You were born with Poland syndrome. Briefly explain what it is. How does it manifest?
Poland syndrome is a congenital disorder characterized by the absence or underdevelopment of the pectoralis major muscle on one side of the body. It can also affect the shoulder, arm, and hand. It is believed to be due to an alteration in embryonic circulation during gestation. There are different degrees of involvement, and in my case, I have a severe condition that affected my pectoralis major muscle, forearm, and right hand.
What is your earliest memory of being different? Do you remember how you reacted to your own difference?
Without a doubt, when I walked with my parents on the street or in the park. I noticed people's stares. Especially on my first day of school. That day I knew it would be the beginning of a life of differences.
To a significant extent, Piece by Piece is a celebration of how your parents, particularly your father, Ferran, responded to people’s stares and their negativity with regard to your difference.
It's natural; every parent wants the impact of being different not to negatively influence you or affect your personality. Rather, it should become your strength to move forward and overcome this and other obstacles that life presents. Of course, I probably saw it differently as a child, but as you get older, you're grateful for having those parents who, under their umbrella, have shaped me into the person I am today. On page 11, in the chapter "Neckbreaker" you'll learn how my father and I used to play on the street, transforming other people's stares into a game.
What event or series of events in your early childhood inspired or catalyzed the desire, or rather, the will, to build your first MK prosthetic arm out of Lego bricks? You were just 9 when you built it!
My parents started buying me Legos when I was 5. It all started with Kinder chocolate eggs, which contained toys that you could assemble and which could transport you to incredible worlds. Seeing my great skill and dexterity, and wanting to enhance my cognitive abilities and fine dexterity with my small hand, they decided to help me develop thanks to the most appropriate toy for this purpose: LEGO.
At age 5, I was in one of those moments when being different meant coming home from school to a story about bullying, laughter, mockery, or aggression for being different. When I got home before dinner, I took refuge in my Lego bubble, and it was during one of those daydreaming moments when, wanting to build a boat, I realized something. I was just building the keel of the boat—you know, the bottom part that makes it float. So, I held it up to my little arm and realized that if I wrapped it around my arm, instead of building a boat, I could build something much more brutal. I could build precisely what I don't have: an arm. So, with traditional Lego bricks, a wire, duct tape, a keychain strap, and robot parts , I built my first arm. My father encouraged me to take it to school because he knew the admiration of teachers, and especially students, would have a very positive impact on me. And so it did… Even the kids who bullied me expressed amazement. But it didn't last long…
You are a passionate activist against #bullying, particularly in schools and the workplace. When you're in the field, what example of harassment from your own experience do you cite most frequently and why?
I always tell the same story: when I was 15, a boy, to really hurt me, told me it wasn't my fault I was born that way, it was my mother's fault. Which made me incredibly angry. It was tragic.
Tell us about your charity brand, Hand Solo and how the idea for it came about.
When my father made my story of overcoming known, he decided to register my alias, HAND SOLO, because he was very sure that my story would travel far and wide. At that time, thanks to the international media, David Aguilar, alias Hand Solo, was already known. I was already giving lectures all over the world under my alias. Our trademark and patent attorney warned us that Disney would surely oppose it since, logically, they protect their intellectual property. When our attorney informed us that they had received notification of opposition to the trademark, my father didn't give up and decided to send a letter to Disney explaining our reasons. At that very moment, I was giving a lecture at NASA, and to that six-page letter, I attached a photo in which I appeared at NASA giving a lecture to many of the most important companies in the world. That letter convinced them because we detailed our most sincere desires to create the most important inspirational and human improvement brand in the world. A brand where the name Hand Solo is synonymous with a series of values such as self-improvement, ingenuity, creativity, and above all, respect, tolerance, and inclusion. A brand where the sale of its merchandising products and any profits generated are used to support disability associations and the fight against bullying. We're now looking for investors to help us internationalize the brand and allow us to reach the point where it can be licensed to convey those much-needed values to children and adults around the world.
I have reviewed your book, Piece by Piece: How I Built My Life, here on Borders. I know it has travelled far. Give me a news update.
Piece by Piece has already been translated into six languages—English, French, Greek, Polish, and Chinese—and will soon be released in Korean. The rights to a film have been acquired, which is currently being scripted by a well-known Spanish screenwriter named Amaya Muruzabal. The producers are very excited and believe it could be a huge success. As much, if not more, than the film "Wonder," a very similar theme in which the protagonist has a physical disability and the love of those around him helps him overcome it.
Your story will resonate with entrepreneurs around the world so please use this interview not only biography but as a Call to Action. Here’s the mike.
Thank you, Olatoun. We take this opportunity to call on entrepreneurial readers who would like to learn more about our HAND SOLO brand project. Our goal is that when this film is a success and reaches hearts around the world, it will already be well positioned for that moment. Those interested can contact us by email at: info@handsolo.com
The STEAM spirit is the spirit that fuses and defines your vocational activities. Tell us about David Aguilar's vocation from a STEAM perspective
There's a lot to say and be thankful for, no doubt. Everyone has collaborated on different projects and continues to do so.
As I've mentioned before, since my father convinced Disney to let me use my alias, a succession of events have occurred, leading institutions of this caliber to join me in my quest to use my story as an inspiration, motivation, and awareness-raising event. The Andorran government subsidized my documentary Mr. Hand Solo, which won the world's most important science fiction film festival. The Boston Sci-Film Festival, where Star Wars won at its premiere 47 years ago, and where, 47 years later, my documentary Mr. Hand Solo won. A beautiful paradox of life, don't you think?
My country's government likes to use my story of overcoming challenges as a great example, and I was awarded an ambassadorship thanks to the CEA (Andorran Business Confederation) for sharing my example around the world. It's a great honor.
You’re an ambassador for LEGO as well arent’you? How did the company get to know about you?
Lego Education became aware of my story of overcoming challenges when my father, with all his good judgment, published a video sharing my story. It was then that Yannick Dupont, one of its top executives and much loved by us, made my story known internally to the point of inviting me to Lego headquarters in Billund (Denmark) to help develop the new Spike Prime pieces, which are used in today's STEAM education to teach science, technology, arts, and math. It was an incredible week in which I demonstrated that with these new pieces, sensors, motors, and control units, I could build five different arms. I met and had access to the most secret laboratory where very few can enter. I met the manufacturers of the helicopter that gave rise to my Mk-1. I also met the designer of the airplane and crane for my Mk-2 and Mk-3. I later became an ambassador for Lego's most important marketing campaign of all time. It’s called #rebuildtheworld. They allowed me to film myself at the facilities to create content for my documentary Mr. Hand Solo and to interview all of them. Even the company's CEO, Niels B. Christiansen, whom I had the great honor and pleasure of meeting, embracing, and interviewing. I have given various talks to Lego's top executives and employees, who have shown me great affection, esteem, and admiration on social media from the very beginning, especially on LinkedIn.
There’s an extensive article about you on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) website. Tell us about WIPO’s role in your success.
WIPO has played a crucial role in all of this. Convincing Disney was a major milestone because WIPO registers and regulates trademarks and patents worldwide. When my father registered the trademark "Hand Solo," our lawyer submitted the request to WIPO for processing, and they were the ones who informed Disney about it, as the phonetic and written similarity was more than evident. Initially, they filed an opposition, and they processed it for us. When my father wrote the letter while I was at NASA and sent it to Disney through our lawyer, they fully understood our project and subsequently authorized it. WIPO was surprised and intrigued and later invited us to visit their incredible facilities in Geneva, Switzerland. I held an online conference for more than 1,200 children from 150 countries to raise awareness about protecting and registering their intellectual property. WIPO recorded a three-minute report to translate it into the nine languages in which the organization operates and post it on all their social media channels.
It’s great that WIPO saw the opportunity to target populations of child inventor-entrepreneurs with the knowledge you now had about protecting intellectual property.
It was great. Since then, and thanks also to my Government, through the Andorran Embassy in Geneva, they have promoted several conferences at the UN, WIPO, and various schools. Our entire family and I myself are very grateful to our Head of Government, Xavier Espot, Ambassador Ferran Costa, Secretary General Ester Fenoll, and their entire government team, past and present, for everything they do for us in this effort to inspire, motivate, and raise awareness.
David Aguilar, born in Andorra, is an inspiring figure known for his resilience and crea ...
