The reason(s) you are seeing me:
In 2021, I purchased my first NFT. It was an
@NBATopShot digital "moment." Similar to a NBA card collection, though digital, with video, stats, and blockchain. It was new and exciting.
I wish it were a
@BoredApeYC, but I wasn't aware of the community side of NFTs, yet, only the "Collector's" side.
In December of 2021, as a hopeful collector with a card-playing background, I stumbled across a video hyping a digital card set made by
@bicyclecards. They were NFTs with physical cards, as well. The digital side was done by
@KolexGG. I bought several packs for my family and friends.
This was around the time I reconnected with an old "friend" from high school. He posted on FB some crypto charts and I thought, "FINALLY! SOMEONE I can talk to, or better yet, learn from!"
He invited me into an NFT community, via, a
@BlueChimpz NFT. It was a marketing group of savvy business people, that helped new NFT communities get their voices heard through Twitter spaces, advertisements, and discord meetings. We created a "Super Community."
I met many founders, diverse communities, and really got a better understanding for the online clubs being built. I started researching other communities and utilities, like Cameo, NFT Stadium, Degentoonz, among many others, most out of curiosity. Not all were "winners."
As the Super Community started getting too big to hold together, many of the online groups disbanded by Spring of 2022. Could've been greed vs growth, or bad business plans, whichever the case, we had several people in "the space" that we've connected with. The "friend" who brought me in, rugged and bailed. Bummer. On the other hand, One of my closest friends, to this day, is one of the members of the Blue Chimps I met at an NFT Convention, richyrich. Ill get back to him later.
On a random phone call with a poker buddy of mine, he mentions he saw an ad on a YouTube poker stream that read "NFT and Poker." It took me nearly 10 minutes to find the video, search through and find the ad. What it actually read was: "PokerGO x NFT Stadium."
Embarrassing for me, I did not know PokerGO. I DID know NFT Stadium. In fact, I had minted a pass on faith, several months before. The pass was supposed to whitelist holders for upcoming collaborations. I had almost forgotten that I had one.
So now, I dive into PokerGO. What is it? The Netflix of poker, essentially. I hop in the discord and ask questions about the upcoming project. Its a collection of the 1,326 starting Texas hold em hands. I thought to myself, I want every 5/2 combination! I won't get into all the details of what all of the utility was with this NFT, but I was so excited, I was blowing up DMs wanting to help. I had volunteered for months with other communities for zero dollars, and that was the initial expectation of being accepted on "the team." I actually got an interview. The interview went great, and I was officially hired by the company to work on the NFT project. It was a dream come true. I felt accepted. I felt seen. I felt validated from all the doubters, all the people who didnt understand NFTs, or feel they were real. Then it became crunch time. I led a community for two years. We held an event for holders at the studio and gave every holder that same validation I felt. NFTs were real!
As I knew the job was short-lived, before I left, I took a leap of faith, again. I wanted to throw a party for the NFT space as a whole, also my personal poker community and family. The NFT Poker Championship. I was blessed to have support from Jonathan little and his poker coaching crew to make it a fan friendly event. There was a pro at every table and everyone that attended has a story from the event. Ive continued more on the casual poker side and met more people in the field with similar passions. Work/life balance isnt easy for me, and lately, I've been choosing life.
NFTs have created countless opportunities, friendships, and education for me.