White Fence Living

Designing Accessibility: Aaron's Form 5 Journey

• Justin Rush • Season 1 • Episode 18

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0:00 | 43:14

What if the solution to a complex challenge isn't what experts assume, but what users actually need? Aaron Westbrook discovered this truth firsthand, born without his right hand in a world where representation for people with limb differences was practically non-existent.

Aaron's story begins in New Albany, where his family has deep roots going back to the 1940s. As a tech-savvy teenager who served as unofficial tech support for family members, Aaron's life changed when he gained access to his high school's 3D printer. With remarkable initiative, he approached a teacher he'd never met, explaining his research and asking for help. By the end of his sophomore year, Aaron had created his first 3D-printed prosthetic arm—and discovered his life's purpose.

Just three months after high school graduation, Aaron founded Form 5, a nonprofit organization creating adaptive products for people with limb differences. Now celebrating its eighth anniversary, Form 5 has pioneered an approach fundamentally different from the prosthetics industry. Rather than developing expensive, high-tech devices that look impressive but offer limited practical value, Aaron listens to what users actually need for specific activities.

This philosophy led to Form 5's innovative COFAB (Collaboration and Fabrication) workshops, where individuals with limb differences collaborate with college students and industry mentors to develop custom solutions. The results have been transformative—from helping a marching band member hold a trumpet to enabling a woman to ride a bike for a cancer fundraiser.

Form 5's signature innovation, the Bike Arm Adapter, represents a paradigm shift in adaptive technology. Unlike traditional prosthetics that attach to the person, the adapter connects to the bicycle handlebar and features a sizing system similar to shoes. This approach makes the product more affordable, adaptable, and sustainable—outgrown adapters can be returned and repurposed.

Aaron's vision extends beyond those missing limbs to include people with neuromuscular diseases, stroke, arthritis, and Parkinson's. Through Form 5, he's become "the person I needed growing up," creating representation and tools that were missing from his own childhood.

Connect with Form 5 at their finish line celebration on September 13th at North High Brewing in Westerville as Aaron completes his 190-mile fundraising ride from Indianapolis to Columbus, and help them reach their $100,000 goal to expand their life-changing work nationwide.

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Justin:

Well, let's go ahead and get started. Aaron, thanks for coming, man Awesome.

Aaron:

Thank you so much for having me. This is an amazing opportunity to share the story of Form 5.

Justin:

Yeah, yeah, I'm super excited and, as usual, I've got another guest who's probably more familiar with BrickHouse Blue than I am. So what's a little bit of your background or just kind of like your relationship with BrickHouse Blue?

Aaron:

your background or or just kind of like your relationship with Burkhouse Blue. Yeah, so, um, I attended the opening. Uh, I've been familiar with open, uh, I've been familiar with Innovate New Albany, um, so I got invited to the grand opening um what like almost a year ago now yeah it's crazy.

Aaron:

Um, I was just absolutely impressed with the space and just, I think, leveling up the opportunity for entrepreneurs, innovators in the New Albany area to like have a space and ecosystem. Um, it's been really cool to watch it grow over the last few, you know, last year.

Justin:

Yeah, it's really cool. Um, so we've uh, we we're not sure if we've met before. We think we should have, if we haven't, uh, it was like maybe around COVID time, um, but I've been following you on social media, I feel like forever. I've always been like just super impressed with the story and just what you're doing. And I'll be honest, I don't know a ton about it, right, other than the kind of like what I've seen on social media. So I'm not sure, I'm not sure where to start.

Aaron:

Yeah.

Justin:

Let's do this. Let's start with, like, new Albany High School, so you're a New Albany grad.

Aaron:

Yeah, so well, I have to even start before then, because I think it's really important to note that I get to flash a card that not many people get to flash, which is that I'm old, new Albany.

Justin:

Which I know a lot of people are like what?

Aaron:

does that even mean? My grandpa and his mom moved into the community in the 40s.

Aaron:

Oh, wow he graduated from what was then Plain Township High School in 1951. And then my dad graduated from New Albany in 1984, his siblings in the 70s. I'm six of eight cousins that all graduated from New Albany, so our family's been here for quite some time and so I am the baby I'm the very last. That's awesome. So I graduated from New Albany High School in 2017. And really during my time in high school was known for the research and development that I was doing within the kind of adaptive products, prosthetic space, because I was born without my hand and so that's really kind of what set me on this amazing journey, and the New Albany community has been absolutely 100% behind me and supporting. Like a teenager's dream. That's like now reality.

Justin:

Yeah, yeah, it's um so. So this wasn't like it wasn't an accident. You were born, born like this, right? So, um, I mean, did you like when tell me what that was like, like? What's it like growing up? Um?

Aaron:

you know it's it's. It has its own challenges. You know I learned to cope with it and, you know, figured out what worked and what was more challenging. But I think the biggest thing for me growing up was like the lack of representation. Yeah, you know, seeing someone that looks like you doing the things you dream of doing it makes it real in your own mind.

Aaron:

And when you don't see that you like, oh, I, you know it's like a negative thought pattern. I have one hand I want to play the cello, but there's, like no one I've ever seen play the cello, so, like, that's probably just not something that I can do. Yeah, um, but really it's a matter of like, having a community and having access to the right tools to be able to like, oh, I just need something. Attaches my arm, hold the cello, though. Like, yeah, that's kind of been this journey that I've been on, I do not play the cello.

Aaron:

That's on my list of things. I want to play an instrument so bad. But like I think that's like the amazing thing with the organization I started, form 5, I get to be the person I needed growing up.

Aaron:

There's so many things that just access to community, that connection is so important. But, like I, you know all that, just access to community, that connection is so important. But all the things I shied away from as a kid, I could have done. I just didn't have the right tool to help me do it. And so I look back on my childhood and I think, wow, if Form 5 existed, then I would be playing the cello, I'd probably play multiple instruments.

Aaron:

I'd be doing all the things, and so it's on the list. I'm going to do it.

Justin:

That's awesome, I guess. So, like, at what point did like so, was it? I guess, like, how do you? What made you want to get into like this engineering and innovation and like inventing?

Aaron:

Yeah, I don't know. It's interesting. For the longest time I've tried to like figure out like, where did this love for technology start? I was like a techie kid so like okay if you had a problem with your computer and you were a relative of mine, I probably helped you like I was the tech. I was tech support. I printer's not working.

Aaron:

Call erin, like that was always me as a kid um, so, like, technology was always my thing, um, and, honestly, my, my whole. You know, at 14, my thought for the future was, like I want to go to school for photography and film. I was super into that. Um, and then, like you know, just started researching 3d printing and just you know what was being created, uh, for folks with physical disabilities, and I was like, wow, like this is really cool. This is like a blend of like it solves a real problem that, like I'm personally facing.

Aaron:

But it's also like using my technology and my skills to like do something cool, like make a difference.

Aaron:

And so I've just always been kind of a techie kid it's probably the best way to put it but I taught myself 3d printing. Basically, kind of long story short, like how it all started, you know, I was in my sophomore year of high school. Really everything that like the beginning of form five, the, the, you know the genesis of it all. It's just really everything happened so miraculously, like I was just a kid, you know, researching 3d printing and I'm like I will never see a 3d printer. It's too expensive, like whatever the school district the next year got a grant and like got a fabrication lab and had 3d printers and I was like, oh my God, like this is a lot more real. Um and uh, I just, you know, had done research, you know, on my own, and then when the school implemented their fabrication lab, uh, there was only like one teacher. It's like a new facility, it's like one teacher who's trained.

Aaron:

One guy has a key to the room um, and so I found out who it was and, uh, you know, I just mustered up the courage and was like I think it was like lunch period or study hall or whatever I, like you know, went to the building that he was in. I knocked on his door and I was like, hey, you have no idea who am. I'm not in any of your classes, like I've never, you know, taken a robotics class or whatever, I was like. But, like, this is the research that I've done.

Justin:

I know you're the dude with the key to the printer.

Aaron:

Would you like help me. Like I want to learn from you and this is like my project, and so pretty much in study hall at lunch after school I would be in there working and I was like the only at that time, really the only student that was like using the technology, like not in class or not to make a key chain.

Aaron:

It was like something real. And so the end of my sophomore year I had 3D printed my own prosthetic arm and like completely changed the trajectory of my life, Like, yeah, and and really has set me on this path of helping other people that look like me and connecting with them and understanding their barriers. Because I think the thing I learned obviously the technology the advent of 3D printing is shaping industries in new ways, but the thing that was disconnected, that I was like this is really the magic of what I wanted to create Form 5. I, as a person with a limb difference, know what I need.

Aaron:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely I have duct taped and hacked my whole life to work for me. Why not turn those things into actual solutions so that the whole community benefits? Then someone sees someone looking that looks like them doing the things that they want to do, and so um, that was like the idea so how do? I, how do I now something that was very personal, like creating a arm for me, turned into? This could help a lot of people like me pretty much overnight yeah, yeah, so the school already had the printer.

Justin:

They did yes.

Aaron:

Did they have to upgrade once you started like no, I ended up, uh, just advancing so quickly that, um, you know, on my 16th birthday, I, you know, back in the day when kickstarter campaigns were a big deal yeah uh, I ran a kickstarter campaign and I really I raised 2400 and purchased my own 3d printer to have in my basement and just was tinkering around and doing that pretty much the rest of high school, um, and then, uh, started the nonprofit literally three months after I graduated high school, and so we just celebrated our eighth anniversary this summer, um, which has just been.

Aaron:

it's been incredible, I mean, to see the way the community has rallied around this um and like we're still here and people know about us and we're growing our programs and we're getting ready to expand, you know, nationwide. It's like it really is, like it's like a dream come true for me that I get to do this.

Justin:

That's crazy. So when you started like tinkering with the printer, was it specifically for like your goal of a prosthetic or was it like you, just it was just one of those pieces of technology that you enjoyed um, I very much had the goal you were intentional yeah, intentional, and research and develop like just different solutions for myself and um around that time, you know, I was also connected to a community of people, uh, with limb differences and

Aaron:

so, um, locally and nationally. And that's when I was like, wow, this is actually like not just a problem I'm facing, and so I wanted to start just reaching out and like understanding what needs were out there and how I could help. And so when I went to get my undergraduate degree, I took a gap year and then went to Ohio State Fisher College of Business. You know, we were just kind of taking on cases here and there really when I had time. There was still so much of like. You know, we were just kind of taking on cases here and there, really when I had time.

Aaron:

Yeah, there was still so much of like. You know, when you're 18 years old and you're like, I have to create a board and I have to like fill out all this paperwork and all you know that takes time and just laying that foundation. But once that kind of got all kind of settled, I was like I want us to just like rapid innovate.

Aaron:

Yeah, I was like I want us to just like rapid innovate. And so you know we had the. The concept was there Listen to people with limb differences, have the resources and technology to solve their problems.

Justin:

That was it.

Aaron:

And how can we just rapid innovate?

Aaron:

And so I had this idea for a workshop called COFAB, and COFAB stands for collaboration and fabrication, and basically it's form five walking the talk we want to include people in our product development, and so at Cofab, uh, we identify one person, uh, with a limb difference, who has a very specific need, or has multiple needs. Hey, they're. You know, it's an eight year old boy who wants to play the cello, or wants to play T-ball, or it's a a woman who lost her arm who wants to get back into the workforce.

Aaron:

And so we pair that individual with a team of college students and industry mentors, so people who work at Honda and Battelle and all these major corporations across Ohio, volunteering their time over four weekends, and we develop completely for scratch a solution for that person for free. That's so crazy and like we would like. The things that we've created, um, we would have never thought of them in a million years.

Justin:

If you didn't have somebody.

Aaron:

If we didn't listen to what the community needs.

Justin:

Yeah, and as a result.

Aaron:

What we create is super impactful, Because, when I compare what Form 5 is doing to what's happening currently in the industry, the industry is one not listening to what people need. Yeah, and they're pushing this high-tech, high-cost solution. You know, there's been amazing technology advancement in robotics and bionic technology, and they have all these really highly expensive bionic arms that are really, really cool. They look amazing, but they actually don't help those people do much at all in their daily life. Wow, and so really, what we've learned, through listening, of course, is that people need solutions for different things in their life. So the product that they use to put their hair up is different than the product they use to ride their bike or to play an instrument, or they need multiple things, especially an upper limb.

Aaron:

There's been a lot of innovation in the prosthetic industry, but I think really in the last 10 years, it just hit upper limb. You know there's been a lot of innovation in the prosthetic industry, but I think really in the last 10 years, it just hit upper limb. There's a lot of research in lower limb, and I always give this example you know someone you know, whatever circumstance may be, they lose their leg. They, you know, get fit for a prosthetic and you know they get a prosthetic that's for everyday use. It has foot, you can put your shoe on it, whatever. But if that person's like, oh, I want to be a marathon runner, they go have to go back, get a completely different type of prosthetic yeah it's so specific to running.

Aaron:

It's not called a prosthetic, it's called a blade. That level of intentionality and design, designing something with a specific use. It's not really happening in upper limb right now. It's like here's the high tech, $30,000 plus bionic arm, and they mark it in a way that it's like it'll help. It'll help your kid do everything which like. As I'm not a parent, but I could only imagine hearing like oh my gosh, this is like what my kids needs.

Aaron:

It'll help them do everything they've ever dreamed, like I, we need to get this thing and it doesn't help them. I mean, we've had kids come to us who have that type of technology and they're like I just want to play softball. Like this does not help me play softball.

Aaron:

Yeah, I don't want it to break the motors and the sensors to break by the impact of catching a ball. It doesn't even fit into a glove to catch a ball. So like very specific solutions that help people do the things that they love, even the playing field. Man, that's so cool. It's really really cool. I mean I feel so blessed that I found my thing at such a young age.

Justin:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Aaron:

But it's now. I mean, yeah, it's my job, but I get to do what I love every day. Yeah, it's really cool and I get to see that it helps people in front of me every single day which is just a massive blessing. That's amazing.

Justin:

So when you're building this technology and maybe it's evolved since you started, but I guess I didn't realize you're looking for those specific things. So when you say you have a case, you're not trying to build a retail gadget that anybody can use. These are specific to the client that you're serving.

Aaron:

Absolutely. We meet individual needs and I think um as a nonprofit the last eight years, that's what we've been known for Like and you know the way people, how do people find us? It's the most organic way possible, like I will meet with. I'll do a podcast interview.

Justin:

And then next thing.

Aaron:

I know you know I'll be like oh, I met so-and-so at the zoo and I told them about you and their daughter was missing her hand and maybe they could, and, like those people, reach out to me.

Justin:

That's awesome.

Aaron:

Those levels of connections are just amazing. And so one example this summer there was a young boy who was in the marching band at a local high school and he was born without his fingers. And I have I've known him and his family since he was younger. And, uh, his family just reached out to me. They're like hey, he's getting really serious about playing the trumpet and we have some type of contraption that he like puts on his hand to like hold the trumpet, but it's like he's growing and it's digging into his skin. It's not comfortable, and they're like we really want to like, we want to like get him a nice trumpet, but like we don't know how to like make this work as he advances. And so I was like bring him in. Like we have interns this summer, this would be a great project for them.

Aaron:

Um, and so the interns this summer created just like we take on cases like that all the time and now he's in marching band and like rocking it and like that's the power of form five, and so, um, you know, while we've been doing that the last eight years, we're focusing on how our impact can grow, and so that's why I've been hitting the pavement in multiple ways, uh, the last few months, because we've invented a product called the bike arm adapter, and so, um, I'll kind of explain the story about that in a minute. But, like you know, this is an opportunity for Form 5 to take something we made for one person.

Justin:

Yeah.

Aaron:

And we've, over the last few years, we've tested it with multiple user groups. We want to take this to market. We want to be able to provide this and make it accessible to everyone, because riding a bike is a huge, huge piece of development, you know, uh, it's obviously. You know there's a physical aspect, of course, health aspect to it. Um, you know, just being able to get on your bike and ride and feel good and physically fit and whatever. But it's also social, emotional, um, having an outlet, so like if mental health is a a, a, a, a concern, and having ability to just get on your bike and think and not be crowded with a bunch of noise and your phone and everything, um, but also like emotional and social, like being able to, like, you know, as a kid, you get on your bike and you're like I'm going to the pool with my friends mom, and dad, I'll see you at dinner time like whatever it is, there's a lot of kids with limb differences not doing that they're not riding just because they, because they don't have, they just

Aaron:

can't Think about riding a bike with one. I mean, you can ride a bike with one hand. It's not very comfortable, especially for a long time, not very good for balance, but a lot of folks they'll lean over and so it hurts your shoulder and your neck. Your posture is all messed up. I was able to ride a bike as a kid, um, and it wasn't until we started doing more testing, um, with uh kind of our child user groups that I realized like I knew how to ride a bike but like I never rode my bike Like and the reason why is because it wasn't comfortable.

Aaron:

Um, and cause there were so many you know folks, we would survey. And they'd be like yeah, we, you know, my kid rides their bike. And um, I'm like okay, like well, like where do they ride their bike?

Justin:

Oh, they just like ride in the driveway.

Aaron:

It's like oh, for how long, about like maybe five, 10 minutes, maybe they're limited and maybe they need the right tools to be able to actually ride their bike. And so, and even on the far side of that and I've had to kind of check my own bias and working with adult user groups, um, you know, I'll chat with folks and you know I obviously, you know we always lead with like let's listen and have like that empathy session first before we're, like, you know, pushing, hey, there's a solution. You, we want you to try this, um, just to see what, like, what's worked, what's not worked. And, uh, so many folks who are older have just learned to adapt and, and sometimes in a very unfortunate way, because they're just like well, there was nothing like that for me as a kid, so, like I just never bike, like I just I just like, just don't do it, um, and it's really, it's like really sad.

Aaron:

And then, when I talked to some folks, um, there's definitely a level of pride. That's where I have to check my bias, where, you know, and I've learned to approach it a different way because you know, having someone come up to you and go, oh there's this product, it'll help you ride your bike better, blah, blah, blah. You know some people are like well, I don't need that. I know, I know how to ride a bike, I can ride, and it's more of like a proof of like, I'm able to do it, um, but I've had to like rephrase it and reframe the conversation where it's like I know you can ride your bike, I can ride my bike too, without the bike arm adapter. But maybe there's a better way.

Aaron:

Now, something just a little more, that's going to make a little more comfortable, um and so, but there's many times in my life and other circumstances where, like I, I realized I do the same thing. I'm like, oh, have you ever tried bubble? It's like I can do that.

Aaron:

I can cut my own food, I can blah, blah, blah blah and it's like well, no, like no one's saying that, they're just saying maybe there's a better way. Um, but I think for the longest time and it's not just people with limb differences, I think the broader disability community has just accepted how inaccessible things are.

Aaron:

It's like well, I, you know, I think about people like who utilize a wheelchair and they're like, oh well, there's no you know accessibility ramp for me to get in the pool, so I guess I'm not going to. They never go to the pool, they never swim, they never do any of that Like, and they just need the right thing to be able to do it, to do it.

Justin:

Man, that's awesome, Really really cool. Um man, I'm just, I got, I got so many questions.

Aaron:

So like, tell me some of the like, give me an example, like one of your favorite cases, or like a prosthetic or a problem that you solved.

Aaron:

That like was maybe super innovative or unique, or is it the bike? I would say it's the bike arm adapter. So describe that a little more then. Yeah, so I guess, to kind of give a little background on how it came to be, then I can kind of go into more specifics of like how it all works.

Aaron:

So we had our very first COFAB and so we accepted a woman who, in her middle age, was looking to be able to get back on a bike. She was able to ride a bike as a kid, but not very well. It was uncomfortable. It hadn't been on a bike, you know, since childhood. And she had a dear friend of hers who was diagnosed with cancer and she was like everyone knows about Pelotonia. She's like I volunteer, I've been at the finish line, I've cheered everyone on, she goes, but it's personal and I want to ride in honor of my friend, and so it was really sweet.

Aaron:

She was hesitant about doing COFAB. She was like, well, I don't want to take this away from a younger kid who might need it. And I had to kind of talk. I'm like this is your dream and I want to be able to help you. And so we, through that workshop, developed the bike arm adapter for her. I think the thing that makes this story most special to me is that it was probably one of the first few times that I realized I have a very unique relationship with every single person we create a product for. Yeah, because in many ways I see myself and they almost reinvigorate like why I do all of this yeah.

Aaron:

And sometimes challenge me to do the things they're doing, and in this case, that's what happened this, yeah, and sometimes challenge me to do the things they're doing, and in this case that's what happened. It took, you know, you know, a year and a pandemic to get Jody on her bike with her bike arm adapter and vent this product and get her on her bike and start training. And the first time I saw her get on the bike and observe her using the product and ride off, I was like damn, I have been living vicariously through you this entire time and I thought about it.

Aaron:

I was like I haven't been on a bike and like I, like, I'm, like I want to do this. And so, two weeks before Pelotonia ride weekend, I looked at my team of like one intern and was like, hey, you know the year and a half it took to get Jody on her bike. Um, in two weeks I'm going to ride with her and I need you need to make me one.

Justin:

Wow.

Aaron:

And I hadn't been on a bike in forever 20 miles. I was like, okay, you know. And so um, her and I rode Pelotonia 2021, 20 miles.

Justin:

You hadn't trained at all.

Aaron:

Furthest now, furthest I've ever. Furthest either of us have really ever been able to ride a bike in our life. And so um, I think that is probably the coolest story. Um, because it's something that I have become. I've started to love.

Aaron:

I mean riding a bike has been huge for me.

Aaron:

I do it every every year now. I've done Pelotonia the last few years, um, and and and then just the summer, with our rapid growth, our plans to launch this thing commercially and take it nationwide, I wanted to do something big. There's been many times with starting Form 5 that I feel called to just do something about creating this workshop or creating this product or helping people. So I just felt called that like the only way to really showcase the innovation of form five and like set the intention that we want to take this thing to the next level, yeah, was to ride my bike a great distance and not just showcase what the bike arm adapter can do, but what people with limb differences can do, yeah, and so this week I'm riding 190 miles from Indianapolis to Columbus, yeah, showcasing the bike arm adapter. And we've been doing quite a bit of fundraising. Our goal is to raise $100,000. We're like probably $38,000, $40,000 of the way there and it's just been another example of how the community has like shown up for Form 5.

Aaron:

And we have the track record, I mean our impact is tenfold example of how the community has like shown up for form five, um, and, and we have the track record.

Aaron:

I mean we, we, our impact is tenfold. You know, when I first started the organization, um, I, I, you know, had the, the, the glasses on of the lenses of like this is for people with limb differences and it, and it very much is that's a core of what we do. But the impact has grown. I mean, we hire uh high school and college interns every year to see the development and the growth that those uh young people have and like finding their passion and for graphic design or engineering or whatever it is um through form five has just been deeply amazing. Um, and and the students that go through our workshops and our summer camps and um, they figure out what major they want to do and what they want to be when they grow up and and all of that in the, in the vein of it's helping people, has just been really, really amazing. And we want to do more of that Like, we want to do more internships. We want to do more of that like. We want to do more internships. We want to do more workshops.

Aaron:

um, we've been very focused on the bike arm adapter yeah and we want to see this thing go to the next level, but there's a lot of other things in tow, and so it takes funding to do that for sure um you know, we have a, we have a very strong business model. It's just at the point we need to fund it and like really take everything to the next level yeah yeah, really, yeah, really cool.

Justin:

Well, I hope somebody hears this that can help out with that or numerous people because it sounds awesome. It sounds really cool. So in the meantime you're working on this, you're still taking on some projects.

Aaron:

So if anybody knows somebody that, I encourage people to reach out and I will emphasize this we are broadening our definition of limb difference. You know we get so many out-of-the-box cases. You know our last COFAB in the spring, we worked with a gentleman who has a pretty rapid neuromuscular disease. He's losing function of his hands yeah, and we created products for him. So, like it's not just people who are missing their limbs, it's people who have their limbs that have lost function. And while we're sometimes creating these products for people with missing limbs, we're also looking at how something like this could be like oh wow, this could help someone stroke patient, spinal cord injury, arthritis, parkinson's disease, even Like the things we're creating are innovation. Form 5's innovation really has no bounds, yeah.

Justin:

That's awesome. It's really really, really cool. Um so, uh, so it's really focused on focus on this, this bike adapter. Um, what do you? What do you think is is next? Are you so focused on that?

Aaron:

Um, so many things, folks. I mean, the bike arm adapter is a really market disrupting product, and you know, I don't say that in a boastful way. Um, I say that because we've just spent so much time listening to the community and their needs, and so this is a product, it's not a prosthetic, it's not a medical device. We've engineered this in a way where, um, it affixes to the handlebar, yep, uh of a bike and not the person, so no one's not attached to their arm, no one wears it. And then something that's really unique to our design is that, because we want to scale this nationwide, it's not custom to anyone's limb, so we've created a sizing system where folks would fall within like a not necessarily think of like a small, medium, large, think of like a short, medium and long yeah um and so, and even within that, there's different variations of sizing.

Aaron:

Um, it's like getting a shoe and you figure out what size you are, yeah, um, and then we ship it to you and I think obviously that helps us from a scalability perspective. But, um, there's also a component of a pay it forward model. You know, when you go through the medical process and you go get a prosthetic or something like that, it is 100% custom to you and in some circumstances that makes sense. Something as simple as riding a bike. It's not as necessary, and so what ends up happening is, you know, young kids, they grow pretty rapidly.

Aaron:

And so we wanted to figure out a really innovative way to accommodate that growth scale. And so, um, because the the socket cup piece isn't designed to any one person's anatomy, if and when they outgrow it, um, they just move up a size, yeah, and then the size that they were previously could, actually that component can come back to us, and because it wasn't designed for them, we then, if it passes quality control and they didn't break, it's not damaged we can, in theory, put that back into a device that it does fit the next person. That's, um, really cool. That's completely unheard of in this space um and so like.

Aaron:

Again, it goes back to like, making this accessible, making it what the user wants. Yeah, we would have never known that without working with the people that we serve.

Justin:

Yeah, Um, man, that's awesome. So what? What is it? I guess how much it's going to take. You know you need money, obviously, to make this happen, but I'm just thinking from a production standpoint, like how do you, you know this is going to take off? How do you mass produce these things?

Aaron:

yeah, yeah um, it's been a learning curve.

Aaron:

You know, we have been known to date to really uh serve individual needs and so this is kind of a different, uh, uncharted waters for us, and so, um, truthfully, I mean, it's going to evolve what our organizational structure looks like. Yeah, um, and a lot of that is because we we're balancing kind of two big priorities One is meeting individual needs, creating new solutions, and then the other is like how do we take that and scale it to serve more people? And so it's definitely going to kind of restructure how things are done. But I think really the long-term goal for us is that this is launching a, this product and subsequently others um allows us to take our innovation further, yep, um, and and obviously make it more accessible to the broader community. Um, but it's also going to help us like further our business model. So, like launching these products, um in the marketplace, having a revenue stream that helps fund new innovation, um will be huge.

Aaron:

You know, we, eight years as a nonprofit, the goals and objectives that we have, the things that we're marching towards organizations don't even think about what we're doing 20 years out. We're moving at lightning speed, and so we've been great stewards of our donors and the dollars that we receive, and so we're just excited about like, how can we invest in Form 5 and its innovation and see the impact grow. That's like the big thing for us. I love that 30 people have tested the bike arm adapter nationwide and they're giving us feedback, but, like I know, there's more than 30 people that need this For sure, for sure, you just got to get to them, we just got to get to them.

Justin:

Yeah, I got that. Need us for sure, for sure, you just got to get to them, we just got to get to them. Yeah, um, I got to touch on this because you're a tech guy and we're talking about brad on the way in which you know brad, which is awesome, I, which I assumed you would. Um, we were talking about ai a little bit and, like just in the couple weeks we recorded that episode, brad's like. I've kind of changed my tune a little bit, so I just want to touch on ai specifically in your business. Like, is there a place for it? Are you utilizing it? Like, what are your thoughts?

Aaron:

there. I mean, I would be a fool to say like no, we do not use AI. No, I mean, everyone is using AI. I think the sooner you integrate it into your business, the better you have to really understand. I think the way that we use AI is more what's the best way to put it? Probably more or less like framework and organization. You know we have a lot of smart, creative people and they're innovative. But it's like how do we build a template, a framework, a matrix, whatever that we leverage AI to, like help build out that template? I often describe Form 5 in working with board members or volunteers or advisors that we have all the puzzle pieces. We need help putting it together and I would say in that frame of mind, that's how we use AI.

Aaron:

It's like we have all the pieces of the puzzle. We just don't know where to start or how does this and this connect? And so we leverage AI in that way. I mean, in my day-to-day work. I mean, uh, you know, there's a lot of ai that I use in terms of, like, helping me proofread grant applications or emails or donor appeals or things like that. Um, you know, I uh like to write. I write quite a bit, and so I try not to use ai to write everything. For me it's usually more like an enhancement tool or to proof check what I've already written and it's great. I mean, I've done a lot of. I went to school during a time where there was no AI and part of that, I started Form 5 with no AI. So there's a lot of existing grants and applications and write-ups and things that I already form five with no AI. So, like, there's a lot of existing grants and applications and write ups and things that I've already have that I feed AI. So a lot of times, ai is just regurgitating what I wrote.

Justin:

Yeah, you're teaching it, I'm teaching it really.

Aaron:

Absolutely, and so that's really how we've started leveraging. And I, you know, I you know having interns, you know high school and college, you know, every week, the first week of their internship, I always tell them this will be the most unconventional internship you'll ever have. I never hide that from them, but I did this summer and put an emphasis of like, if you get stuck, if you don't know what to do, I'm going to tell you the opposite of what you're hearing in school Use AI.

Aaron:

Use AI the printer's not working, it's finicky, it's clogged, whatever. Ask AI, what setting is best to use or how do I take this apart? I think this day and age, it's less about what the technology can do. It's how you use the technology and if you can use it to be a better problem solver then there's no reason not to use it just, and it makes everything happen so fast it's just lightning, it is in and, as we were just talking with brad, I mean it's everyone's been talking about, like this is how ai is going to change.

Aaron:

No, it is actively changing everything right now, like in real time. Um, we're seeing it.

Justin:

Um, it's pretty, it's pretty remarkable I brought back some bad memories for you when I brought up Alex. Oh my gosh, the math software.

Aaron:

Yeah, I had to do Alex in college and that was not a fun time.

Justin:

Oh, so you did it in college as well?

Aaron:

Oh yeah, Alex that's.

Justin:

I can't wait to tell my kids they're going to have to keep doing it. It never goes away.

Aaron:

Alex is an interesting program, but yeah, um, uh, alex is uh an interesting program, but uh, but yeah, I mean I, I don't know it's just it's been fascinating to me just with the technology available and I think our I mean our education system's changing. But you know, when I look at you asked me earlier about, like you know, did you think you're ever going to get into like tech and engineering and entrepreneurship? And, like you know, I grew up. I obviously have a physical disability, I have a learning disability. Um, and there were so many things that like in school, that like I just learned differently.

Aaron:

I interacted with the world differently, and I think there's a lot of students now that, like you know, I I read something online that, like it's obviously like your elementary years are very formative, but like, um, the whole, uh, oh well, like you're just not good at math, math's not your thing, never say that to a kid. Like, never say that to a kid. Or like, oh, math's bad. Or you don't like math or math's whatever. Like because I went to college thinking I'm awful at math, I hate math Whatever. But like I had to take, I went to business school, I had to take calculus, I had to. Oh, I'm bad at math, I hate math, I'm not good at math. I'll never be able to pass any of these classes. I had, like, a 98 in calculus. I just learned it differently, and so I think it's just a matter of figuring out how to use technology or resources available to be successful. That's what it's all about for sure for sure.

Justin:

And then, uh, you, you touched on the mccoy center, so you worked at the mccoy oh my gosh, that's my other new albany connection so well I mean really.

Aaron:

So I uh, I did a lot of my success and and being able to like do a podcast interview or talk to people on the street or go give presentation to people, I don't know I attribute to doing theater as a kid. Yeah, all of my siblings did theater and you know, growing up and in the McCoy, literally through my sister's performances, my brother's performances and then my performances, you know, I was on stage, I performed, I sang, I danced, I did all those things as a kid. Um, but then around high school time I was like I'm really curious, like what happens backstage, like how does the lights turn on, how does the sound happen, how do microphones work like?

Aaron:

and so I flipped to technical theater in high school, um, and then was involved with uh, helping the middle school, uh, create their theater department. So I was actually a director, technical director, and I helped start the middle school create their theater department. So I was actually a director, a technical director, and I helped start the middle school drama department, which I looked at that as like. This is kind of like starting a new business concept.

Aaron:

Like I helped start their social media and like ran their social media and this and reaching out to news outlets and all the PR and all of it. It was kind of like my little like incubator, like learning how to do all these things. But like I love, that's another love for technology and so I ended up working a lot of events just volunteering as a student. So I learned so much just while being there all the time that when I graduated high school I worked part-time at the McCoy for quite some time under Kappa and I always joke that my position when I was hired it said stage hand and I said thank God I didn't say stage hands because I probably would have been qualified.

Justin:

I had a great time, I mean.

Aaron:

I look back at the time working at McCoy and it was a great way for me to stay connected to the community and I absolutely loved just the people I'd cross paths with.

Aaron:

you know people that like, went to school with my dad, or you know, you know people, uh, parents of, uh, you know, peers that I graduated with, or or folks that were in the musicals that I directed, and so, um, it was, it was just a really great place to learn. And um, obviously the McCoy is a community hub and now the Henson amphitheater as well, and um, I just I absolutely loved that time.

Aaron:

And I and I still always have some connection to the arts. I'm still always getting roped into helping volunteer in an event or attend a concert for the symphony or whatever. I love that and again I look at that skill that I have of public speaking and talking to people to going through the arts. I mean it's huge.

Justin:

Did you ever build any products or anything for theater, whether it was on stage or I?

Aaron:

was involved a little bit and like, like props and sets and stuff so I definitely helped with that um uh, back in the day. It was a lot. I mean, there's a lot of fun and, and I think the thing that I love the most about theater, um, is the way that it allows I've seen it so many times even people that go from back or on stage to backstage, or people who start on crew and end up somehow being the lead their senior year high school, um, and allows people to find themselves and find a group of people that are like them, and that's like what I love about theater I loved it in high school, like going going to the shows was like I mean I loved it

Justin:

yeah, like just seeing people like the kids that you saw in the hallway all the time, and then like see them perform.

Aaron:

You're like holy crap. Yeah, you're like that's your thing. Yeah, you're really good at that. Yeah, yeah, it's really cool.

Justin:

So I got to touch on the name Form five. So where did you go? Where'd you come up?

Aaron:

with the name. So when all of this started in high school, I had a blog that I was writing just about my lived experience of having one hand and it was called Alive with Five, and so on that blog I documented meeting people, getting my first prosthetic, what I liked, what I didn't like, all those things. And then eventually, when I started doing research, I started documenting all that on the blog, all those things. And then eventually, when I started doing research, I started documenting all that on the blog. And around the time that I was getting ready to give my TED talk, my junior year of high school, I got really serious about wanting to turn this idea into like a nonprofit.

Justin:

I want this to be a company.

Aaron:

I want this to be a nonprofit. I want to like take, take this and and it be bigger than just Aaron. And so, um, at that time I was doing a lot of research in like a, a technique of uh molding plastic called thermo forming. It's like you eat a plastic sheets and whatever and you form them, uh. And so I was like forming, reforming, forming, and like I was like I like just like form. And then I was like, okay, so we have a live with five. And I was like form, form, form five, form five. And so you know, legally we're Form 5 Prosthetics Inc. But, like over the last few years, people just like call us Form 5s.

Justin:

You go with what the people call you.

Aaron:

And it's really catchy, and we have intentionally now removed prosthetics from our branding because, like we're not making really prosthetics we're creating just adaptive products. We're trying to create these things in a way that are most accessible to people. Aesthetics we're creating just adaptive products. We're trying to create these things in a way that are most accessible to people. Um, and oftentimes we learn that, like sometimes, the most simple solution is the most effective.

Justin:

Like it doesn't have to be a limb.

Aaron:

It could be something that just like goes on the table and help someone like open their pill bottle.

Justin:

Like that's huge.

Aaron:

Yeah, um, that's the type of work that we do. So that's the history of form five.

Justin:

That's really cool. Um well, I don't want to keep too much of your time man, I thank you so much for coming on, yeah. And I hope, I hope that this can can help you reach more people. Um and uh. Yeah, man, I'm excited to see how it grows. Yeah, good luck with the ride.

Aaron:

Thank you, yeah, so, uh, this Saturday, september 13th, I will be crossing the finish line at North High Brewing in Westerville, so we're doing a big finish line celebration. So definitely encourage folks to come support that way. Proceeds from the bar come back to Form 5 that evening to support our cause.

Justin:

So when is it again?

Aaron:

September, 13th September 13th. Saturday, September 13th. At North High Brewing in Westerville there's a bike path that runs literally right behind their beer garden.

Justin:

And so.

Aaron:

I'll cross the finish line there balloons the whole community is going to come out. And then we've been fortunate, there's a local band up and coming, band Honey and Blue that will actually be playing my finish line celebration, which has been really cool.

Aaron:

I mean, they found out about Form 5 through one of our last fundraisers, met with them and she was telling me. She's like my father had a physical disability. She's like I'm really moved by what you're doing. She's like I didn't even know this existed and the next thing you know, she's like I would love to help you and I will play a set at your finish line celebration. They have a huge following. They're going to draw a crowd.

Justin:

Obviously me riding my bike 190 miles is going to draw the crowd. I hope yes.

Aaron:

And there's also Ohio State football games. People can come hang out, celebrate and then watch the game there. Who?

Justin:

do they play that week OU? It's not a big game, that's all right, but it's a game.

Aaron:

People are like, hey, I want to get out of the house.

Justin:

I look forward to following along.

Aaron:

Thank you so much. I appreciate the opportunity to just share my story and I always look at it as if one more person knows about Form 5, that's a win, Absolutely absolutely Awesome.

Justin:

Well, thanks, man Appreciate it.

Aaron:

Thank you All righty.