Oprah Winfrey calls Amy Purdy her inspiration. As a young girl, Purdy dreamed of sailing through fresh powder restrained only by a snowboard attached to two feet. Above all, she dreamed of freedom, of the chance to craft a personal narrative of her own choosing. However, at the age of 19, a sudden and debilitating disease robbed her of those two feet when doctors were left no choice but to amputate. “Pieced back together like a patchwork doll,” as Purdy puts it, she fashioned her own pair of prosthetic feet made out of rusted bolts, rubber, wood, and pink duct tape. 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 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 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 storyteller, when it comes to inspiration, Amy is among the very best. Amy challenges audiences to reimagine life’s challenges not in terms of limitations, but as opportunities to be unique and creative. 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 Super Bowl commercial which has since been named one of the Top 20 Super Bowl Commercials Of All Time. A powerful storyteller, Purdy brings her messages of Living Beyond Limits and Pushing Off Of Obstacles to life, as she takes audiences through her journey from near death to living a life full of adventure and purpose.
Her autobiography, On My Own Two Feet, quickly became a New York Times Best Seller and is now published around the world in different languages. Amy is also a Founder of Adaptive Action Sports with her husband who trains athletes with disabilities in action sports. Their organization is top in the US for developing Paralympic Snowboarders. Adaptive Action Sports gives young people with disabilities the resources and hope to compete and accomplish their own sports dreams. It was because of Purdy’s advocacy that adaptive snowboarding was added to the 2014 Paralympic Games, giving others like her the chance to compete and win.
