NFT Origin Stories

Streamed live on July 29, 2021

Ravi Vora is an artist, photographer, and director with an extensive commercial work history including Nike, Microsoft, and Disney. He is also a Renaissance man, philosopher, and world traveler seeking new forms of connection between artist and subject, whether that be a person, landscape, or otherwise.

Origin Stories welcomes Ravi Vora to discuss:

00:00 - Introduction

01:00 - What is your origin story?

06:37 - Recognition for NFT photography

10:30 - Pivoting and following his artistic passion

13:25 - Using art to heal tragedy and fill a hole in his heart

20:20 - His first Instagram post

22:35 - Learning on the fly with Nike

27:54 - Favorite stops along his world campaign tour

31:25 - Balancing professional and personal art

37:13 - Pandemic challenges, time with friends, and learning 3D

42:12 - Minting his first NFT artwork

48:29 - Being a Renaissance man

52:15 - Diversifying from OpenSea to Foundation

59:16 - Bringing his photography to the NFT space

1:03:04 - Sharing his story through photos

1:10:51 - The Lightning Round

1:24:44 - What's next?

Ravi Vora

Website: https://ravivora.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaviVora

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ravivora/

Streamed live on Jul 22, 2021

FEWOCiOUS exudes authenticity, passion for creation, and a love for art. He is an 18 year old transgender artist who is an icon in the digital art NFT space, with his most recent collection - Hello, i'm Victor (FEWOCiOUS) and This Is My Life - having been featured at Christie's Auction House.

Origin Stories welcomes FEWOCiOUS to discuss:

00:00 - Introduction

01:31 - What is your origin story?

08:08 - What were your dreams growing up?

13:06 - How a challenging family environment became inspiration

16:34 - Confidence, influences, and icons

19:45 - Getting a bank account at 14 to begin the journey

24:29 - Re-investing in himself, production, and supplies

30:05 - Convincing his family to let him paint

35:39 - Researching NFTs and applying to SuperRare

39:40 - Shayne sending ETH for first gas fees

40:51 - What artworks do you tokenize first?

47:34 - His first art drop on NiftyGateway

50:39 - The infamous "birthday drop" on 1/1/2021

57:22 - Two Feet reaching out to collaborate

1:01:55 - A new medium and the future of art

1:04:16 - Fashion, shoes, and the drop with RTFKT Studios

1:08:00 - The collab drop with Parrott_ism, Jonathan Wolfe, and Odious

1:14:01 - Not wanting to do it alone

1:16:34 - Key advice from ThankYouX and finding management

1:19:36 - How Christie's happened

1:25:49 - Handling doubts while working on the art

1:30:27 - The Lightning Round

1:36:18 - What's next?

Episode mentions: Kanye West, Bobby Hundreds, Shayne Coplan, SuperRare, Coldie, Hackatao, XCOPY, Pranksy, Sarah Zucker, Matt Kane, Zack, Pomp, Nifty Gateway, Ashley R, Somnium, RTFKT, Two Feet, Tommy Kimmelman, Parrott_ism, Jonathan Wolfe, Odious, ThankYouX, Andrew Gertler, Christie's, Noah Davis, Chella Man, Lauren, Cory Van Lew, Erin Beesley, Lucas Aguirre

FEWOCiOUS

Twitter: /fewocious

Instagram: /fewocious

Website: fewocious.com

Streamed live on Jul 1, 2021

Origin Stories welcomes BakaArts to discuss:

00:00 - Introduction

02:44 - What is your origin story?

13:12 - His eternal journey of trying new things

15:01 - Storytelling and Ethertales

21:51 - Bringing a massive book to life

25:51 - How did you choose your first NFT?

29:06 - How do you then distribute across platforms?

30:35 - Spending $25,000 on minting the Surrogates

34:56 - Including collectors in the Ethertales

40:05 - Making it longterm and leaving a legacy

41:25 - The Lightning Round

50:35 - What's next?

Episode mentions: Parrott_ism, David Ariew, MJData, Ric Galbraith, SuperRare, Rarible, Lirona, Artifex Project, 888, Nifty Gateway, Moebius, Peter Mohrbacher, Robbie Trevino, An, Max Hay, Kreature Kastle, jazsi

BakaArts

Twitter: /TheBakaArts

Instagram: /bakaarts

Website: bartsy.co

Origin Stories welcomes Micah Johnson to discuss:

00:00 - Introduction

00:52 - What is your origin story?

05:50 - His first painting of Maury Wills

12:54 - Milestones along the art journey

16:13 - Who influenced your entry into NFTs?

21:23 - Making his first step within NFTs

26:30 - Crossing over from digital and NFTs to physical and galleries

29:32 - Spending a year in Maine

34:03 - Breaking through a creative block

40:45 - The question that sparked Aku

49:00 - Aku's character and an introduction to DurkAtWork

52:58 - IP decentralization vs. collaboration

54:52 - The Lightning Round

58:02 - Where is Aku in 2025?

1:03:58 - Aku World Discord

1:07:05 - Breaking down the Christie's experience

Episode mentions: Tommy Wilson, Matt Szczur, DurkAtWork, Dave Roberts, Shelby and Sandy, J1mmy, Fewocious, AsyncArt, SuperRare, Nifty Gateway, Christie's, Axie Infinity, Mad Dog Jones, Lethabo

Micah Johnson

Twitter: /Micah_Johnson3

Instagram: /micah_johnson3

Discord: Aku World