{{short description|American comedian, Paralympian, & author (born 1984)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2014}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see :Template:Infobox writer/doc --> | name = Josh Sundquist | image = | pseudonym = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1984|8|6}} | birth_place = Charlottesville, Virginia | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Motivational Speaker, Comedian, Author, YouTuber | language = English | nationality = American | citizenship = United States | education = Bachelor of Business Administration<br>Master's in Communications | alma_mater = College of William and Mary<br>University of Southern California | genre = Memoir, Fiction | movement = | spouse = {{marriage|Ashley Nolan|2015}} | website = {{URL|joshsundquist.com}} }}
'''Joshua Lee Sundquist''' (born August 6, 1984) is an American comedian, Paralympian, and author.<ref>{{cite web |title=Christian City's Annual Night of Hope planned for tomorrow |url=https://thecitizen.com/2010/05/19/christian-citys-annual-night-hope-planned-tomorrow/ |website=The Citizen |access-date=June 25, 2022 |date=May 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524130940/http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/05-19-2010/christian-city%E2%80%99s-annual-night-hope-planned-tomorrow |archive-date=May 24, 2010 }}</ref> He lost his left leg to Ewing's sarcoma at age nine and later became a Paralympic ski racer. His memoir, ''Just Don't Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made it Down the Mountain,'' was released in January 2010. A show on Apple TV+ called ''Best Foot Forward'' about his early life experiences premiered in 2022. In 2023, he starred in the animated series ''Mech Cadets'' where his character Frank Olivetti was also missing his left leg.
==Early life== Sundquist was born in Charlottesville, Virginia and grew up in Harrisonburg, Virginia as the eldest of four children.<ref>{{Cite web|last=WRITER|first=CYNTHIA MCMULLEN TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF|title=Amputee's story motivates and builds online community|url=https://richmond.com/entertainment/amputees-story-motivates-and-builds-online-community/article_d54708c4-57c7-55f0-a4ef-45e5d21c4b25.html|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Richmond Times-Dispatch|date=February 19, 2008 }}</ref>
==Alpine ski racing== Six years after surviving a battle with cancer and losing his leg, Sundquist began ski racing. At age 17 he moved to Colorado to pursue the sport full-time.<ref>[http://www.trendmaxglobal.com/motivational-and-inspirational-speaker-josh-sundquist.aspx?sid=f4b441f0-8dce-428b-81bb-9882c0caf5b7 TrendMasterGlobal] "Josh Sundquist" {{Dead link|date=January 2016}}</ref> Sundquist trained and competed for six years, and in 2006 he was named to the United States Paralympic Ski Team and raced in the IX Paralympic Games, which were held in Turin, Italy that March. Sundquist competed in two alpine skiing events for men – slalom and giant slalom. He did not win any medals.<ref name="dnr">{{cite news| last = Lemire| first = Joe| title = Sundquist's Next Stop: Turin| publisher = The Daily News Record| date = February 16, 2006| url = http://www.dnronline.com/details.php?AID=3029&CHID=46| accessdate = August 12, 2009}} {{Dead link|date=January 2016}}</ref>
After the Paralympics, Sundquist retired from professional racing and returned to Williamsburg, Virginia, where he graduated with a degree in business from The College of William and Mary's Mason School of Business the same year.<ref>[http://www.mywire.com/a/PRNewswire/WM-Business-Student-Josh-Sundquist/1195609?&pbl=273 MyWire] "W&M Business Student Josh Sundquist Selected for U.S. Paralympic Alpine Ski Team" {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050045/http://www.mywire.com/a/PRNewswire/WM-Business-Student-Josh-Sundquist/1195609?&pbl=273 |date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref> He later earned a Master's in Communications from the University of Southern California.
==Motivational speaker== Sundquist was sixteen when he gave his first motivational talk and has been speaking to groups ever since.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://talbronstein.org/archive/2003_12_josh_02.htm|title=Who is this 19 year old Josh Sundquist?|website=Talbronstein|access-date=August 12, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723235734/http://www.talbronstein.org/archive/2003_12_josh_02.htm|archive-date=July 23, 2008|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
He is a motivational speaker who presents to groups around the United States. Sundquist's audiences and clients have included Facebook, WalMart, the White House, RE/MAX, National FFA Organization, and Children's Miracle Network.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110825225159/http://remaxtexas.frogpond.com/DispArticle.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=23071&ISSUE_ID=1663 The Reporter Online] "The 31st Annual Statewide Convention in Review" {{Dead link|date=January 2016}}</ref><ref>[http://www.stlbsa.org/Activities/Council+Annual+Dinner.htm Great St. Louis Area Council Boy Scouts of America] Council Annual Dinner {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618014134/http://www.stlbsa.org/Activities/Council%2BAnnual%2BDinner.htm |date=June 18, 2009 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.yposouthern7.org/AM/Images/Documents/DisneyPreliminaryMasterSchedule061509.pdf YPO Southern Seven] Conference Master Schedule {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008112224/http://www.yposouthern7.org/AM/Images/Documents/DisneyPreliminaryMasterSchedule061509.pdf |date=October 8, 2011 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.fscc.com/files/Post%20Convention%20Press%20release%20Final%20SCB%20063008%20final.pdf FSCC] Post Convention Press Release {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090824064757/http://www.fscc.com/files/Post%20Convention%20Press%20release%20Final%20SCB%20063008%20final.pdf |date=August 24, 2009 }}</ref>
==Comedian== Since July 2018, Sundquist has performed an interactive one-man comedy show called ''We Should Hang Out Sometime'' at Santa Monica Playhouse & Group Theatre in Santa Monica. The show is based on his memoir, ''We Should Hang Out Sometime.'' <ref>{{Cite web|last=Carreras|first=Angel|date=2019-07-05|title=Standing out on one leg|url=https://www.smdp.com/standing-out-on-one-leg/177124|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Santa Monica Daily Press}}</ref>
==Writer== In 2001, Sundquist became a contributing writer for the ''Daily Guideposts,'' and he has also written for ''Guideposts Magazine,'' a monthly publication that features first-person narratives of faith in daily life and a subscriber base of 2.3 million.<ref>[http://www.guideposts.com/story/peak-performer?page=0%2C3 Guideposts Magazine]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} "Peak Performer"</ref>
He has been published in ''The Washington Post'' and in ''Newsweek's'' now defunct college magazine, ''Current.''<ref name="Wpost">{{cite news| last = Sundquist| first = Josh| title = LIFE IS SHORT – Autobiography as Haiku| newspaper = The Washington Post| date = August 22, 2004| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22587-2004Aug21.html| accessdate = August 12, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121108155839/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22587-2004Aug21.html| archive-date = November 8, 2012| url-status = live| df = mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="dailyreporter">{{cite news| title = Sundquist: Fulfilling God's plan| work = The Daily Reporter| date = November 21, 2008| url = http://www.spencerdailyreporter.com/story/1480204.html| accessdate = August 12, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090815163217/http://www.spencerdailyreporter.com/story/1480204.html| archive-date = August 15, 2009| url-status = live| df = mdy-all}}</ref>
Sundquist's memoir, ''Just Don't Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made it Down the Mountain,'' was released on January 21, 2010, and became a national bestseller.<ref name="TV-3">{{cite news| last = Harris| first = McKinsey| title = Harrisonburg Native Inspires Through National Bestseller| publisher = WHSV-3| date = February 14, 2010| url = http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/84321097.html| accessdate = February 22, 2010| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110716051631/http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/84321097.html| archive-date = July 16, 2011| url-status = live| df = mdy-all}}</ref> It has been adapted into a television series, titled ''Best Foot Forward'', which premiered July 22, 2022 on Apple TV+.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Apple TV+ announces summer lineup of kids series, including "Duck & Goose," "Best Foot Forward," "Amber Brown," "Surfside Girls" and "Life By Ella"|url=https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2022/05/apple-tv-announces-summer-lineup-of-kids-series-including-duck-and-goose-best-foot-forward-amber-brown-surfside-girls-and-life-by-ella/|website=Apple TV+ Press|date=May 13, 2022|access-date=May 13, 2022}}</ref> Sundquist's latest book, ''Semi-Famous'' was released on July 19, 2022.
==Advocacy== Sundquist was chosen as one of CNN's 2007 Heroes, in recognition of his work within the amputee community. In particular, CNN profiled Sundquist and his founding of the social networking website for persons with amputations, LessThanFour.org.<ref>{{cite web |title=CNN Newsroom: Thousands Turn Out to Support Jena Six; Will Mortgage Crisis Escalate? |url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/cnr/date/2007-09-20/segment/06 |website=CNN |access-date=June 25, 2022 |date=September 20, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816002910/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0709/20/cnr.06.html |archive-date=August 16, 2009}}</ref>
==Personal life== Sundquist married Ashley Elizabeth Nolan on September 19, 2015, in St. Michaels, Maryland and lives in Santa Monica, California. Sundquist proposed to Nolan in September 2014, after three years of dating.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzo8-3LqvqA|title=How I Proposed 💍|last=JoshSundquist|date=October 22, 2014|accessdate=February 20, 2018|via=YouTube|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214113745/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzo8-3LqvqA|archive-date=February 14, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> They have a pekingese named Mushu.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/fashion/weddings/ashley-nolan-and-josh-sundquist-which-one-was-the-right-ashley.html|title=Ashley Nolan and Josh Sundquist: Which One Was the Right Ashley?|work=The New York Times|first=Nina|last=Reyes|date=September 20, 2015|accessdate=January 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925030130/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/fashion/weddings/ashley-nolan-and-josh-sundquist-which-one-was-the-right-ashley.html|archive-date=September 25, 2015|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 2023, they welcomed a son into their family.<ref>https://joshsundquist.com/motivational-speaker-blog/myson</ref>
==Bibliography== *''Just Don't Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made it Down the Mountain''. New York: Viking. January 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-670-02146-8}} *''We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a True Story''. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. December 2014. {{ISBN|9780316260954}} *''Love and First Sight''. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. January 2017. {{ISBN|9780316305358}} *''Semi-Famous.'' Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. July 2022. ISBN 9780316629744
==References== [https://joshsundquist.com/motivational-speaker-blog/myson Josh announcing his son on his website.]{{reflist|2}}
==External links== * [http://www.JoshSundquist.com/ Official Website] * [https://www.lessthanfour.org/ Less Than Four.org > Amputee Social Network] founded by Josh Sundquist
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundquist, Josh}} Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Paralympics Category:American amputees Category:American motivational speakers Category:College of William & Mary alumni Category:Paralympic alpine skiers for the United States Category:American video bloggers Category:American Internet celebrities Category:American male alpine skiers Category:Sportspeople from Charlottesville, Virginia Category:People from Harrisonburg, Virginia Category:American male bloggers Category:University of Southern California alumni Category:American male comedians Category:Comedians from Virginia Category:21st-century American sportsmen