Susan Powter
Iconic Fitness Leader, Best-Selling Author & Advocate for Sustainable Wellness
8:30AM
Archie Griffin Ballroom
PDUs:
1.0
Morning Keynote: Survival Is a Skill: What No One Tells You About Resilience
Customized for PMI Central Ohio, Susan Powter brings her powerful message, “Survival Is a Skill: What No One Tells You About Resilience,” infused with the iconic spirit of “STOP THE INSANITY.” In this raw and honest keynote, Susan explores what it really takes to navigate change, adversity, and the demands of modern life—financially, emotionally, and physically.
Challenging the culture of burnout, toxic productivity, and performative wellness, Susan invites audiences to question the relentless pursuit of “more” and rethink how we define success, health, and fulfillment. With her signature candor and energy, she delivers a powerful reminder that resilience isn’t about simply pushing harder or staying motivated, it’s about adaptation, boundaries, truth, and knowing when it’s time to STOP THE INSANITY.
Learning Objectives
Speaker Bio
With her unapologetic style, iconic platinum buzzcut, and refusal to follow diet fads or industry hype, Powter became a bold voice for millions seeking real, sustainable change in both health and mindset. Starting from nothing after leaving an abusive marriage, she built a grassroots fitness movement that led to a landmark $2 million book deal with Simon & Schuster. Her book, Stop the Insanity!, became a New York Times bestseller, selling millions of copies worldwide and turning Powter into a household name.
After building a multimillion-dollar brand early in her career, Powter’s journey took an unexpected turn. Legal battles and business setbacks led to financial collapse and years of rebuilding out of the public eye — a period that profoundly transformed her understanding of success, resilience, and purpose. Rather than retreat, Powter chose reinvention, redefining wellness not as perfection or profit, but as self-trust, clarity, and survival.
In 2024–2025, Susan Powter reemerged with a renewed voice and a new generation of followers. Her life story is now the subject of a feature documentary executive-produced by Jamie Lee Curtis, chronicling her rise, fall, and powerful return. Recent media appearances and viral moments have reintroduced Powter to audiences hungry for authenticity, truth, and lived experience.
Today, Powter speaks far beyond fitness. She delivers a raw, honest message about reinvention, aging, financial hardship, mindfulness, and surviving life’s hardest resets. Rejecting shame-based wellness and quick-fix culture, she champions internal health as a radical act — encouraging people to think critically, trust themselves, and reclaim agency in their lives.
With plans for new books, direct-to-consumer content, and select speaking engagements, Susan Powter brings audiences not nostalgia, but relevance. Her voice — fierce, funny, and deeply human — resonates powerfully with corporate audiences, women’s groups, wellness leaders, and anyone navigating change, burnout, or a second act.