Gruen Von Behrens (May 14, 1977 – September 8, 2015)[1] was an American motivational speaker and victim of mouth cancer caused by smokeless tobacco.

He graduated from Stewardson-Strasburg High School in the class of 1995 and later attended Lake Land College in Mattoon.

[4] As a teenager, Von Behrens hit .400 for the Stewardson-Strasburg High School Comets and wanted to play for the Chicago Cubs.

[3] Von Behrens was a motivational speaker who devoted part of his life to raising awareness against the dangers of smokeless tobacco use.

[6] Von Behrens said the cancer began as a white spot, the size of a pinpoint, on the side of his tongue.

[4] He subsequently endured more than forty operations[9] on his face, neck, and mouth, radiation treatments and chemotherapy.

[6] After a long battle with mouth cancer, Von Behrens died in his home in Stewardson, Illinois, on September 8, 2015, at age 38.