applies directly to Perez’s UVU education — he’s a senior in the film program, with an emphasis on directing, and his capstone project is a documentary film, too. Having a director like Christensen on hand to ask questions and get advice from was “super helpful,” he said.
“There have been multiple times where we've come up with questions or problems that need resolving, and I would think back to my experience on this,” Perez said. “This was a great way to see how a professional documentary set is run and apply that to my capstone shoot.”
When Kjar was young, doctors told him he would never have an ordinary life because of his condition. “STANDOUT” tells the story of him choosing instead to make it extraordinary. And Kjar said UVU students have that same opportunity, because of the resources around them and the professional environment in Utah.
“What I would do if I could go back is, I would jump into as many mentorships as I could with people that were actually doing what I wanted to do,” Kjar said. “Because there's like a hall pass — there's a green light that people will give students who are curious. They will give you free mentorship because they want to support you in your learning stage. I would highly recommend anybody to put themselves out there like that and be able to really focus on just finding people that will have their back.”
“STANDOUT: The Ben Kjar Story” is now playing in movie theaters across Utah. For more information, visit the film’s website at standoutfilm.com.
