This speaker is hidden and is only visible in a proposal

Danny Bader

Survived 8,000 Volts. Now Helps People Come Back to Life and live with Radical Reverence

8,000 volts. No heartbeat. A second chance at life. Keynote speaker and six-time author Danny Bader transforms his extraordinary near-death experience into a powerful wake-up call. He challenges audiences to stop living on autopilot, lead with intention, and ask themselves: What will I create with the time I have left?

Book Danny Bader star

View

Bio

In 1992, Danny Bader and his friend Bruce were lowering a ladder when it touched a power line. 8,000 volts went through them both. Danny had no heartbeat. Only he came back.

Since then he has asked one question, and now he asks it of audiences:

What will I create with the time I have left?

Danny is a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, podcast host, and six-time author, including Back to Life, A Radical Reverence for Your Life, and Sixty for 60, which he co-wrote with his son, Joey. His signature keynote, Back to Life, starts with that 1992 accident and turns it into a practical way to live and lead. He shows people how to move from Rock Bottom, through the Functional Fog that keeps good people stuck on autopilot, to a Radical Reverence for their lives.

Leaders across hospitality, corporate, financial services, education, and the trades have brought Danny in, including the Ritz-Carlton Residences International Leadership Conference, Gaylord Palms, and Ritz-Carlton properties in Aruba and Half Moon Bay. Audiences leave inspired, focused, and aware that life isn't forever. Danny makes that awareness feel freeing instead of frightening.

His message is simple: This life is not all there is… it's just all there is right now.

How Danny Bader Turned a Fatal Tragedy into a Life Lesson

In this Main Line Today profile, Danny Bader opens up about the July 1992 roofing accident that stopped his heart at 28, and the friend beside him who never made it home. The article follows his long road back: wrestling with guilt, faith, and the question of why he survived, then turning that question into a calling. From teaching executive skills to leading workshops for Fortune 500 companies and writing his first book, Danny shares how vision and stillness became the principles he lives and teaches. It's an honest, moving look at the man behind the Back to Life message.

What is arrfYl?

A few years ago, Danny Bader coined a word: arrfYl. It stands for "a radical reverence for Your life," and it became the heart of his book and everything he teaches. In this post, Danny explains where the word came from and why it matters: most of us drift through our days in Functional Fog, treating life as if it's guaranteed. arrfYl is the reminder to wake up, slow down, and treat every single day as the gift it truly is. It's a quick, personal, heartfelt look at the idea behind his keynotes, workshops, and his own life since 1992.

  • 2025 A Radical Reverence for Your Life
  • 2025 Sixty for 60
  • 2021 Taking the Sh*t Out of the Show
  • 2020 Back to Life: The Path of Resilience
  • 2018 I Met Jesus for a Miller Lite
  • 2015 Abraham's Diner

Keynotes

Featured Keynote

  • One Second on Autopilot: A Survivor's Message on Safety, Awareness, and Coming Home
  • The Power in Leading with Radical Reverence: How Great Leaders Slow Down, See Clearly, and Love Their People Fiercely

Let's find your perfect speaker!

Share your vision and let us curate the voices that bring it to life.

Get In Touch