AMY PURDY #Liveinspired Motivational Speaker World Class Snowboarder & 2014 Paralympic Medalist Founder of Adaptive Action Sports Actress Model Dancer Author Product Spokesperson Hometown: Las Vegas, NV Resides: Copper Mountain, CO Birthdate: 11/7/1979 TW/INST/FB: @AmyPurdyGURL
Amy s Story: Living Beyond Limits At 19, after experiencing flu-like symptoms, 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. 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 vaccine preventable bacterial infection. Due to the lack of circulation she had suffered 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 one of the top ranked adaptive snowboarders in the world, and was the 2014 Paralympic Bronze Medalist. She is the only double leg amputee competing at the world class level. 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, a lead actress role in an award winning independent film and multiple creative modeling projects including a photo shoot with musician and artist Nikki Sixx where her legs were custom made from steel to look like ice picks. Amy has evolved into a powerful inspirational and motivational speaker who has literally been seen by millions of people and invited to share her story to audiences around the world. Amy s story and images have been featured in numerous national and international publications, and in 2012 she and her longtime boyfriend (now husband), Daniel Gale, raced around the world on The Amazing Race. In May of 2013 Amy was named by the International Olympic Committee as one of the top 15 most marketable Para-athletes in the world. Although Amy has numerous accomplishments, she is most proud of co-founding Adaptive Action Sports. Created in 2005, AAS is a non-profit organization which helps those with permanent disabilities to get involved in action sports. AAS has partnered with ESPN and runs adaptive action sport competitions at the summer and winter ESPN X Games. These events were instrumental in getting adaptive snowboarding added to the 2014 Paralympic Games. In the Spring of 2014, Amy inspired millions of fans with her stunning performances on ABC s Dancing With The Stars, eventually becoming the show s runner up. Later that year she toured the country sharing her remarkable story alongside Oprah Winfrey, as part of Oprah s The Life You Want Tour. In February of 2015 she was featured in a SuperBowl commercial (Toyota) and then released her autobiography, On My Own Two Feet, which quickly became a New York Times Best Seller. Amy s latest project went global. She was the featured performer in the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio. Her dance was viewed by over 300 million people around the world. Amy is current training to return to the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in Korea.
Amy is highly experienced professional speaker, including being a featured presenter at both TEDx and POP Tech. Her TED speech has been viewed over 1.4 million times and translated into multiple languages: http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=n2qzm7azgoa
Amy is an experienced model who has worked on features with both Madonna and Nikki Sixx. She has appeared in campaigns for Toyota, The Hartford, P&G, Duracell, Kelloggs, Element, Coca- Cola and others.
Amy is the top ranked adaptive snowboarder in the U.S., a threetime World Cup Para-Snowboard winner, and the 2014 Paralympic Bronze Medalist.
Amy is the co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports, a non-profit organization which helps disabled youth, young adults and wounded veterans get involved with action sports. AAS was instrumental in getting adaptive snowboarding added to the 2014 Paralympic Games.
Three days after winning a bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Paralympics Amy became a breakout star of ABC s Dancing With The Stars. Inspiring the judges, fellow competitors, the professional dance staff and millions of fans, Amy delivered one stunning performance after another and was eventually the show s runner up.
A highly experienced spokesperson, Amy has been featured in advertising campaigns for Toyota, Pfizer, Coca-Cola, Kelloggs, The Hartford, Element, The U.S. Olympic Committee, NBC, Procter & Gamble, Duracell and others. She has performed hundreds of brand integrated interviews, SMTs, voice-overs, commercials and more.
http://www.oprah.com/app/oprahs-tour.html In the fall of 2014 Amy partnered with one of her lifelong idols, Oprah Winfrey. She joined the media mogul on an eight-city national tour along with Deepak Chopra, Elizabeth Gilbert, Iyanla Vanzant, Rob Bell and Mark Nepo as part of Oprah s The Life You Want Weekend tour.
In January of 2015, Amy released her memoir, On My Own Two Feet which soon thereafter became a New York Times Best Seller. Amy Purdy, who inspired a nation on Dancing with the Stars and has been called a hero by Oprah Winfrey, reveals the intimate details of her triumphant comeback from the brink of death to making history as a Paralympic snowboarder. 'Her riveting memoir, On My Own Two Feet, is shot through with honesty, compassion, a sunny steeliness, and, above all, a sense of humor.'' --O, The Oprah Magazine In this poignant and uplifting memoir, Dancing With the Stars sensation Amy Purdy reveals the story of how losing her legs led her to find a spiritual path. When the Las Vegas native was just nineteen, she contracted bacterial meningitis and was given less than a two percent chance of survival. In a near-death experience, she saw three figures who told her: You can come with us, or you can stay. No matter what happens in your life, it s all going to make sense in the end. In that moment, Amy chose to live.
Super Bowl XLIX In February of 2015, Amy was featured in a Toyota Super Bowl commercial. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjufygo5mzw
On September 7, 2016 Amy performed as the featured dancer in the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. In a five minute solo dance, Amy s performance was seen on television around the world by an estimated audience of over 300 million people.
For more information about Amy Purdy contact: Patrick Quinn Patrick@ChicagoSEP.com 630-903-0000