We recently connected with Natasha Gaspard and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Natasha, thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
I guess leaving your job during the pandemic without a job in place or a plan to get one could be seen as taking a risk. For me it felt necessary and it seemed like a logical thing to do. I was working as a producer on local television news program and although I learned a lot and met some really amazing folks, I was miserable going into work everyday. I took the job because I believed that I needed to work a job in order to earn money and I was sort of in a desperate situation with not being able to pay my rent. I really didn’t want the job but I felt like I needed it which naturally had me feeling trapped and stuck.
In May, about two months after the pandemic hit the U.S., I was so ready to go. When the pandemic hit I was not interested in telling stories that didn’t move the needle forward and I felt that was exactly what we were doing. I made the decision to leave that job to pursue producing for my own platform, Mane Moves Media! I was doing it on the side for years and I knew that if I wanted my company to be more than a side hustle then I had treat it as such!
So, was it a risk, maybe, but I call it creating the path you set for yourself. So from that perspective, it was what I needed to do! We are either creating a path moving towards what we don’t want or creating the path towards what we do want. It is up to each and every one of us during our journey here on this Earth to choose which direction in which we are desiring to move. Every step we take is into a new space that has never existed before.
I biggest challenge I faced was believing in my idea and moving forward even when things looked bleak, even when people didn’t believe or couldn’t see or understand my vision. I came to the realization (through self-reflection, rest, self care, meditation and daily walks) that my vision is my own. No one has the same vision as me and that is by design. No one has taken a step that is meant for only me to take and never can. That was a huge turning point for me…to no longer be beholden to explaining what I knew in my core to be true. That took a level of trust and faith that I continue to build on to this day! This foundational understanding, I believe, is a key to harnessing our great power.
Natasha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My journey to becoming a natural hair advocate, an Emmy-award-winning television producer, and the founder of a media company was an interesting one, to say the least, but looking back at everything it makes sense how it all came together. I was always fascinated by television and entertainment. I grew up in the 80s when there were amazing sitcoms like The Cosby Show and A Different World, competition shows like Star Search and Hip Hop, Dancehall and R&B were definite influences in my life! The style, sounds, and vibes were epic growing up in Brooklyn NY! I was the baby of the family born to a Haitian mom who moved to Brooklyn NY in the late 60s. I always had a passion for entertainment and although I was a ball of energy I had moments of shyness and bouts of low self-esteem that hindered me from going out for the things I desired. While attending college in Brooklyn NY, I majored in Psychology because I was always fascinated with understanding human behavior. Two years in I discovered that our school had a fully equipped television studio and I was immediately intrigued! I switched my major to the field of Communications, started to learn about film and TV production and I never looked back! While in college I decided to stop relaxing my hair and return to my natural hair texture which was not the norm back in 1999. It was a difficult decision to make because of all the fear I had surrounding this decision and the negative impact I believed it would have on my personal and professional career. I did gain the necessary confidence to go through with my decision and that’s when Black women began approaching me to find out what I did, why, and how they could do the same. At that point, it dawned on me that there needs to be a television show about how to navigate this natural hair journey that more and more Black women were deciding to go on. I decided to produce this show because nothing like that existed at the time!
The current wave of the natural hair movement that took place in the mid-2010s saw the emergence of social media influencers. These women and men were sharing their personal natural hair experiences on this new social media platform and the movement blew up significantly! At the time, I was introduced to the pioneers of the natural hair movement and learned about the history that began in the early 1980s in Brooklyn. These experts in natural hair care advocated for the very first professional license to exist for textured hair ever! They wrote the first textbook ever for natural hair care. The folks online who were sharing DIY concoctions and styling techniques were spending their time reinventing the wheel when the information they were seeking already existed. This is what made me want to create my platform Mane Moves Media! To inform, educate and inspire Black women to learn and love their hair with the assistance of natural hair professionals!
While the social media craze grew, I knew that the professionals needed to be a part of the conversation. I worked with numerous natural hair care professionals in creating content, panel discussions, community and industry networking events, and marketing campaigns over the years to bring awareness to the community. I documented many natural hair events that were happening around the country over the years and was hired by brands to cover their events and shoot hair tutorials. My goal is to grow Mane Moves TV to be a 24/7 streaming network that features original content we produce in the form of mini-documentaries, talk shows, and news magazine-style programming. This is the channel that I envisioned many years ago that offers a mix of lifestyle programming that highlights the intersection of natural hair with politics, culture, and identity!
Mane Moves Studios is our digital content agency that works with hair stylists and beautypreneurs to grow their brands and share their expertise through video! I use my storytelling skills to assist hairstylists in creating their video portfolios that share their stories, and their expertise and to connect with their audiences on a deeper level. We also assist in creating recurring social media content like Instagram Live series to help them build their audience online! Hairstylists have the opportunity to also promote their work on the Mane Moves TV channel!
What sets me apart is my years of expertise in the space as well as my passion and dedication to sharing this knowledge with the world. I have been creating content around natural hair since 2005! I understand what the community needs and what they are looking for! I also understand the beauty professionals and what they need and how they can effectively reach their target audience.
My days as a natural hair advocate happened as soon as I began walking the Earth as a Black woman with natural hair! Every person I meet, and every person I speak to, we end up talking about hair…even if I don’t bring it up! I use my experience, knowledge, and passion for natural hair to advocate for Black women’s overall health: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. I understand the importance of being present, of being in the room where decisions are being made. I understand the power of my presence, of my voice so I use it accordingly. I am currently one of the co-founders of a non-profit organization called the Natural Hairstyle & Braid Coalition. We formed this coalition to address the deregulation of natural hair and braiding licenses in NY State and across the country. We have the opportunity to create the change that is necessary to elevate the level of education and standards around natural hair textures, to ensure the health and safety of the public, and to ensure greater economic opportunity for folks in this billion-dollar hair industry. With that said, I do public speaking as well as I conduct workshops all focusing on natural hair, identity, self-esteem, self-care and the importance of advocacy work!
What I want people to understand is that hair is deeper than just hair to Black women. Most of the professionals I speak to have a desire to teach and empower their clients. I understand the power of the moving image. I understand the power of media and marketing and messaging. It is a great power and I choose to use it in a way that empowers. I’ve seen the ways in which media has been used to disempower, degrade, and create negative stereotypes. Anyone that I work with knows that I follow my heart and that I have created a career out of genuine love and care for people. I am certified in Psychohairapy which is a certification program created to bring awareness to mental through conversations around hair. Becoming certified in Psychohairapy was a full circle moment because I began with Psychology, moved over to communications, and realize that the two have been my foundation all along!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
My reputation precedes me most times in the industry of natural hair. What has helped me build my reputation is my understanding of my purpose and my level of dedication to my craft. I make it my business to know what is going on in the industry, who the movers and shakers are, the news in the industry, and the history of the industry! I take my work very seriously because I understand the power I have in creating change. I see the gaps and I see how I can help build bridges. I am very clear about how life-changing this work is and how we are making history with every decision that will affect the next generation! My purpose at the end of the day is to connect folks to the resources they need to live a more fulfilled life. I speak from the heart with everyone I work with and they respect my honesty and integrity. I am easy to work with and I really care about everyone who is doing the work. I don’t take things personally and I am not easily offended…I am clear why I am here and it shows in the work I produce!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Back in 2017, I had the idea to create a livestream of the largest beauty festival in the country that was held in Brooklyn NY! It was a challenge because I didn’t really have a budget to work with but I believed in my idea so much that I pushed through. The following year, I decided to do it again but bigger and better. It was a disaster by my standards. I was so disappointed in myself that I wanted to quit. I beat myself up pretty good over it and was convinced that I wasn’t as great of a producer as I had thought and maybe it was time for me to give up this dream!
I met with the client afterward and they had tears in their eyes because they appreciated the effort I had displayed in trying to get this project off the ground. I couldn’t believe my ears! I was so convinced that I had failed and wasn’t cut out to follow this dream I had and here this person was, so inspired by my dedication. I’ve had many moments of feeling like a failure. I’ve had many moments of doubt. I had to turn towards myself and figure out how to believe in myself because I knew that I was the only thing holding me back. How could I get to a point where I was no longer stopping my progress with self-doubt? It’s taken years for me to do work of addressing my self-esteem issues, to get to know my true self, and to stand firm in my knowing. I decided to surrender the fight of proving my worthiness and open myself up to accepting my inherent worthiness. That was the game changer for me. Reflecting on my life experiences, learning about the effects of trauma, and learning about world history…it all started to make sense. There are many things in life that chip away from our sense of self but it can all be turned around. My resilience is inherent in my humanity…it is a human trait! I just don’t stifle my gifts anymore.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.manemovesmedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manemoves/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ManeMovesTV
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/natashagaspard
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/manemoves/
- Youtube: https://www.facebook.com/ManeMovesTV
Image Credits
Kyle Lynch- KLOptics