Meet the Man on Periods-Author of The Period Passport
5 min readMay 7, 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp01CFPR6gI&t=51s
Chaste Christopher Inegbedion broke free of social barriers when he established himself as Mr. Padman and initiated the conversation surrounding menstrual hygiene. He seized the platform to talk about topics frowned about and considered taboo, and introduced the notion of ‘period poverty’. Not just that, he has followed his inner voice and launched a platform that discusses men’s role in menstruation.
“There is a huge gap and bias when it comes to inter-gender communication surrounding periods,” says Chaste while pitching his unique platform for guiding teenagers and single dads towards better menstrual hygiene. Padbanque is a subscription-based social platform dedicated to solving menstrual health puzzles for those who lack access to proper resources. The digital platform for conscious consumers is rooted in Chaste’s firm belief in providing a bias-free platform that offers an end-to-end solution for all menstrual needs.
Sanicle.us was started to solve menstrual health puzzles faced by teenage daughters and their helpless, single dads. This platform gives support to motherless teenagers and caters to their period concerns, from the first menstruation to marriage to menopause. It also provides period products which are delivered to the doorstep.
Worthy of note was the ‘Save Pwashikai Nideono’, one of Chaste’s most successful projects, which created a buzz and raised medical funds to keep the genitally mutilated 5-year-old girl, who lived in North-Eastern Nigeria alive.
The man with a fighting cause, Chaste, takes his nickname as Mr. Padman seriously. When he started, he had only $20.21 in his account. He survived on the $1 menu at McDonald’s and found space near a Starbucks to access the free wi-fi. Chaste didn’t give up on his dreams or goals and even slept in the lobbies of convention centers, where he attended lectures to save on rent. All he wanted was to learn and make a difference, not just with words but through his actions.
Today, Chaste is a US State Department-sponsored Scholar for the GIST Women’s Workshop, a Rotary Youth Leadership Awardee, a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps, and a participant at the British Council & Ashoka Social Entrepreneurship Summit, Under 30 Forbes, UN Civil Society Conference, and a sponsored scholar of the Social Sector Management program at the Pan Atlantic University. Through various opportunities, Chaste has developed his knowledge and committed himself to the cause of period poverty.
“Period poverty is a global issue, and even women in the developed countries like US, Canada, and Sweden face the same. It was my mission to create awareness”, says Chaste.
His efforts have landed him April’s eRESONAID Scholarship. Talking about the big win, renowned brand strategist and spearhead of eRESONAID, Fabian Geyrhalter, said, “Padbanque has set out to become the leading curator and content maker of socially conscious consumer personal care products and an ecosystem of solutions to period puzzles. In essence, they aim to become the Whole Foods equivalent for the organic period and personal care products.”
Another laurel has come from the prestigious Silicon Valley Virtual 2021 program, which has announced Padbanque as its newest alumni. The Silicon Valley Founder Institute, the local Palo Alto-based chapter, is among the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerators.
Today, as the pandemic rages around the world, Chaste has sent out an even more important message. While one-half of the world is emerging out of the quarantine with double vaccinations, the other half still lack basic amenities, and period care is a much-neglected area. Sanicle’s CTO, Oluwatosin Oni; alongside the COO, Ebenezer Idowu Ajayi, and the CEO, Roxanne Stewart has joined Chaste, the Chief Period Officer (CPO) with a strong message that ‘Periods don’t Pause during Pandemics’ to host a Virtual Period Box Drive, crowdfunding money for purchasing Period Products in bulk quantities at less-than-wholesale prices.
“It is a simple and immediate way to end period poverty while helping your neighbors in need,” says Chaste while talking about the drive.
With the Menstrual Hygiene Day (MHD) approaching on May 28, Chaste has jumped into action to eradicate period poverty and ensure better menstrual hygiene. Chaste and his team at Padbanque.com are giving out their Proprietary Pandemic Period Boxes to 28 teenagers in the United States and Nigeria to celebrate Menstrual Hygiene Day. Chaste has also donated to Period.Org and Days for Girl International to mark MHD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VacHgtzbd14
“Our goal is to create engaging period experiences through the design of fun and sophisticated products with rich backstories through generational women from their first menstruation to beyond menopause with menstrual education for single dads and teenage daughters,” says Chaste.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW0aHIgR8b0
The world needs more visionaries like Chaste Inegbedion, who has broken down the barriers that constrained the freedom and dignity of young girls and has dedicated his life to eradicating period poverty.
