A Timepiece with a Touching Social Impact
By Sally Coldrick and Rachel Hentsch
There are not many moments when you witness the ideal customer of a product actually try that product for the first time. This is what happened to us quite by chance — or perhaps by destiny? — when circumstances converged in such a way that Rachel’s watch, the Bradley Timepiece (“Voyager” model), engineered with inclusive design principle, was tried for the first time by our blind friend and fellow MIT-Bootcamper, Pawel Urbanski. And, unsurprisingly, it was “success at first touch”. The interesting twist to all of this is that the reason Rachel (who isn’t visually impaired, and did not in fact need a special kind of watch) fell in love with this timepiece was because of its aesthetic excellence, and its “philosophical” and strategic qualities. Eone timepieces make time tangible and touchable — literally, and to everyone. You can even sense the time from under the table, without anyone noticing: very useful when you are in a meeting and want to be discreet.
Eone and The Bradley: much more than just a watch
Designing for extremes: Story of the Bradley
‘The Bradley’ timepiece was created by Hyungsoo Kim and his team at Eone, inspired by a visually impaired University friend and then further championed by Lt. Bradley Snyder — a blind former US Naval Officer turned Paralympic swimming champion.
“Brad is an inspiration not just to blind community but to all of us. Brad has inspired us with his dedication to breaking down barriers for people who are blind — speaking out against stereotypes and proving that the obstacles of living with a disability come from social inequality and not from disability itself. “ Hyungsoo Kim, CEO, Eone.
The Eone team believes in universal, inclusive design: designing for extremes of ability and disability to create superior products and services.
Bradley Snyder’s achievements in the face of adversity are extraordinary, and of inspiration to whomever has the privilege to know him, or even just hear his story. Brad won two Gold medals and one Silver at the London Paralympics in 2012, exactly 365 days after losing his sight as a result of stepping on a hidden bomb in an Afghan farm field: a dark anniversary turned golden! Four years later, Bradley returns even stronger, earning three Gold, one Silver and one Bronze at the August 2016 Rio Paralympics, where he has also set the new world record (unchallenged for 30 years) in the men’s S11 100-metre freestyle.
Designing for Social Impact: the Bradley x KBT Initiative
Eone’s desire to meaningfully impact the world by creating more opportunities for all can be seen in their latest initiative. We learnt with joy about their teaming up with the Kilimanjaro Blind Trust to create a special edition Bradley timepiece that has a direct social impact.
Each purchase of the Bradley × KBT timepiece will help blind children in East Africa read, write, and learn
It is probably no coincidence that both Pawel and Sally have in their own time climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. Some events have an uncanny way of weaving themselves across time, distance and circumstance, to compose a picture that points to something beyond and gives one the feeling that things do not just happen without reason. And the Bradley timepiece just seems to have this deep underlying tie with perseverance and achievement.
We therefore find it very fitting that in the lead up to Holiday Season, when many of us receive gifts and likely even get spoilt rotten, there is an opportunity to focus on the ‘giving back’ element. Why not seize this occasion to turn the gift for a cherished person into something that is really meaningful, far beyond our personal circles? Something that will also bring a flash of hope to the less fortunate.
Pawel and The Bradley: Chemistry at First Sight
Pawel Urbanski started losing his sight at 13 years of age. But it is not something that has curbed his character or striving for excellence. Pawel is the first blind person in Poland to have completed the International Baccalaureate diploma program at the Red Cross Nordic United World College, a public speaker for TEDx, has earned a Master in Economics, PhD in computer science, is an active golf player, climber of the Seven Summits, Sports Star of the Year 2008 for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, first ever blind person to be accepted into the MIT Global Entrepreneurship programme, and more recently was invited as a guest speaker at MIT Enterprise Forum Poland. We witnessed Pawel trying ‘The Bradley’ timepiece for the first time, and it was undoubtedly chemistry at first touch.
It was the last day of the week-long MIT Entrepreneurship Bootcamp in Cambridge, MA, on demo day. As Pawel ran his delicate and slender, pianist-like, fingers around the dials of ‘The Bradley’, we watched with baited-breath, asking ourselves: ‘How long will it take for him to tell the time on this brand new device? Will he work the time out correctly?’. Well, it took under a minute: 55 seconds to be exact.
“Besides the fact that he climbed the Seven Summits and that he is an amazing golf player, which are quite amazing accomplishments no matter if you are sighted or blind, what truly impressed me about Pawel was the difference he brought to the discussion table full of entrepreneurs. He had an mystical power to push people outside of their stereotyped world to be more creative and innovative. He was the perfect person to be in a start-up team.” Hyungsoo Kim, CEO, Eone.
Rachel and the Bradley: a timepiece story
Rachel Hentsch developed a deep personal connection with the Eone story. In June 2015 she discovered, through the online MIT course syllabus, the startup story of Hyungsoo Kim ‘s Eone venture: it was one of the course case studies. She watched the narration behind the Bradley Timepiece and was totally won over by the story of courage and perseverance on all sides: existential, athletic, and entrepreneurial. In December Rachel received a Bradley Timepiece as a Christmas present from her family. After getting accepted into the MIT Bootcamp programme Rachel met Hyungsoo Kim in person in Seoul — he was one of the Bootcamp Mentors.
“I wear my Bradley Timepiece, and somehow feel like I am a little bit a part of all these different stories. There is a feeling of connectedness and boundless sharing behind all of this. Brad’s courage was a great inspiration to me during my 2015 Enduro (dirtbike motorcycle) races. And Hyungsoo’s gentleness, sensitivity and creativity have coloured my entrepreneurial journey with new hues and nuances.” Rachel Hentsch
A few months later, Sally and Rachel both attended a talk on “Extreme Ownership” given by former member of US Navy SEAL (Team 5 Bomb Squad Commander) Sean Bonawitz — who also happens to be a friend of Brad Snyder. Another tapestry of interconnections.
Time cannot be stopped, nor even captured. But we can each make the most of it, and of the opportunities that time affords us.
Learn the whole story behind The Bradley Timpiece by Eone:
Sally and Rachel believe in the power of reaching high and embracing wide. As the clock of our lives ticks away and time slips steadily away through our fingers, let us make the most of every thought we formulate, every word we utter and every action we take. In the words of our friend Pawel Urbanski: “It’s time, it’s HIGH TIME!”
Originally published at https://medium.com on November 22, 2016.
