Angela Gargano built her career in the liminal spaces most people avoid—the pressure-filled moments between identity, uncertainty, and reinvention. A 6x American Ninja Warrior, Miss Fitness America, 3x cover girl, and former biochemist, Angela blends evidence-based tools with the lived experience of navigating public setbacks and extraordinary comebacks.

Her origin story didn’t begin with winning; it began with tearing her ACL on national television. That moment didn’t just threaten her career—it fractured her identity. But what happened next became the heart of her work. As she rebuilt her strength, Angela also built a global fitness movement helping thousands of women in their 40s–70s achieve their first pull-up. It became a metaphor for everything she teaches:

• Courage can be trained.
• Progress is built in micro-steps.
• You don’t need permission to begin.

Her FIRST Framework now equips leaders and teams to take bold steps, navigate uncertainty, and re-engage with their goals with conviction rather than hesitation.

Angela’s signature talks—Be the FIRST™ and What If It All Goes Right™—combine high-performance psychology, sports resilience, and electrifying storytelling to create transformative moments in the room. She challenges every audience to ask:

“What’s the one thing you’ve been hesitating to take the first step on?”

—and then shows them how to take it, today.

Her mission is simple: Help people rise when the path isn’t clear, decide before they feel ready, and lead with courage rooted in action.