Amy Purdy

Biography

At 19, after experiencing flu-like symptoms, Amy, a massage therapist, 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.

When she entered into the hospital she was given less than a 2% chance of survival, put on life support and placed into a coma. After multiple blood transfusions, and the removal of her ruptured spleen, doctors diagnosed Amy with Meningococcal Meningitis, a highly deadly bacterial blood infection.

Due to septic shock, doctors had to amputate her legs below the knee. 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 struggle to achieve. Just three months after her kidney transplant, Amy entered the USASA National Snowboarding Championship where she won medals in three events. Today, she is the most decorated Paralympic snowboarder in U.S. history and a three-time Paralympic Medalist.

Amy’s creativity, positive outlook, and her never-give-up attitude have opened doors to many other opportunities including being featured in a Madonna music video and a lead actress role in an award-winning film. She and her husband were featured on the TV show The Amazing Race and most recently Amy came in 2nd Place on the hit ABC show Dancing with the Stars with her partner Derek Hough.

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 from small groups to the largest corporations in the world.

She’s 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 SuperBowl commercial which has since been named one of the Top 20 SuperBowl Commercials Of All Time.

Her autobiography, On My Own Two Feet, quickly became a New York Times bestseller and 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.

Videos

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On My Own Two Feet: From Losing My Legs to Learning the Dance of Life

Amy Purdy encourages us to take control of our lives, and our limits. The world fell in love with Amy as the incredible girl with bionic legs who managed to out-dance her competitors all the way to the season 18 finale of Dancing with the Stars. She reveals the powerful, moving story of her personal spiritual awakening as a result of a sudden and often fatal blood infection that caused her to lose both of her legs. Despite her grim prognosis, she was determined to not just beat the odds and walk again but to create a life filled with bold adventures, big dreams, and boundless vitality—and share that spirit with the world. Amy seized her second chance at life and earned a bronze medal in adaptive snowboarding at the 2014 Paralympic Games. Her story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the capacity we all have to defy expectations and rewrite our own stories.

Testimonials

Amy, I can’t tell you how much you surpassed our expectations with your closing keynote for UGM ’22 today! You clearly did the work to customize your presentation to our audience. To thank and encourage them. To discuss the benefits of telehealth. And mental health. It was simply a sensational hour. We were all riveted by your story of resilience, your enthusiasm, and your graciousness Your light really does shine incredibly bright. Brava! Well done! THANK YOU!

– Colleen Edwards, Sr. Vice President, Marketing, NextGen Healthcare

Amy's presentation was one of the major highlights of our event. She captured everyone in the audience with her amazing story. Our group was so inspired that she had thousands of people on their feet for a standing ovation not only at the end of her presentation, but IN THE MIDDLE of it! She was absolutely lovely and easy-going to work with. We loved how she connected with our audience and we have received lots of excellent feedback about her session.

– Liz Reuth, Digital Marketing Senior Manager, Le-Vel Brands LLC

These are some of the best ratings we have ever had for a speaker. Amy was certainly a hit with our members. She couldn’t have been nicer to everyone who met her either. Whether it be walking to the session or at the book signing, she took time to chat with all.

– David McCabe, Senior Director, Education Club Managers Association of America

You stole the show!

– Pfizer

Amy is the best speakers we have ever had on our stage.

– Quickbooks

You were unquestionably the best part of our 4-day conference!

– Quicken Loans