meetjimowen.com
MEET JIM OWEN
How does a former Wall Street guy keep
reinventing himself when his goal is making a difference?
The common thread is offering inspiration.
And at 86, Jim Owen is still striving to help other older adults become the best possible versions of themselves.
Best-Selling
Author
FITNESS
ENTHUSIAST
DOCUMENTARY
FILM PRODUCER
COMPETITIVE
ATHLETE
WHAT'S NEW
Jim’s latest film, Virtuous Circle: A Roadmap for Living Better Longer, is now being distributed across the PBS network. It’s a blend of inspiration and practical advice for people who want to get healthier as they age, but don’t know how to start, let alone make a lifestyles changers stick. The solution? Harness the power of the virus circle, the dynamic whereby each step forward leads other positive changes in a cycle of ongoing improvement.
Check your local PBS station listings for showtimes, or call the station’s program director to request a showing. The film can also be streamed at pbs.org.
BEST SELLING AUTHOR
Jim Owen was 35 years into a successful Wall Street career when his creative spirit
tugged at him. Out of the blue he came up with an idea: Cowboy Ethics, a heartfelt
response to the corporate scandals and social upheavals of the early 2000s. He was
so gripped by the concept that he decided to radically change his life. “Making
money was no longer enough,” he says. “I wanted to make a difference.”
His 2004 book, Cowboy Ethics, a best-seller with more than 165,000 copies in
circulation, along with two follow-up volumes, Cowboy Values, and The Try, seeded
a robust grassroots movement. This Code of the West trilogy also led to programs that
have reached tens of thousands of businesspeople, educators, students and parents
around the country.
FITNESS ENTHUSIAST
At 70, and feeling the strains of a decade on the book tour and speaking circuit, Jim
embraced a different mission: inspiring older adults to slow down the aging process
by making fitness a way of life. His book, Just Move!, grew from his own journey
of transformation.
Starting as a “certified couch potato” racked with chronic lower back pain, he exercised
his way to being pain-free and in the best shape of his life. The book was published by
National Geographic in 2017 and named one of the year’s top five books on healthy aging by The Wall Street Journal.
“My goal for the past 15 years has been to make my later years the best they can be. Discovering the virtuous circle put me on that path and has kept me moving forward.”
DOCUMENTARY FILM PRODUCER
After release of his book, Just Move!, Jim set his sights on bridging what he calls “the inspiration gap” on the subject of aging. His answer: producing documentary films. “We can’t argue or browbeat people into taking better care of themselves,” he says. “Information isn’t enough. We have to motivate and inspire them. The film medium has the power to do that on both an emotional and an intellectual level.”
Jim devoted the next two years to producing his 2020 documentary, The Art of
Aging Well. It aired more than 200 times on 116 PBS stations in 25 states. His latest
film, Virtuous Circle: A Roadmap for Living Better Longer, is currently
airing on PBS nationwide, and can also be streamed at pbs.org. This inspiring
half-hour film offers a practical framework for getting healthier and fitter, one
small step at a time
COMPETITIVE ATHLETE
When asked about his personal approach to fitness, Jim will
tell you that he thinks of it as his sport, competing both with
himself and others. In 2024 he took his competitiveness to the
next level by taking part in California’s Senior Games, which
included ten fitness events. Jim entered all ten in the 80-to-84
age bracket, even though seven were exercises he had never
done before.
In preparation, Jim trained harder than he ever had in his life,
working with two trainers for four hours a week in the hot summer
sun. When the dust had settled on the 2024 Games, he had
won a gold medal in every event—ten fitness medals in all a
feat no one in any age bracket had ever achieved before.
SPEAKING
Rather than lecturing audiences, Jim entertains and engages
them with a showing of his new 30-minute film, Virtuous Circle:
A Roadmap for Living Better Longer, followed by a lively Q&A
session.
MEDIA
Jim is a man on a mission, intent on spreading his message of hope: yes,
we can improve with age. “I used to think my best days were behind me,”
he says. “Now I genuinely believe they still lie ahead.”
CONTACT
For TV or podcast appearances,
interviews, and authored articles:
CHRISTINE NGUYEN
253-737-6261
KALET GROUP PR
christine@kaletgroup.com
(C) 2026 All rights reserved
For film projects and
fireside chat bookings:
JIM OWEN
858-214-9435
jparksowen@icloud.com