The inspirational Amy Purdy

Amy Purdy’s life has been anything but ordinary. A passionate snowboarder and travel lover, her life took a detour at the tender age of 19 when she contracted meningococcal meningitis. Given less than a two percent chance of survival, she lost both her legs below the knee. Undeterred, Amy challenged herself to move on with her life and attain goals that even those who have both legs struggle to achieve. She is one of the top-ranked adaptive snowboarders in the world, and a threetime Paralympic medallist. Best-selling author, Oprah Winfrey Hero, co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports with her husband Daniel Gale, competitor in Dancing with the Stars and travelling the globe as a motivational speaker are just some of her other achievements. After a setback to her health in the past couple of years, Amy is having to learn to walk all over again. Finding some rest and recuperation time in Antigua, The Citizen caught up with Amy and Daniel to find out about their incredible and challenging journey.

You’ve done so many things in your life - how would you describe yourself?

I would first say I’m a motivational speaker, as that is what keeps me the busiest. I would also choose snowboarder; right before this injury I had just finished the 2018 Paralympic games where I won two medals and I would add New York Times Best Seller author for the book I wrote in 2014. The world is now shifting, but I am shifting with it. I’m not snowboarding, but I consider myself a multipassionate entrepreneur and I am bringing out a jewellery collection. I also want to inspire and motivate more people outside of my usual corporate audience, like my social media following who have been so supportive throughout my latest injury. I’ve also just started a podcast called Bouncing Forward to help people overcome obstacles in their lives.

Do you think people need motivation more than ever today?

Absolutely! Today, everyone is dealing with adversity and uncertainty. People need to get out of their comfort zone and since I’ve had to do that my whole life, I can relay that message to any audience; not just to overcome circumstances out of their control but to use them to become the best version of themselves.

Where did your passion for snowboarding come from?

Although from Las Vegas, I spent many weekends skiing. At 15, I found I was much better at snowboarding than skiing and it became a passion for me – I found my friends through it and I found a culture, lifestyle and community that I loved. I wanted to snowboard around the world, so I trained as a massage therapist as it was a job that would travel with me. Five months after starting work, I thought I had the flu, went to the hospital and ended up fighting for my life. It was bacterial meningitis. I lost both my legs from septic shock as well as my kidneys, spleen and hearing in my left ear. My world flipped upside down overnight. But snowboarding was such a passion that I only thought about how I could do it again. I didn’t even really think about walking! My dad donated his kidney, and I had a transplant the week of my 21st birthday. Then, I started snowboarding again.

How did you and Daniel meet?

Two years after losing my legs, I went snowboarding in Colorado with some friends I met on the internet who also had prosthetic legs and that’s where I met Daniel. We had a lot in common and he was also very comfortable with the whole idea of disability. Daniel’s mother has worked with non-profit organisations for many years, and we knew we could take our passion and expertise to help people with disabilities. There were organisations that focused on traditional sports, like running or skiing, but not for sports like snowboarding or skateboarding. This is why we started Adaptive Action Sports in 2005. We created a movement and community of interesting, creative and athletic people who also had disabilities.

Amy, your mantra is “see it, believe it, achieve it”. How do you use this to help others who are going through difficult times?

Visualisation is huge for me. In my darkest days after I lost my legs and was hooked up to a dialysis machine, I thought my life was over. All I had was the vision of snowboarding or working as a massage therapist again. I visualised snowboarding so strongly that I would be excited and feel my heart race. I also saw myself helping others. I decided to hang onto these visions and go that way instead of wallowing in self-pity for what I had lost. In the end, I did everything I had visualised.

Visualisation is huge for me. In my darkest days after I lost my legs and was hooked up to a dialysis machine, I thought my life was over. All I had was the vision of snowboarding or working as a massage therapist again.

How will the challenges of your recent injury change your message?

I am older now and the things that helped me get through losing my legs 20 years ago, don’t necessarily work for me now. I look at my life in three segments – Amy version one was 19 years old and oblivious to the things that can happen in life. Amy version two was for the next 20 years and checking things off my bucket list – snowboarding, Dancing with the Stars, talking on stage with Oprah, writing a book. This injury at 40 threw me into Amy version three. I don’t really want to do all the things I did before because I’ve already done them. Now, I’m in a place where I am taking on a coaching role and supporting other people in their dreams and visions, whether it’s through my podcast or my speaking.

Why did you choose to visit Antigua?

Since this injury happened, I’ve had ten surgeries in two years to try and save my leg so I can walk again for the second time in my life. I’ve been in cold hospitals and waiting rooms with so much stress and uncertainty and I’ve been craving the beach to have some hot sun and sand as it’s so healing. As things are now online, we can live and work wherever we want and that’s freedom. We’ve dipped our toes in the water here but want to return for much longer as there is so much to see and do. Maybe we will even invest to help the economy. The people are extremely nice. The white sand and turquoise water are beautiful, and the gorgeous beaches are right on the side of the road; they’re not hidden jewels like on some other islands, you just pull over and they are right there!