Cultural Diversity Roster

Find a Presenter

speaker

Rulon Gardner

Rulon Gardner

Olympic Gold and Bronze Medalist, Greco-Roman Wrestling

Rulon Gardner was born on August 16, 1971 in Afton, Wyoming. Rulon is the youngest 9 children born to Reed and Virginia Gardner. Raised on a dairy farm where they grew their own crops and milked cows twice a day, there was never a shortage of work to be done. School did not come easy for Rulon. He struggled with reading speed and comprehension but with the help and support of his family, Rulon was able to complete his schoolwork. He successfully completed high school, and gained a wrestling ...
 

See Below for Full Bio

Categories :

Add To My Speakers List Request Availabilty
[Sassy_Social_Share]

Bio

Full Bio

Rulon Gardner was born on August 16, 1971 in Afton, Wyoming. Rulon is the youngest 9 children born to Reed and Virginia Gardner. Raised on a dairy farm where they grew their own crops and milked cows twice a day, there was never a shortage of work to be done. School did not come easy for Rulon. He struggled with reading speed and comprehension but with the help and support of his family, Rulon was able to complete his schoolwork. He successfully completed high school, and gained a wrestling scholarship to attend Ricks College. From Ricks College, Rulon Gardner received a division 1 scholarship to wrestle for the University of Nebraska.

Rulon’s wrestling career began when he was 6 years old. For one week every year, Star Valley would have a wrestling camp, which always concluded with a tournament on the weekend. Rulon participated in this from age 6 until junior high school. Rulon Gardner began a regular wrestling season while in junior high and continued until he graduated from the University of Nebraska.

Graduating from the University of Nebraska with a degree in physical education is something Rulon Gardner is very proud of. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, Rulon continued his Olympic wrestling pursuit with full-time dedication. Winning the Gold in Sydney did not come without dedication and sacrifice. Rulon has sacrificed much in order to reach his Olympic aspirations.

Rulon Gardner has experienced wins as well as losses in his life. Rulon has never dwelled on the negatives but instead takes each challenge and uses it as a means to improve his life.

Check Availability

MM slash DD slash YYYY
Check Availability for

Topics

Topics

Never Give Up, Never Stop Trying: 7 Steps to Success

Videos

Videos

The Fall of a Wrestling Legend - Rulon Gardner vs. Aleksandr Karelin!
The Day an Olympic Wrestling Legend was Defeated | Strangest Moments

Books

NEVER STOP PUSHING
NEVER STOP PUSHING

News

Please Contact Us For More Information

TESTIMONIALS

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

The American Psychological Association was thrilled to have Dr. Antonia Novello as our speaker for the 2024 APA Convention. Dr. Novello was fantastic, and her presentation was a tremendous success. Thank you, Peter, for all your hard work in making this event such a resounding success.

American Psychological Association

For our annual Native American Heritage Month celebration, PDA Group arranged for John Echohawk to join us for a virtual moderated discussion. The program was thoughtful, engaging, and highly impactful for our audience of lawyers and professional staff. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to working with them again.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

We have partnered with PDA Group on multiple successful events, including our charity luncheon with Lisa Edelstein and our Women’s Philanthropy Kickoff Event featuring Allegra Goodman. Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence make them an outstanding partner. Thank you for your exceptional work and continued support.

UJA-Federation

We have received so much fantastic feedback following our virtual event. It was an absolute success, and Sylvia Fowles was excellent. Thank you again to Sylvia and the entire team for your partnership!”

U.S. Bank

Kurt Warner was spectacular—he completely wowed the audience and solidified major leadership points. He was an amazing partner, and we will be talking about this experience for years to come. We will definitely leverage the PDA team for all of our speaking needs!”

Sysco Corporation

The events over the past two years went very well — everyone had a great time with Dr. Mark Esper in 2025, and Sam Hinkie led a very engaging Q&A with our Principal, Jean Reynolds, in 2024. Thank you for working with us these last two years; your support has been instrumental to the success of our programs!

Investcorp Strategic Capital Group

It was an absolute privilege to have Dr. Sanjay Gupta as our keynote speaker for the 2026 GME Leadership Conference. He delivered an outstanding address that resonated deeply and left a lasting impression on everyone in the room. The entire planning process was seamless and collaborative. It was a pleasure working together, brainstorming suggestions, and ultimately selecting the perfect fit for our event. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

HCA Healthcare

We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

Salt Lake Community College

It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

Western Michigan University

On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can’t wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

Ferris State University

GET IDEAS

1 Hour or Less
914-940-0075 "America's Entertainment Leader"