conversations With
Film producer.
Philanthropist. Trailblazer.
And now, ISPA Keynote
Speaker. mick eBeling’s
endless curiosity and
belief in solving
impossible problems
led him to create Not
Impossible Labs, an
innovative tech and
storytelling incubator.
Through Not Impossible,
Mick has helped the deaf
hear music, 3D-printed
prosthetics for Sudanese war
refugees and enabled a
paraplegic artist to draw
again using only his eyes.
Ahead of his keynote
address on the final day of
the 2019 ISPA Conference &
Expo, Pulse caught up with
Ebeling to discuss Not
Impossible, his problem-
solving approach and his
advice for entrepreneurs.
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PULSE
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jULy 2019
mick eBeling
Pulse: You came from the world of film production;
what drew you to founding Not Impossible Labs?
Mick Ebeling: Not Impossible Labs began
because we were introduced to a
paralyzed graffiti artist named Tony
“TEMPT” Quan, and after quickly
learning his story, we realized
he was lying motionless in a
bed for the previous seven
years. He was unable to
communicate, unable to
speak and talk to his family
or friends unless through a
piece of paper with the
alphabet written on it called
a Letter Board. We found that
to be just absurd that it was
the solution that existed in this
day and age, where there’s abundant
technology solving all kinds of problems
around the world. That a simple communication
device, that we knew existed, wasn’t accessible for this one guy to
have, because he didn’t have health insurance or money.
We became outraged. We were outraged by that injustice and
said, “We have to change that.” So, we just started working, and we
built a device for him. A device that ended up being called the
at the unveiling of “music: not impossible,” a wireless vibration suit which helps the
deaf “feel” music.