Story & Lesson Highlights with Pascal Pedersen of Downtown Franklin

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Pascal Pedersen. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Pascal, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
One thing that makes me lose track if time is researching and reading up on current innovations across all sorts of science-fields. Reading up on these things gives me hope for the future of the world and how we will interact with one another. I get lost in world where these advancements meaningfully impact every person making their lives better, in many ways that is what we are trying to do at MovEt.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, my name is Pascal Pedersen, I do most of the social media and out reach for MovEt—a mobility accessibility start-up focused on bringing forth 21st century innovation to current accessibility devices. Our current project is creating an accessory that allow people to easily tighten the breaks on their walker, through the use of BreakMate (we’re still working on the name). Most of our story has been fighting 3d printers and hoping to nail the perfect design.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
When I was younger, I have clear memories of crying myself to sleep at night, because I thought I could never get into an Ivy League school. Which is pretty funny, because once I got to high school I realized that I never even wanted to go to an Ivy. I wanted to build cool things. I wanted to be able to look into the world and say, “I helped build that.” And at the time I was young and everyone told me that I had to achieve the best things in life—now I look out into the world and realize that it is far better to go out into the world and create a difference for someone, whether that be by talking with others, or (like what we try to do at MovEt) engineer a better world around us. But, I feel like we all have struggles with wanting to be the best; but, I have found that I would rather define what “best” means for myself—to me “best” means making life easier for those who normally don’t think about them.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
I have had many, many wounds of the course of my short life. For example, one of the first memories I have is my parents kicking my uncles out of the house, while I was pretending to be a chef. Or my step sister blaming me for the entire reason her life was a mess (I was only 7 or 8 at the time). Or being abused and discarded by my first partner. But each of these things have turned me into the diamond I am now. I learned to handle the pressure and weight of needing to fill the gap that my step sister made, meaning I learned how to take on more responsibility, which is why I am able to do any of this. I healed by surrounding myself with people who care for me deeply; people who understand that I am human too; people who will listen to me. I healed from past partners by forgiving them, when they were at their lowest, when they were isolated, when they were shamed, when they were banished, I offered them a place to eat, an ear to hear them; and by no means was it easy. If anything, it was the hardest thing to do, and probably will be the hardest thing I have done for the entirety of my life. And although it might have been the hardest thing to do, it made me so confident, it made me powerful, it gave me agency over my own life.

To sum it up: Surround yourself with friends who are close as family; forgive those who have wronged you and offer them friendship; do not let others have agency over who you are and where you will go.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
After talking with a few of my closest friends they would say that I value strong connections above everything else, that I have a strong sense of right and wrong, and that those who have been wronged or hurt are important.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If immortality were real, what would you build?
If I were immortal (presuming that it means that I live as long as humanity exists) I would try to build an organization that focuses on the advancements of science and technology, to hopefully provide every person an equal chance at life. For starters making sure every person as access to plenty of clean drinking water, constant electricity, affordable groceries, ways to connect with one another, curing cancer, ect.
I suppose that legacy wise, I would be constantly be starting and revising organizations to find ways to best help people, removing natures pain from the world. But I would most definitely steer clear of man-made pains, interpersonal relationship conflicts, because I know from experience that you need some of that to really develop yourself as a person, and learn your purpose.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: MovEt.Nashville

Image Credits
All designs in the photos were done by Cindy Zhao, MovEt cofounder and lead engineer.