Today we’d like to introduce you to Natasha Gaspard
Hi Natasha, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story begins in Flatbush Brooklyn, NY where I was born and raised as the youngest of three by a single mother who came to America from the small but powerful Caribbean island of Haiti. Growing up in Brooklyn there was a medley of all types of cultures from different Caribbean islands as well as African Americans. I was surrounded and enraptured by one of the most influential cultural expressions of the early 1980’s that was taking the world by storm: Hip-Hop. The music gave birth to a consciousness that was embodied in the powerful lyrics, imagery, fashion and conversations that became a part of my everyday reality. As I soaked up the many cultures that became pieces of my identity: Haitian, American, Caribbean, Hip-Hop, and Brooklyn…there were different facets of these identities that would later have me question whether or not these would help or hinder me in life. There were many instances where I would hide who I really was to fit in and to be accepted. One was to downplay my nationality. Growing up Haitian back in the 1980’s meant you were associated with a country that was grossly misunderstood, feared, associated with severe poverty, disease and politically doomed. It wasn’t cool to be Haitian and kids were mercilessly teased and bullied for it. Another major way I downplayed who I was, was in straightening my hair! Wearing your natural hair wasn’t cool. If you did you were associated with being poor, backward and just wrong. Many of us Black girls would get our hair pressed with a hot comb or got chemical relaxers to straighten our hair to fit in to society’s idea of what it meant to be beautiful and accepted.
Although Hip Hop had a huge influence on the youth growing up at that time, media messages portrayed Black/African people as the underclass of society. There was a huge disconnect between the love I had for Black people and the way in which the world saw and treated us. There were some very heavy existential questions that I would begin to ask myself…why were Black people always seen as less than? No matter where in the world Black people were, they were always seen as the lowest forms of humans with the poorest health, financial and social outcomes. Everything associated with Blackness or Africa had a stigma to it. I felt and experienced this stigma. It made me want to hide the very things that made me who I was just to not be ostracized. I can imagine what my mother and countless other people who emigrated to the US was going through.
Who made these rules and why did we believe that we needed to follow them?
Hip Hop would point me in the direction of getting some answers. I remember just loving the music of Ms. Lauryn Hill and being inspired by her as a female in the rap game! Her lyrics, her confidence, her intelligence was so inspiring but I was also confused at her level of success despite wearing her natural hair. It was such a stark difference to what was popular and accepted yet, it didn’t hinder or stop her in any way and it intrigued me to say the least. I began to question the beliefs I held that wearing my natural hair would hinder my life. Where did these ideas come from and why did every woman I know relax their hair and believed the same thing? This line of questioning bought me to where I am now. A natural hair advocate and the founder of Mane Moves Media…a trailblazing global platform that is reshaping the narrative around natural hair by highlighting the intersections between beauty, culture, health, and identity.
I am very very proud and honored of my role as a Natural Hair Advocate. I’ve always been an advocate for natural hair but I officially became a full time advocate when I teamed up with pioneering natural hairstylists to save the natural hair license from being taken away in 2022! New York State was the first in the country to be create a separate license strictly for natural hair care & styling in 1993! This license enabled braiders and stylists who wanted to provide chemical-free hair care services for Black women, men and children in a professional setting that was backed by science-based education and training. There is a movement in this country seeking to remove education and training requirements for braiding and natural hair care. We are currently experiencing an epidemic of hair loss in Black women and there is a need for more trained and educated hair care professionals to enter the industry. This is why advocacy around this issue is so important! The need to elevate educational and professional standards in natural hair care is needed more than ever! My vision is to create a global network of hair care professionals who are dedicated to providing exceptional natural hair care for the community. My role in advocacy has gotten me invited to Paris, France where I lent my voice in supporting their anit-hair discrimination law introduced in 2023! During my visit to Paris, I began building the foundation of this global network and inspiring hair care professionals to build a strong natural hair care industry in France!
In putting together the pieces of my personal story and connecting the dots with the greater global experience around natural hair, I realize that this deep sense of unworthiness and shame comes from generations of human beings hiding who we are. When it comes to Black people, we had to conform and confine ourselves into the smallest of boxes just to survive. Because of the way society was set up, we were born into the ways in which those before us lived. In my generation slavery was not in the physical form…it was very much mental. Being a student of history and studying the Many Waves of the Natural Hair Movements (https://bit.ly/3INoNnw) , I can see how Black women were subjected to conforming to fit in. There were moments when we would rebel with a new vision of ourselves and found a sense of freedom.
The price of constant conformity and the need to rebel has taken its toll on us mentally, physically and emotionally. Generations of Black women have fallen prey to not feeling good enough and it has contributed to the dis-ease in our minds and bodies. This why my platform focuses on the connection between Beauty and Wellness.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Advocacy work is non-stop and there is no shortage of issues to address within the natural hair industry. I knew I was becoming overwhelmed and was neglecting my own well-being…which is a habit that many Black women unfortunately practice, often to our detriment. In April 2024, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer and decided to slow down to focus on my own health and wellness. I created the Mane Moves Media platform as a way of using natural hair as a gateway into tapping into our inner power and it was time for me to follow my own advice.
I decided that it was time for me to share my story and not just the fun parts but the parts that I was hiding from myself and the closest people around me. The truth was that I had not been living up to my true potential and that I was overworking myself due to a deep sense of unworthiness. I didn’t believe I was smart enough, or talented enough or just enough period to live the life I had dreamed of. I had a very skewed view of myself and it affected my self-esteem and my self-confidence. It affected the way I chose to do business often working for free not believing my ideas were good enough in order to charge for my services. This cycle of not feeling good enough coupled with the shame of not having my business in order made me feel terrible about myself. I didn’t know how to get out of the never ending cycle of self loathing and sabotage. Cancer was the friend I didn’t know would come to tap me on the shoulder to say “Sis, it’s time to stop fighting yourself and allow yourself to live the life you came to live”. This is what I told countless men and women that I would come across who didn’t believe in themselves. It was time for me to begin letting go of my own fears and paying attention to my needs and desires.
I knew that denying myself from my true desires and keeping myself in a state of fear contributed to my body developing cancer. I was keeping myself away from the life I knew deep down I wanted but didn’t believe I deserved for many bogus reasons. I spent much of my career convincing and encouraging natural hairstylists to share their personal stories to connect to their clients. I encouraged them to share their “why” for being in this field because it was so important to inspire their clients and to build trust. I felt it was especially important when it came to the natural hair community given all of the trauma associated with our hair. When you are vulnerable, it allows others to be vulnerable and that is where true healing begins. It was now time for me to do the same for myself!
In addition to sharing my story I would take the vulnerable position of seeking assistance and support along my journey. I decided to release the shame of asking for help by creating my own Holistic Breast Cancer Journey GoFundMe fundraising campaign (https://bit.ly/natashaishealed). I believe that I am already healed…my body will catch up to what my mind has put into motion. I am determined to live my life on my own terms…because I know I can. It’s time for me to bet on me and to understand that doubt is a friend. I no longer fight with myself or try to not to feel something that I feel. I understand the many levels of who I am, why I think the way I think, how it came to be and most importantly, that I possess the power to set the direction of where I want to go in my life. We all do! The truth was within me all along and I know what it takes to believe in ME! I realize that sharing my healing journey will inspire and set things in motion for others. I am currently having my holistic healing journey filmed for a documentary that will explore naturopathic and holistic treatments for cancer and other diseases in general. I am learning so much about the many healing modalities available that conventional medicine is slow to acknowledge. I am also interested in exploring and highlighting the immense power we all have to heal ourselves. I am coming to appreciate fear and its role in inspiring me to greatness. I am so in love with myself that I give myself the grace to embrace every emotion with gratitude because I know it’s my guidance system communicating with me. Now that I know how to communicate with it I am equipped to move in this world with clarity and knowing that all is always well. I understand that there is a energy, entity that I call love that makes all life possible and that we are all extensions of that source. This means we are just as powerful and together we can do ANYTHING!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a story teller at heart! I use video as my medium as a television producer but I can use any medium. One of my superpowers is in my ability to break down complex information into relatable ways for people to process and understand. I am also an advocate with love at the basis of everything I do! I am a connector at my core…I can see solutions and I thrive on putting the people together! I do this by producing shows, events, workshops, meetings…I love bringing people who have the information and those seeking information together! This goes across any field really…once I understand an issue my heart and brain work together to figure out ways to share information and resources that allow human beings to thrive!
I am most proud of my eternal passion for life and learning! No matter what fears I’ve had that may have slowed me down, the love that I AM is always there shining through and giving me hope! Even though certain things didn’t seem possible for me, I decide to listen to the same voice that challenged me 25 years ago to accept my God-given hair! That voice didn’t allow me to discount myself and it set me on the path towards shedding the ideas and beliefs that kept me from being my true authentic self. It also set me on the path to set others free by highlighting the ways in which we allow society to tell us who we are. I am creating content, events, and workshops for adults and children to learn who they are at their core, to cultivate trust in themselves and to cultivate true self love for ourselves!
I began a new Instagram Live series called Rooted in Wellness where I highlight the fundamentals of what it means to be well. I believe that there is so much more room for us to understand to understand ourselves mind, body and spirit and how to live a beautiful life full of joy, health and abundance. There is much for us to learn on how to use food and the environment to support our well being. Feel free to check out the conversations I’ve been having @natashagaspard and @manemoves as well as my Mane Moves TV Youtube page where I will be launching a 24/7 live stream of new content in Fall 2024!
What matters most to you?
My well being matters most to me… and I believe everyone’s well being should be paramount to them. I believe we are here on this planet to live our hearts desire and to CREATE…we are amazing creators and our potential is eternal. I’d love for us to explore ourselves more…to push ourselves past our self imposed limitations. Every problem we experience in this world has a solution. The question is, are we brave enough to believe in our visions and dreams to allow it to manifest? We can definitely create a new life for ourselves…I am proving that every day I wake up to this miraculous gift of life!
When you understand yourself you understand others and when you love yourself you love others. We can create and perpetuate a new never ending cycle that allows love and well-being to be at the center…it IS possible. It ALL begins with YOU!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://manemovesmedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manemoves/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ManeMovesTV
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/manemovestv
