Amy Purdy has defied the odds throughout her life and overcome a near death-experience to accomplish some extraordinary things.
Amy grew up with a passion for snowboarding and dreamed of traveling the world, and despite obstacles that perhaps should have stopped her dead in her tracks, that passion carried her not only to the upper echelons of athletics, but onto the dance floor of Hollywood and well, well beyond.
Amy is a NY Times best-selling author who has been published in ten different languages around the world, she has toured with none other than Oprah Winfrey, she has been featured in a Superbowl commercial narrated by the legendary Muhammad Ali, and she is a 3-time Paralympic medalist, making her one of the most decorated adaptive snowboarders in the history of Team USA. She Co-Founded Adaptive Action Sports for athletes with disabilities and she is the host of the critically acclaimed podcast Bouncing Forward! Amy has partnered with both the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committee to promote health, diversity, equity and inclusion through sport.
Amy Purdy has truly inspired millions across the world!
AMY’S STORY
At 19, after experiencing progressively worsening flu-like symptoms after a long day at work, Amy was rushed to the hospital in a state of septic shock. En route, she experienced respiratory and multiple organ failure which caused her to lose circulation to her extremities.
Admitted to the hospital, she was given less than a 2% chance of survival, put on life support and placed into a medically induced coma. After multiple blood transfusions, and the removal of her ruptured spleen, doctors diagnosed Amy with Meningococcal Meningitis, a rare and often deadly bacterial blood infection.
Due to septic shock, doctors had to amputate her legs below the knee. Having lost kidney function, she later received a donated kidney, from her father, a week before her 21st birthday.After going through this life-altering experience, Amy challenged herself to move on with her life and attain goals that even those who have both legs would struggle to achieve.
Just three months after her kidney transplant, she entered the USASA National Snowboarding Championship where she won medals in three different events. Today, she is one of the pioneers of the U.S. Paralympic Snowboarding Team and a three-time Paralympic Medalist.
Amy’s creativity, positive outlook and her never give up attitude have opened doors to countless other opportunities including being featured in a Madonna music video, being the lead actress in an award-winning independent film, competing with her husband on the iconic TV show The Amazing Race, and very nearly winning season 18 of Dancing with the Stars with her partner Derek Hough.
Over the years, Amy has evolved into a powerful, motivational keynote speaker who has literally been seen by millions of people and invited to speak to audiences around the world. A master story-teller, when it comes to inspiration, Amy is among the very best.
She has toured the country sharing her remarkable story alongside Oprah Winfrey, as part of Oprah’s The Life You Want Tour. She was featured in a Toyota SuperBowl commercial which has since been named one of the Top 20 Super Bowl Commercials Of All Time.
Her autobiography, On My Own Two Feet, quickly became a New York Times Best Seller, is now published around the world in ten different languages.
Amy is also a Founder of Adaptive Action Sports with her husband that trains athletes with disabilities in action sports. Their organization is top in the US for developing Paralympic Snowboarders.
