Having moved to Southern California just over a year ago to start my graduate studies at the University of San Francisco for Sport Management, I have been blessed with the opportunity of working with and participating in a number of amazing sports and entertainment events. From interning at the Tiger Woods Foundation and AEG, to working the 2010 U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach, these experiences have all played in key role in my evolution from a once aspiring school teacher and coach, to becoming a true sports business professional. Yet while I take pride in having been given the opportunity to pursue my dreams, achieve my goals and passionately strive to make a difference in the lives of those around me, my experience at the ESPN Summer X Games 15 last year with Adaptive Action Sports has forever remained the pinnacle of my time here in Los Angeles.
Having taken an early interest in working in action sports, I decided to hit the Internet in search of internships and volunteer opportunities as a means of gaining experience and adding value to my resume. After applying for numerous internships with a number of well known action sports companies, I quickly found myself scratching my head having not received a single response back for an interview. Knowing full well that the X Games were coming to the Home Depot Center in three weeks, I set out on a simple Google search looking for anybody and everybody interested in an extra hand for the event. I ran across an add for a volunteer for Adaptive Action Sports and applied via email without hesitation.
Having been accepted, I showed up at HDC bright and early Saturday morning ready to hit the ground running. Having spent over a year at Oregon State working with mentally and physically disabled children in the OSU IMPACT program, as well as having a deep rooted interest in continuing to work with this population, I found myself extremely excited to see what Adaptive Action Sports was all about. Having been introduced to Co-Founder Amy Purdy a short hour later I quickly found myself in awe with what this organization was doing and felt truly blessed to be able to work with such an amazing group of individuals. Having worked through the entire weekend with them, I was able to soak in all the X-Games excitement, help answer questions and serve as a liaison at their info booth and met a number of their athletes including Moto X rider Jim Wazny.
Yet while working the event was great, I took an opportunity to sit down with Amy one on one on Sunday afternoon post event to gain some perspective and learn more about her experiences. Amy's story blew me away and having heard only the tip of the iceberg, I decided to look more into her story and use tonight's post as a means of drawing awareness to and highlighting the incredible journey she's been through, as well as the extraordinary endeavors her and AAS are exploring.
Amy was diagnosed with Neisseria meningitis at age 19, after a 24 hour string of events left her in lying in a Las Vegas hospital bed in the fight for her life. After experiencing flu-like symptoms, Amy was rushed to the hospital in a state of septic shock. Having experienced respiratory and organ failure en route, in conjunction with a blood condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), Amy lost circulation in her hands, feet, nose, ears, and kidneys which caused her lungs and adrenal glands to hemorrhage. Once doctors were able to control the bleeding, having removed her ruptured spleen in the process, Amy was left in a coma for three weeks with only a 2 percent chance of survival. Having sustained serve circulation problems, Amy had both of her legs amputated below the knee, forever endangering her life long pursuit of action sports which included snowboarding and skateboarding.
After experiencing this string of events Amy continued to strive to compete in the sports she loved, serving as an inspiration to others while continuing to live her life without limits. Having received a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation, Amy was able to travel to various snowboard competitions which included the USASA National Snowboard Competition, where she medaled three times. Flash forward to 2005, having moved to San Diego, CA to pursue her interests in acting and modeling, Amy was featured on the cover of a number of magazines while also serving as the face of a new movement is sports in such publications like Muscle and Fitness, Women's Health and Fugue Magazine. Yet while these accomplishments were fantastic for her and opened up a number of door in the support of her cause, the most significant accomplishment to date came through the formation of of her own non-profit organization Adaptive Action Sports.
Serving as Co-Founder of AAS, her and partner Daniel Gale founded the non-profit to help adaptive athletes get involved in action sports, art and music. Having lacked the necessary resources to compete in the sports she loved, Amy and Daniel sought a means of allowing similar others to experience the joys of the sports with which they loved. As the #2 adaptive snowboarder in the world, Amy and Daniel have been hard at work trying to draw awareness to their cause. In 2008, the ESPN X Games aired the first set of Adaptive Action Sports included skateboarding, BMX and Motocross. Having been granted air time, medals and notoriety through their partnership with the X Games, AAS was able bring their dreams to fruition and spread the message of adaptive athletics to the masses. With the ultimate goal of making adaptive action sports a staple at the Paralympics, Adaptive Action Sports has set the bar high and has their eyes set on providing those with disabilities with an opportunity to excel at the highest level.
This story is very personal to me and having not spoken to Amy for a number of months, has given me the wherewithal to slow things down and reach out once again to Adaptive Action Sports this week. Having entered the Los Angeles market and being so busy with internships, graduate school, side projects, and life in general, I feel like I have lost focus on the population with which I have so much compassion for in an industry I love so much. I wish to continue to working with individuals with disabilities and an organization like AAS gives me hope that I will one day be able to combine my love of sports, physical activity and disabled athletics into a collective medium with which work while helping others reach and attain their own level of success.
While the organization is still relatively small and having been based in South Lake Tahoe/Las Vegas, my hope is that they will one day make it out here to Southern California in the future. I look forward to reaching out again and offering my support as I finally feel like I have experienced everything I needed to in the sports industry, only to realize my true calling was right in front of me long before I ever really started. I also look forward to hearing about their experiences this year at the LA Coliseum and X Games 16 and hope that I can one day offer my time, energy and effort once again to helping Amy and Daniel spread the word of Adaptive Action Sports while helping countless others to Live Beyond Limits.
*For more information on Adaptive Action Sports and to hear Amy's story, simply click on the title of this article
Having moved to Southern California just over a year ago to start my graduate studies at the University of San Francisco for Sport Management, I have been blessed with the opportunity of working with and participating in a number of amazing sports and entertainment events. From interning at the Tiger Woods Foundation and AEG, to working the 2010 U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach, these experiences have all played in key role in my evolution from a once aspiring school teacher and coach, to becoming a true sports business professional. Yet while I take pride in having been given the opportunity to pursue my dreams, achieve my goals and passionately strive to make a difference in the lives of those around me, my experience at the ESPN Summer X Games 15 last year with Adaptive Action Sports has forever remained the pinnacle of my time here in Los Angeles.
Having taken an early interest in working in action sports, I decided to hit the Internet in search of internships and volunteer opportunities as a means of gaining experience and adding value to my resume. After applying for numerous internships with a number of well known action sports companies, I quickly found myself scratching my head having not received a single response back for an interview. Knowing full well that the X Games were coming to the Home Depot Center in three weeks, I set out on a simple Google search looking for anybody and everybody interested in an extra hand for the event. I ran across an add for a volunteer for Adaptive Action Sports and applied via email without hesitation.
Having been accepted, I showed up at HDC bright and early Saturday morning ready to hit the ground running. Having spent over a year at Oregon State working with mentally and physically disabled children in the OSU IMPACT program, as well as having a deep rooted interest in continuing to work with this population, I found myself extremely excited to see what Adaptive Action Sports was all about. Having been introduced to Co-Founder Amy Purdy a short hour later I quickly found myself in awe with what this organization was doing and felt truly blessed to be able to work with such an amazing group of individuals. Having worked through the entire weekend with them, I was able to soak in all the X-Games excitement, help answer questions and serve as a liaison at their info booth and met a number of their athletes including Moto X rider Jim Wazny.
Yet while working the event was great, I took an opportunity to sit down with Amy one on one on Sunday afternoon post event to gain some perspective and learn more about her experiences. Amy's story blew me away and having heard only the tip of the iceberg, I decided to look more into her story and use tonight's post as a means of drawing awareness to and highlighting the incredible journey she's been through, as well as the extraordinary endeavors her and AAS are exploring.
Amy was diagnosed with Neisseria meningitis at age 19, after a 24 hour string of events left her in lying in a Las Vegas hospital bed in the fight for her life. After experiencing flu-like symptoms, Amy was rushed to the hospital in a state of septic shock. Having experienced respiratory and organ failure en route, in conjunction with a blood condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), Amy lost circulation in her hands, feet, nose, ears, and kidneys which caused her lungs and adrenal glands to hemorrhage. Once doctors were able to control the bleeding, having removed her ruptured spleen in the process, Amy was left in a coma for three weeks with only a 2 percent chance of survival. Having sustained serve circulation problems, Amy had both of her legs amputated below the knee, forever endangering her life long pursuit of action sports which included snowboarding and skateboarding.
After experiencing this string of events Amy continued to strive to compete in the sports she loved, serving as an inspiration to others while continuing to live her life without limits. Having received a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation, Amy was able to travel to various snowboard competitions which included the USASA National Snowboard Competition, where she medaled three times. Flash forward to 2005, having moved to San Diego, CA to pursue her interests in acting and modeling, Amy was featured on the cover of a number of magazines while also serving as the face of a new movement is sports in such publications like Muscle and Fitness, Women's Health and Fugue Magazine. Yet while these accomplishments were fantastic for her and opened up a number of door in the support of her cause, the most significant accomplishment to date came through the formation of of her own non-profit organization Adaptive Action Sports.
Serving as Co-Founder of AAS, her and partner Daniel Gale founded the non-profit to help adaptive athletes get involved in action sports, art and music. Having lacked the necessary resources to compete in the sports she loved, Amy and Daniel sought a means of allowing similar others to experience the joys of the sports with which they loved. As the #2 adaptive snowboarder in the world, Amy and Daniel have been hard at work trying to draw awareness to their cause. In 2008, the ESPN X Games aired the first set of Adaptive Action Sports included skateboarding, BMX and Motocross. Having been granted air time, medals and notoriety through their partnership with the X Games, AAS was able bring their dreams to fruition and spread the message of adaptive athletics to the masses. With the ultimate goal of making adaptive action sports a staple at the Paralympics, Adaptive Action Sports has set the bar high and has their eyes set on providing those with disabilities with an opportunity to excel at the highest level.
This story is very personal to me and having not spoken to Amy for a number of months, has given me the wherewithal to slow things down and reach out once again to Adaptive Action Sports this week. Having entered the Los Angeles market and being so busy with internships, graduate school, side projects, and life in general, I feel like I have lost focus on the population with which I have so much compassion for in an industry I love so much. I wish to continue to working with individuals with disabilities and an organization like AAS gives me hope that I will one day be able to combine my love of sports, physical activity and disabled athletics into a collective medium with which work while helping others reach and attain their own level of success.
While the organization is still relatively small and having been based in South Lake Tahoe/Las Vegas, my hope is that they will one day make it out here to Southern California in the future. I look forward to reaching out again and offering my support as I finally feel like I have experienced everything I needed to in the sports industry, only to realize my true calling was right in front of me long before I ever really started. I also look forward to hearing about their experiences this year at the LA Coliseum and X Games 16 and hope that I can one day offer my time, energy and effort once again to helping Amy and Daniel spread the word of Adaptive Action Sports while helping countless others to Live Beyond Limits.
*For more information on Adaptive Action Sports and to hear Amy's story, simply click on the title of this article
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