Speaking
ONE STEP AT A TIME. ONE MOUNTAIN AT A TIME.
Dana Albrycht has stood on a Paralympic pool deck, crossed the New York City Marathon finish line on crutches, and climbed the Presidential Range without a prosthetic. He brings those stories, and the lessons in them, to your audience.
Talk Themes
Accept → Adapt → Overcome
A simple framework for meeting the mountain in front of you.
Resilience and adaptation
What a lifetime of finding another way teaches about setbacks.
Disability inclusion and leadership
Why people with disabilities belong at the front of the room.
Teamwork, identity, and growth
Lessons from the pool, the court, and the trail.
Purpose through adversity
Turning the hardest moments into a reason to help others.
Talks can be adapted for schools, workplaces, conferences, and community groups.
About Dana
Short bio
Dana Albrycht is a two-time Paralympian (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000), a marathoner who finished the 2008 New York City Marathon on crutches, a mountain adventurer, a former professional counselor, and the founder of Crutch Walker LLC. His message: everyone has a mountain to climb.
Long bio
Dana Albrycht was born with a congenital right-leg difference and had an above-knee amputation as an infant. He grew up finding his own way to do things, and that habit took him a long way.
He competed in swimming at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games. At the 2008 New York City Marathon he finished on crutches in 6:27:18, a time reported at the time as a world record for a marathon on crutches (time and record status pending final verification). In September 2020 he completed the 22-mile Presidential Traverse in New Hampshire's White Mountains on crutches, without a prosthetic, to raise awareness and support for people with disabilities. The hike was covered by The Boston Globe and others.
Dana has worked as a professional counselor and has been a lifelong advocate. Today he's building Crutch Walker, a movement focused on disability leadership, media, adaptive sports and practical technology, and documenting the whole journey along the way.
Dates, records and awards are being verified with Dana before publishing.
Media Gallery
Coming soon: photos, video clips, and a downloadable speaker kit.
Booking Inquiry
Tell us about your event and we'll get back to you about availability.