Call us on +44 (0)20 7907 2800
Mick began in Hollywood special effects, but his life changed after meeting an artist who had contracted Motor Neurone Disease. Mick set about designing an open-source device to track eye movement, allowing him to communicate again. The team has since used the same creativity in war-torn Sudan, reducing the cost of prosthetics for children by 90% with the help of 3D printing. Mike shares his infectious enthusiasm and asks “If not now, when? If not me, who?”
Mick Ebeling is the founder and CEO of The Ebeling Group and Not Impossible Labs. He and his organisations are responsible for some hugely creative, inspiring projects, utilising designers and innovators to tackle modern problems.
A TV and film producer, Mick and his team have worked on graphics, effects and title sequences for huge Hollywood blockbusters. It was this work that brought a graffiti artist by the name of Tempt One to Mick’s attention. An established artist, Tempt developed motor neurone disease (or ALS in America) and over a short period of time was completely paralysed except for his eyes. Originally intending to donate money to help Tempt and his family, Mick ended up considering what they really needed.
With no previous knowledge of optics and ocular recognition, Mick and his team of creatives developed a cheap, open-source device that tracked eye movement. The Eye Writer not only enabled Tempt to communicate again, it also enabled him to draw and create new art works. Mick now uses this experience to encourage others to think creatively, tackle new ideas, and ask “If not now, then when? If not me, then who?”
Mick’s next big project took on the production of prosthetic limbs for those in the third world. Travelling to Sudan, Project Daniel used 3D printing technology to cut the cost of prosthetics for children injured in the civil war by 90%, enabling hundreds, and potentially thousands of children to regain mobility and live a normal life again.
With inspiring images and video, and an infectious enthusiasm for making a difference, Mick recounts his remarkable stories with compelling energy and passion.
