The Now Podcast

Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III are the imaginative co-founders of FriendsWithYou – a fine art collaborative with the sole purpose of spreading the positive message of “Magic, Luck, and Friendship.” Through a variety of mediums and large-scale immersive installations, these artists hope to create special moments of spiritual awareness and meaningful social interaction. In their 20-year career they’ve collaborated with Pharrell, J Balvin, Diplo, Hello Kitty, Lacoste, Guess, and other industry greats. In 2017, Borkson and Sandoval III took on a new medium with their Netflix show “True & the Rainbow Kingdom” with the goal of impacting as many people as possible with their art. Now, they’re adapting once again with fRiENDSiES, a collection of 10,000 customizable NFTs. The fRiENDSiES universe will bridge the real world and the metaverse through immersive art installations connecting holders and their AR/AI companions. 

In this episode we cover:

• The mission-driven origins of FriendsWithYou
• The deep emotional connections that can be created through AI
• The duo’s transition from traditional art to the Web3 space
• The debate around the price point for the Dutch auction for Friendsies
• And much more!

To listen to the audio version of this episode, go to http://smarturl.it/nftnow

To sign up for the nft now newsletter where we break down the NFT market into actionable insights each week, go to: https://www.nftnow.com

To follow FriendsWithYou on Twitter, go here: https://twitter.com/Friendswithyou

To follow FriendsWithYou on Instagram, go here: https://www.instagram.com/friendswithyou

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Isaac “Drift” Wright (AKA Drifter Shoots) is an urban photographer whose project “Where My Vans Go” is currently the second-best selling NFT photography collection ever. The U.S. Army special operations veteran first got into photography as a way to cope with his PTSD and depression. He would scale skyscrapers and climb bridges to photograph the world from a unique perspective – challenging legal lines along the way. This hobby unfortunately led to his arrest in 2020, and subsequent four-month incarceration without bond. Both Wright’s race as a black man and his training and service for his country were used against him. This week, we spoke with Wright about how NFTs and his artistry helped pull him out of the nightmare scenario.

We also discuss: 

• The United States criminal justice system
• Mental health
• How Punks gave him a safety net
• What’s next for him as a creator

To sign up for the nft now newsletter where we break down the NFT market into actionable insights each week, go to: https://www.nftnow.com

To follow Isaac “Drift” Wright on Twitter, go here: https://twitter.com/DrifterShoots

To follow Isaac “Drift” Wright on Instagram, go here: https://www.instagram.com/driftershoots/

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Jen Stark is a mixed media and NFT artist who broke records in March 2021 for being the first female artist to enter Foundation’s top 10 selling creators. For the past fifteen years, she’s worked with a variety of mediums to bring her mesmerizing paintings, sculptures, and animations to life. She’s collaborated with brands like Apple, Google, Vans, MTV, and Smashbox, and even launched a 6,000 sq. ft. immersive installation, “Cascade” in 2021. Her first generative NFT collection, “Vortex,” made its debut in December 2021, immortalizing her signature paper sculpture style on the blockchain. Though she came from the traditional art world, Stark believes that NFTs have changed her life and will be the new avenue of art history.

In this episode we cover:

• How NFTs allow artists to better connect with collectors
• How the traditional art world views NFTs
• Her advice for other artists
• Equitable representation in the NFT space
• Art in the metaverse
• And much more!

To listen to the audio version of this episode, go to http://smarturl.it/nftnow

To sign up for the nft now newsletter where we break down the NFT market into actionable insights each week, go to: https://www.nftnow.com

To follow Jen Stark on Twitter, go here: https://twitter.com/jen_stark

To follow Jen Start on Instagram, go here: https://www.instagram.com/jenstark/

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Gary Vaynerchuk (aka Gary Vee) is the chairman of VaynerX, CEO and founder of VaynerMedia and VaynerSports, and most recently, the creator of VeeFriends, a collection of 10,255 NFTs hand-drawn by Gary himself. After months of collecting CryptoPunks on the sidelines, Gary Vee launched VeeFriends to build a community around his creative and business passions using NFT technology and smart contract capabilities. VeeFriends’ version 2 is coming this April, with the inaugural VeeCon convention the following month. An expert in predicting trends, Gary Vaynerchuk believes NFTs will be here for the rest of his life, and that VeeFriends is going to be the project to go down in history. 

In this episode we cover:

- Gary’s NFT predictions for summer 2022

- His personal multi-million dollar NFT collection

- How he practices accountability to his token holders

- Web3

- Literary NFTs

- The NFT bubble

- And much more!

To sign up for the nft now newsletter where we break down the NFT market into actionable insights each week, go to: https://www.nftnow.com

To follow Gary Vaynerchuk on Twitter, go here: https://twitter.com/garyvee

To follow Gary Vaynerchuk on Instagram, go here: https://instagram.com/garyvee

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This week we’ve enlisted NFT superstar artist Chad Knight and Wilder World co-founder Phoenix Wilder to speak on the metaverse. Through 3D art and building in virtual reality, Knight and Wilder have made huge strides towards defining what the metaverse might look like in the very near future. Said to be the fabled next iteration of the internet, the metaverse seems to mean many different things depending on who you ask. From Facebook’s interest in becoming a metaverse company to the potential for people to have a complete existences living and working in a new dimension of reality — jump into the conversation to learn what all the hype is really about.

In this episode, we cover:

• The definition of “metaverse”
• Building virtual worlds like Wilder World
• Chad Knight stepping down as Nike’s head of 3D Design to help build Wilder World
• Social media, mental health and the metaverse
• How long it might take for the metaverse to go mainstream
• And much more!

To sign up for the nft now newsletter, where we break down the NFT market into actionable insights each week, go to https://www.nftnow.com 

To follow Chad Knight on Twitter, go here: https://twitter.com/ChadKnight

To follow Chad Knight on Instagram, go here: https://www.instagram.com/chadknight

To follow Phoenix Wilder on Twitter, go here: https://twitter.com/ph0enixwilder

To follow Phoenix Wilder on Instagram, go here: https://www.instagram.com/phoenix.wilder

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Over the past few years, Nelk has become an absolute YouTube sensation. Having risen to prominence with their prank videos, vlogs, and multi-faceted Full Send brand, the individuals behind Nelk have now become involved in NFTs in a big way. As top-tier content creators and professional community builders, the Nelk boys are carving out new ways to bring NFTs to the masses and are actively working to introduce their own community to web3.

In this episode we’re joined by Kyle Forgeard, one of the Nelk founders, and John Shahidi, the President and Manager of Full Send / Nelk as we discuss:

• How Nelk got into NFTs
• The launch of their successful Metacard project
• NFTs as a model for community ownership and crowdfunding
• How NFTs might change the economic model for creators who built a following in web2
• And much more!

To sign up for the nft now newsletter, where we break down the NFT market into actionable insights each week, go to https://www.nftnow.com 

To follow Nelk on Twitter, go here: https://twitter.com/nelkboys

To follow Nelk on Instagram, go here: https://www.instagram.com/nelkboys

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For years, Reese Witherspoon has lived on the silver screen as one of Hollywood's leading talents. Having played a major role in the creation of numerous influential characters, shows, and movies, the Oscar-award-winning actress has continued to foster creativity and support female creatives in every aspect of her career; and her latest endeavor into crypto and NFTs is no exception. For nearly a year now, Witherspoon has embarked on a journey as an ambassador of the blockchain — spearheading efforts to empower women at every turn.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Reese became involved in the NFT ecosystem
• Her thoughts on digital identity and the metaverse
• The potential of NFTs and web3 to impact the film industry
• Bringing her company Hello Sunshine into the NFT space
• How to ensure equitable gender representation in NFTs and web3
• And much more!

To sign up for the nft now newsletter, where we break down the NFT market into actionable insights each week, go to https://www.nftnow.com 

To follow Reese on Twitter, go here: https://twitter.com/ReeseW

To follow Reese on Instagram, go here: https://www.instagram.com/reesewitherspoon/

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Latashá is an entrepreneur and seasoned musician who has become one of the most prominent artists in the music NFT landscape. As an independent creative and head of community programming at Zora.co, Latashá is not only helping define what it means to be a music artist in web3, but also pioneering new ways that emerging artists can retain ownership of their intellectual property. Recently, Latashá sold the music video for her track “GOGO WYNE” as NFT for over 13 ETH ($50,000), and is now continuing to focus on community building within HERSTORYDAO and the influential web3 community Friends With Benefits.

In this episode, we cover:

• Latashá’s backstory as an artist
• Her role leading community programming at Zora.co
• How she settled upon music video NFTs as a strategy for her releases
• How NFTs can enable artist independence & prosperity
• NFTs becoming a standard revenue stream for musicians
• And much more!

To listen to the audio version of this episode, go to: http://smarturl.it/nftnow

To sign up for the nft now newsletter, where we break down the NFT market into actionable insights each week, go to https://www.nftnow.com

To follow Latasha on Twitter, go here: https://twitter.com/CallMeLatasha

To follow Latasha on Instagram, go here: https://www.instagram.com/callmelatasha/

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Nifty Gateway founders Duncan & Griffin Cock-Foster have become two of the most important figures in the world of NFTs. As the creators of one of the largest NFT marketplaces in existence, the brothers have not only played an integral part in establishing the NFT ecosystem as we know it, but in onboarding hundreds of thousands of creators and collectors into the NFT space. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing doing so, and the Cock-Fosters reflect on lessons learned and growing pains as the platform has navigated the rising water of the NFT boom.

In this episode we cover:

- Nifty Gateway’s origin story

- Lessons learned from the NFT boom and collector backlash

- Running a billion dollar company as twin brothers

- The importance of onboarding newcomers into the NFT space

- The role of Nifty Gateway in the 2021 NFT bullrun

- The future of the NFT marketplace giant

- And much more…

To listen to the audio version of this episode, go to: smarturl.it/nftnow

To sign up for the nft now newsletter where we break down the NFT market into actionable insights each week, go to: nftnow.com

To follow Duncan Cock-Foster on Twitter, go here: twitter.com/DCCockFoster

To follow Griffin Cock-Foster on Twitter, go here: twitter.com/gcockfoster

To follow Duncan Cock-Foster on Instagram, go here: instagram.com/duncan_cockfoster/

To follow Griffin Cock-Foster on Instagram, go here: instagram.com/griffincockfoster/

To follow Nifty Gateway Twitter, go here: twitter.com/niftygateway

To follow  Nifty Gateway on Instagram, go here: instagram.com/niftygateway/

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Over the past year, Deeze has become one of the most influential commentators and tastemakers in the NFT space. Having remained faceless and pseudonymous while amassing hundreds of thousands of followers — the self-proclaimed Director of Vibes at Fractional is known for being a champion of rising artists and builders within the NFT ecosystem. Even after becoming one of the top collectors in all of NFTs, Deeze isn't shy about educating others on his tactical approach to building wealth on the blockchain.

In this episode we cover:

- Deeze’s journey into NFTs.

- How his Twitter Spaces became the defacto public forum for the NFT community.

- Being a champion of NFT photography.

- His investment theses and how he approaches trading.

- What excites him the most about the future of NFTs.

- And much more…

To listen to the audio version of this episode, go to: http://smarturl.it/nftnow

To sign up for the nft now newsletter where we break down the NFT market into actionable insights each week, go to: https://www.nftnow.com

To follow Deeze on Twitter, go here: https://twitter.com/DeezeFi

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