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.

Finally, another Aguilar family inspiration is your sister, Naia. She’s worked in Africa as a volunteer in primary schools. I’m sure she must have shared lots of news with you about the schoolchildren she was working with and about the state of their education.

My sister Naia is finishing her degree in Early Childhood Education and wants to be a teacher like my grandfather Juan Aguilar, who was a great educator in a country of 80,000 people. Thousands of students passed through his hands during his nearly 40 years as an educator. We've witnessed the great affection his students had for him because of his personality and his way of teaching. That has certainly influenced us. Especially Naia, who has wanted to follow in his footsteps by educating the little ones. She went to Tanzania for her final year project to help rebuild a school in a very remote village and create a new one. To achieve this, everyone rallied around her on social media, raising around €7,000 to renovate the school and buy uniforms, shoes, food, and desks. It's a great project that anyone who wants to learn about and help with needs only to contact her through her Instagram: @naia_aguilar.

PART II – FERRAN AGUILAR

A Father’s Journey of Love, Faith and Ingenuity

I enjoyed the YouTube documentary titled David Aguilar’s Story in which Nathalie, your wife, describes her pregnancy with David as “ a wonderful pregnancy … 9 months of joy .”
In this conversation, review Nathalie’s and your reactions when the doctors told you that your newborn baby was born with a missing arm.

Indeed, they were wonderful months filled with hope, excitement, and joy at having our first child. His birth was a very hard blow, and the lack of knowledge of his physical condition at birth hit us like a bucket of cold water. As I clearly mention in the documentary, I was very lucky that Nathalie, who is much stronger than me, became the main pillar in which I dealt with this situation.
[Watch the documentary which can be found on Hand Solo's YouTube channel or on their website www.handsolo.com]

In what specific ways did you feel, and continue to feel, in your own words, “strong for David "? This idea came to you in the hospital as you understood the reality of the baby's condition.

We understood that we couldn't express our grief, sadness, or discouragement in front of David, because it didn't benefit anyone, especially David. The crying, if there was any, happened behind David's back. I always say that I'm more sensitive than Nathalie, and she and my mother gave me the strength to overcome it. All this happiness we feel at seeing David become a global inspiration is directly proportional to the suffering we experienced. Sharing my son's story is the most important thing I've ever done, as it helped lift him up. It lifted us up too. His story is important also to children like him who suffer because they are disabled or different, and to their families. It also of course opened our eyes to a society that isn't inclusive, respectful, and supportive.

It's incredible how similar you and David look, especially in your wedding photos. And, of course, his story is yours too, isn't it? And not just because you're his father.
Would you describe your struggles to support him on his difficult journey as the crucible in which your own inventiveness was forged?

Of course. David has been my greatest inspiration, without a doubt. My pain turned into a need to adapt devices for him so he felt included and not rejected. I made him prosthetics for riding a bicycle and fins for swimming that could replace his missing right arm. I composed the main song for his documentary, Mr. Hand Solo, which received eight Goya Awards nominations, Spain's main arts awards. My song "Oh Lego," composed and performed by me which featured in the film, received a nomination.
I collaborated with him to make one of the two prostheses for Beknur, the son of the Kazakh consul in France, who was born missing both arms. David made him a prosthesis so he could pick up objects and play with his brother. I collaborated with David to design the device for a second prosthesis so he could use a phone and a tablet. For this, I was awarded a Guinness World Record along with David. David won another for Guiness World Record for Beknur's arm and another for his Mk-1, the first functional prosthetic arm made with Lego.

And of course, you wrote Piece by Piece together didn’t you? How I built My Life (No Instructions Required) What a great strapline!

Yes, it was a pleasure writing the memoir. It has already been translated into six languages and is about to be made into a film.
I’m very happy and proud that I was been able to convince Disney to plant a seed of hope in many families who, like us, struggle with the inclusion and happiness of our children.
So yes, supporting him on his life's journey has brought great and enriching emotions. My journey with David is without doubt an important story that deserves to be valued and made known.

Now, tell us about the creation process of Bullying Pursuit, your board game. What inspired this format to address the ever-present problem of bullying? And how do the game's mechanics and principles translate from the classroom to the workplace?

Bullying Pursuit was born in a very special and emotional way, and it all began when my father, Juan Aguilar, died. My siblings and I went to empty his apartment, and in one of the closets, I found the old Parcheesi board, also known as Ludo. With tears in my eyes, I headed home with the trunk of the car full of memories, and the game my mother used to play with her children and her beloved grandson, David, in the passenger seat. During the drive, I reminisced about my mother playing with David, teaching him the rules, and laughing out loud with her grandson. And I thought...
Wow, Parcheesi is a game that has no educational value whatsoever. It's about getting to the top at all costs by harassing other players on the board, killing them, sending them home, and being rewarded for it. It's a game that promotes negative competitiveness above all else. And I thought…why don’t I change the rules and turn it into a collaborative game that serves as a fun educational tool to promote positive values?
And so, Bullying Pursuit was born. The new Hand Solo & Friends parchisi against bullying.

You’ve introduced a new player to the game, haven’t you? A really bad guy.

Yes, that’s correct. I’ve introduced a 5th player, the Bullying Monster. He must be eradicated from the game board, which, in some way, represents the board of our lives. The monster is moved by chance with two dice that each player rolls with their own. That is, each player takes their turn with three dice. There are four black monsters that move around the board, stalking players and trapping them to be rescued by the other players. Once a player is freed by another, the player's token is turned over and they are placed in the "Bullying Free" position. To end the game, all players must be in the Bullying Free position, which means helping to combat the monster's harassment.

This is what should happen in a perfect society. We need to fight this social scourge that causes so much harm to young people around the world. Once the monster has been killed, the game of Parcheesi or Ludo can continue, but this time eliminating the negative competitiveness of the well-known game. The rule of hunting down a player and being rewarded by counting up to10 is eliminated. The goal is for the players to get all their tokens to the top first, having gone through a previous phase of positive collaboration. I presented my game at a board game festival. Falomir Juegos, the largest Parcheesi manufacturer in Europe really liked it. They will launch it this year, 2025.

A Hollywood film about David's life is in the works.
Tell us a little about it: the origin of the idea for the film and the progress of the project so far.

It's all thanks to the work of our Barcelona-based agent, IMC Literary Agency. Their books and stories go through various filters. The agents proposed our work to the right people to make this dream come true. The project is in the scripting phase by a renowned screenwriter who has participated in important audiovisual projects. It’s likely to see light of day within three years.

You are a banker by profession, so you will have observed the speed of the global transition to a cultural economy. Increasing importance is being placed on innovation and entrepreneurship for the enrichment of the global community.
What are your hopes for the role David's brand, Hand Solo, will play in this economy?

His story has reached far and wide, and I'm very proud to have shared it. Every day he reaches even greater heights. His story serves as a great example in schools, colleges, and companies across a variety of sectors, and the book is recommended reading for all of them. He gives in-person and online lectures around the world and receives all kinds of awards and recognition. He is an ambassador for his country, Andorra, and for the Adecco Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce.

I told David that I conceived this interview as not only a biography but as a Call to Action so, do please make the call.

Thank you, Olatoun. Well, it's truly impossible to imagine that such an important, powerful, and inspiring storytelling wouldn't inspire parents around the world. The brand helps instill values and exemplary behavior in their children. It's impossible for the world not to embrace a brand with a mission of such magnitude. Its profits will help organizations for the disabled and the fight against bullying. The Hand Solo brand is necessary in an economy that needs more values. The brand serves as an example to millions of young people around the world.
We're calling on all of our readers to learn about our HAND SOLO brand internationalization project. A great brand needs ethical investment and values to embrace the entire world.

There's a beautiful quote. I don't know its origin. Here it is:
“Each of us carries a story inside that we can't read alone. We need someone who, with wonder and a twinkle in their eye, will read it and tell it to us.”
In the context of your relationship with David, please respond to this statement in no more than 100 words.

Piece by Piece is a story of paternal and filial love; of overcoming difficulties and success. Leaving it untold would not help build a better, more inclusive, respectful, and tolerant world. I have dedicated myself body and soul to sharing the story of my son and our family, because I know that if it remained anecdotal, it would not have helped David, or us, or those whose hearts our story has touched. As is the case with Olatoun Gabi-Williams, editor of this magazine whose heart I know we hold dear. Thank you for being an important piece of our lives, Olatoun.

Read the Borders review of David's memoir, Piece by Piece, here