Dave Jonsson survived a plane crash that killed his best friend. Doctors told him he might never walk normally again.
On January 27th, he won first place at Speaker Slam® Against All Odds, the 10th anniversary season opener of North America's largest inspirational speaking competition.
From Crash Site to Centre Stage
In 2007, Jonsson was flying in a small plane with his best friend Guðni Kristinnson, a pilot visiting from Iceland. When clouds filled the valley ahead, they attempted to turn back. The plane stalled and crashed into the mountains at 120 km/h.
Guðni died on impact. Jonsson's femur shattered. His leg was pinned beneath his seat. A friend carried him to safety, and they waited nearly six hours in the forest for search and rescue.
"I remember believing my life was over," Jonsson told the audience at Lula Lounge. "Lying there, I promised myself that if I was given a second chance, I would live differently."
It took two years to recover. Doctors warned he might walk with a limp for life.
The crash redirected the course of his life. He enrolled in theology school, returned to professional skateboarding, and began using his story to connect with young people navigating their own struggles.
Today, Jonsson is a youth pastor who founded Belong Church and The Belong Centre, an indoor skatepark and community hub he built for young people in Port Moody, BC. He has been speaking on resiliency for over 17 years and was featured on BBC Outlook, reaching 66 million listeners worldwide.
A Kickflip and a Message
Midway through his five-minute speech titled "Finding Purpose in the Pain," Jonsson paused to ask the audience a question:
"Can I be the first person to do a kickflip on the Speaker Slam® stage?"
He landed it.
His message resonated with the four judges and the 200+ audience members who braved a Toronto snowstorm to be there. Survival, in his telling, becomes purpose. Pain becomes a platform.
"Hidden within your challenge isn't a problem," Jonsson said. "It's an opportunity."
Against All Odds
The competition theme proved fitting for the evening. Speakers and guests traveled through post-storm conditions to reach Lula Lounge for Speaker Slam®'s 10th anniversary season opener.
Dr. Sujata Ives, a military wife and keynote speaker with a vocal cord disability, placed second. She had told friends she was determined to bring a medal home to her husband and the military community.
Andrew Daye, a breathwork and performance coach who shared his journey from rock bottom to sustainable high performance, placed third.
The event also featured the return of Jozé Piranian, Speaker Slam®'s 2017 Inspirational Speaker of the Year. A lifelong stutterer who avoided speaking for 25 years, Piranian has since delivered five TEDx talks and keynotes at Google, Netflix, Meta, and the United Nations. His HarperCollins book Stop Holding Back launched this month. He was presented with a trophy he never received, as Speaker Slam® didn't have trophies in 2017.
Dave Jonsson's Winning Speech: "Finding Purpose in the Pain"
Below is the transcript of Dave Jonsson's winning five-minute speech, delivered live at Lula Lounge in Toronto on January 27, 2026.
Hey guys, how you doing? My name is Dave Jonsson and I am a professional skateboarder.
Sometimes people ask me, "Man, what's your best trick? Is it a crooked nollie flip or a kickflip back lip?" I always tell them, my best trick is knowing how to fall.
The reality is, all of us fall sometimes. We all make mistakes. None of us are perfect. But how you fall matters.
I've fallen a lot of times. This skateboard right here, it's like sometimes a girlfriend or a wife. Sometimes she treats me good. And boys, sometimes she doesn't treat me good. But I just can't break up with her. Why? I met her when I was 12 years old. I saw her and I couldn't ever give her up. Even when I've broken my ankles, broken my elbows.
Man, do you mind if I just stop talking for a moment and do a kickflip? Is that okay? Can I do a kickflip in here? Dan, can I be the first one to do a kickflip on the Speaker Slam® stage? Okay, let's get it.
So a kickflip is when you flip the board. And you know what? Sometimes you fail and you don't get it on the first try. And that's a part of life.
There you go.
So guys, I'm 38 years old. I've been a pro for many years, skated 24 years. But I'll tell you, there's been moments where I thought I would never get up again.
It was August 18th. I was flying in a Cessna 172 with my really good friend Kristinnson. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm from Reykjavik, Iceland. And he was a pilot visiting me. And we were going up to Whistler.
We're flying. It was a perfect day. When all of a sudden we come around this one corner and I hear it in his voice. "This isn't good." He begins to stutter.
You see, we had gotten ourselves into a haze of trouble. He tries to turn the plane around. And in so doing, he stalls the plane.
There's four of us on board. It goes from being so loud with the engine right there, to quiet stillness. And my friend beginning to shout, trying to re-engage the engine, shouting, "We're going down."
I stretched out my legs. All I can remember is Leah and Elliot screaming. And we hit the side of the mountain going 120 km an hour. The seat comes forward, snaps my leg in half, windshield in my face. And my brother dies on impact.
When I come to, blood everywhere. Elliot shouting, "We got to go." He can barely breathe because of the gasoline. He needs to lift up the seat. I need to yank my leg out from underneath it, only to get onto Elliot's back and Elliot to carry me.
Some people will ask me, "Man, that plane crash must have been so scary." Guys, the reality is the six hours waiting in the forest for search and rescue, when your body starts to tweak out and you start to wonder whether this will be it. This will be your last day on planet Earth.
To be honest with you, I began to cry out to God. After six hours, we see the choppers. We see search and rescue. And this guy wearing an orange suit comes down. His name is Brian. And he looks at me and he says, "You're going to be okay." I knew in that moment, this was the second chapter of my life.
And if I could say this, friends, we don't need a plane crash or a car crash for us to wake up to the reality that life is short. And listen, your pain has a purpose.
Listen to all the speakers that we've heard. Within their pain, within their struggle, was actually their purpose. Their destiny. The reason why they were here. And you're no different.
You see, hidden within your challenge isn't a problem. It's an opportunity.
And you know what that plane crash did? It gave me a second chance at life. But not only that. Hidden within it was actually a purpose.
You see, a month later, while I was wheeling myself around the skatepark, this time in a wheelchair, there happened to be a principal there. His name was Mike Keenan, and he was the first one to believe in my story. He said, "Dave, you could share this story in front of audiences and it could probably inspire them."
And I'm here to tell you something. You have a story. You have a story. And if all of us just shared our story, if we were willing to share our struggles and our pain, guess what? I believe that this world would genuinely be a better place.
You see, hidden within your pain is your purpose.
Friends, the search and rescue gave me a second chance at life. It took me two years to recover. And one day I would finally fulfill the dream and become a professional skateboarder.
But you know what's so neat? All of the sponsorships, all of the brands. They sponsored me not because of my talent. I can skate, I'm good. But the reason why they chose to sponsor me was because I had a story.
You see, my weakness, the plane crash, became my strength.
And yours is too.
Against all odds.
Thanks, guys.
Dave Jonsson
Motivational Speaker, Professional Skateboarder & Youth Pastor - Port Coquitlam, BC
Dave Jonsson is a motivational speaker, plane crash survivor, professional skateboarder, and youth pastor based in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. He is the founder of Belong Church and The Belong Centre, an indoor skatepark and community hub he built for young people in Port Moody. He is also the author of Story To Stage. Dave has been speaking on resiliency for over 17 years and was featured on BBC Outlook, reaching 66 million listeners worldwide. His story of surviving a plane crash that killed his best friend, and rebuilding his life through skateboarding, ministry, and community work, has inspired audiences across schools, churches, and conferences internationally.
What's Next for Dave
Dave Jonsson advances to the 2026 Grand Slam: Inspirational Speaking Finals on November 21st at CBC Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. He will compete alongside the winners of each Season 10 qualifying competition for the title of Inspirational Speaker of the Year and a prize package valued at $50,000.
The Next Competition
Speaker Slam®'s next competition, Breakthrough, takes place March 31st at Lula Lounge in Toronto.
Applications for upcoming Season 10 competitions are open. Apply to compete →