Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Braekevelt.
Hi Ethan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Belgium and moved to Oregon when I was eight years old with my mom, who then married my stepdad. Overnight, I went from being an only child raised primarily by my mother to becoming part of a family with four older stepbrothers in a completely different culture. Between moving schools five times, struggling with English at first, and always feeling like I didn’t quite fit in, I became very familiar with adapting and finding connection wherever I could.
Throughout school, I was drawn far more toward creativity than convention. I took classes in sewing, screen printing, filmmaking, and graphic design, and although I spent plenty of time making music as a teenager, what I was really searching for was a way to express myself and connect with people. Looking back, those creative outlets became an anchor during a period where I often felt lonely and disconnected.
When COVID hit during my high school years, I intentionally chose a different path than many of my peers. I accelerated through an online program during COVID so I could graduate early and start working. Over the next several years, I worked for 10 different companies, helped co-create a Gen Z nonprofit, became a professional mobile DJ, and eventually moved to Austin, where I built and ran a branch of a DJ company.
While DJing gave me unique experiences, I eventually realized I wanted to create something with a deeper impact than simply entertaining people for a night. Throughout my life I’d been chasing connection in different forms—through music, throwing parties, events, and creative projects—and I began to realize that what I really cared about was helping people express their emotions, break taboos, and help others feel seen and connected to one another in healthy ways.
That realization led me to create Pivotal Feelings, a clothing brand centered around emotional intelligence and mental health awareness. After years of refining ideas, changing names, and questioning the vision, I finally launched my first collection earlier this year. My first market sold thirty shirts on opening day, validating years of work that had happened behind the scenes.
At the same time, I launched Pivotal Feelings Club, a community built around bringing people together through sports, movement, and genuine connection. In just two months, we hosted thirteen events, gained thousands of followers, and created exactly the type of environment I wish had existed when I was growing up.
Today, my mission is to help people express their emotions more openly, spark meaningful and important conversations, build healthier relationships, and create spaces where genuine human connection can thrive—whether that’s through clothing, community athletic events, or future projects that continue serving that purpose.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve had to overcome was learning that many of the things I chased weren’t actually what I needed.
Growing up, I struggled with abandonment wounds, OCD, loneliness, and an anxious attachment style that I didn’t fully understand until adulthood. Like many people, I spent years looking for fulfillment in external things—attention, relationships, adrenaline, parties, reckless experiences, and constantly staying busy. Those moments created temporary highs, but they never addressed what was happening underneath.
Over time I experienced heartbreak, lost close friends, attended funerals far too young, and watched people around me struggle with addiction and destructive lifestyles. Those experiences forced me to ask difficult questions about the kind of life I wanted to build.
One of the biggest turning points came when I decided to completely stop drinking and using weed. It wasn’t because I considered myself an addict—it was because I realized I was never the best version of myself while relying on anything that distracted me from dealing with my emotions. That decision became the beginning of a much healthier chapter.
Entrepreneurship has brought its own challenges. I spent years changing brand names, questioning my vision, investing thousands of dollars into ideas that I eventually walked away from, and wondering if I would ever feel confident enough to launch. Even after finally releasing my clothing line, my first vending event sold only a handful of shirts. It was humbling, but it reminded me that success is usually much slower—and much more earned—than we imagine.
What I’ve learned is that growth rarely happens in comfort. Every setback has forced me to become more self-aware, communicate better, and clarify why I’m building what I’m building.
Today, I don’t see my past as something to hide. It’s the reason I’m so passionate about emotional intelligence, community, and creating spaces where people feel accepted without pretending to be someone they’re not. If my experiences can help someone else feel a little less alone, then every difficult chapter served a purpose.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At the core of everything I do is one mission: helping people build healthier relationships—with themselves and with others.
Right now, that mission comes to life through two ventures: Pivotal Feelings, an emotional intelligence clothing brand, and Pivotal Feelings Club, a social community in Austin that brings people together through sports, movement, and meaningful connection.
The clothing isn’t just about fashion—it’s designed to spark conversations. Every design carries a message that encourages vulnerability, emotional awareness, or empathy. I’ve always believed that what we wear can become an invitation for conversations that otherwise might never happen.
The social club complements that mission by creating environments where people can actually practice connection. We host kickball, volleyball, field games, jog-and-coffee meetups, and other events that help people meet friends naturally without relying on nightlife or alcohol. In just a couple of months, we’ve grown into a community with consistent attendance and hundreds of meaningful new connections formed between members.
What I’m most proud of isn’t a sales number or follower count—it’s hearing someone tell me they made a new friend at one of our events, had a meaningful conversation because of one of our shirts, or simply felt like they finally found a place where they belonged. Those moments remind me that the mission is bigger than the products.
I think what sets me apart is that I’m not trying to build just a brand or just a business. I’m building a community and a movement around emotional intelligence. My goal has never been to simply sell clothing or host events—it has always been to create experiences, products, and spaces that encourage people to be more authentic, emotionally aware, and connected to one another. If those values become the reason someone remembers Pivotal Feelings years from now, I’ll consider that a success.
How do you define success?
To me, true success is the ability to live a life full of love, around people you admire, all while being proud of the way you have impacted the world and what you have created by doing so, and by living your life to the fullest and experiencing as much beauty and peace as possible. To earn this form of success, I believe we must gain the skills and intelligence needed to be able to recognize our wounds, express our emotions, and heal our patterns. That’s why my brand is focusing on the root of the tree of life-the source.
Pricing:
- My Shirts cost $30-40
- Currently my socials are free to attend but they may change to a $3-5 admission fee or a sliding scale donation
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pivotalfeelings.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pivotalfeelings/?hl=en
