As a representative NFT project in China, Weirdo Ghost Gang is growing more and more outstanding on the way of continuous building. As the "Man behind Weirdo Ghost Gang", Sleepy, the founder of Weirdo Ghost Gang, has always been quite low-key and introverted, a bit mysterious. So today, we are glad to have Sleepy, as the founder of Weirdo Ghost Gang, to share with you his practice, knowledge and views on Weirdo Ghost Gang, NFT and Web3! Without further ado, enjoy it!
Interviewer：@wenser2010
Interviewee：@Sleepy0x13
PART I TO READ: Interview with Sleepy, the founder of Weirdo Ghost Gang: I am just a simple idealistic man.(Part I)
PART II TO READ: Interview with Sleepy, the founder of Weirdo Ghost Gang: I am just a simple idealistic man.(Part II)
Wenser：That based on the current market heat, development trends, and relatively low threshold (whether it is free mint NFT, or low-cost NFT, as a newcomer can directly buy), so many people call NFT as the so-called "Web3 newcomer first stop”. Do you think NFT will continue to play this role?
Sleepy: I think NFT will continue to play the role of "first stop for newcomers". Because when you ask me to go to Web 3, you ask me to look at some nice pictures first, and you ask me to go straight to a bunch of code or financial terms, I'll choose the pictures.
Wenser: It's more intuitive?
Sleepy: Yes, and, well, more popular! Everyone has their own aesthetic preferences, but not everyone understands technology and finance.
Wenser: Yes, that's a classic line.
Sleepy: Yes, I think people are not very optimistic about the PFP track now, maybe these projects are still doing things, their own imagination is relatively limited, plus maybe the team's ability to execute the problem, sometimes the short-term can be very high fever, but it is also a fever, in the end is actually a waste of potential energy.
Wenser: FOMO.
Sleepy: Yes, I think it's a pity.
Wenser: I feel that people are still not doing too much incremental, but still in the stock in the volume.
Sleepy: Yes, including you do IP or artist incubation, these are rarely you come up by selling IP blind box, you can push the IP fire, I think this is a relatively difficult thing. It is more common that I may have to have a value to support first, and then I will do this kind of mass commercialization. Yes, I actually don't agree that 10,000 PFP avatars are pure art. Maybe it's a bit like Fine Art. In contrast to the real world that we are familiar with, it is like a printed poster. You can see that like Kongshanki, like Takashi Murakami, they have a lot of posters printed and framed and sold, and Bubble Mart has a blind box of artist co-branded or IP co-branded blind boxes. It is actually a consumer thing, it does not have such a strong artistic value. So now, since you have released a set of this stuff, what should you do with the money you earn? You definitely can't go on with the attitude of "I'm a cool artist", you go on to the next step, which is not the right thing for a cool artist to do.
Wenser: It's a bit of a mismatch when you say that. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get to the bottom of this.
But the whole Web 3 or Crypto industry is relatively cold, compared to the general environment and the competitive environment, do you think it is better or worse? Why?
Sleepy: I think the environment is actually better. Although there are more and more projects now, I don't think it's a problem to have more projects in such an early stage of the industry. Because those projects that should be cool will be cool sooner or later, but if the project base is large, some projects that have a certain path may run out. After a certain base, such as VCs, investment institutions, outsiders see the path of success, they will instead have more confidence in the whole track. Like before we have also contacted some investors, we are doing industry exchanges with them. They also said that they may invest less in NFT projects, or basically do not look at the reason, is not yet found in these NFT projects have been able to run through the track, or path, to do things have not been verified, so they do not dare to take the plunge.
Wenser: Yes, you say so, looking back, indeed, only boring apes (BAYC) is a model, but the second model, Azuki is also good, MoonBirds or Doodles, these are actually still in a validation period, rather than a particularly solid system and ecology. Everyone will brainlessly go with YugaLab or whatever, people think it will definitely do things, or will definitely let the holder enjoy certain rights or empowerment, other project paradigm level is still missing a little something.
Wenser: OK, so if I were an independent artist or creator, what kind of advice would you give me? Would you advise me to stabilize my hand first, or what?
Because right now, although there's a bit of a bullish back feeling lately, especially with some coins going up, NFT is still relatively illiquid.
Sleepy: My opinion is that it's better to be bold! But I don't recommend sending out 10,000 or thousands of these NFTs as soon as they come up. I don't recommend that they send out collections directly, but I would rather recommend that they try to send out some of their own single-edition artworks, such as at Foundation and SupeRare. You build up your own audience, your own fan base, and your own community first.
Wenser: Don't look at this from the perspective of a project first, but from the perspective of a fan economy or a collector? Do it first, and the scope of the scale should not be particularly large, the spread is particularly full, particularly large, but in the end, you can not master the kind of?
Sleepy: Yes, how to say, and understand the art and understand the business, almost no one. So, if you don't have a plan of your own in business, I suggest you don't do the commercial thing first.
Wenser: After you first attract the group of people you are more able to attract first, whether it's the space you can choose from or the return you can reap, there is relatively some guarantee. It still sounds like a good idea for independent artists and creators hahaha.
Sleepy: Yes, because you said that in this era, everyone can be a creator, including so many creator tools coming out now, I actually don't feel that these are helping these relatively niche artists, but rather I feel that it's making their situation more difficult one.
Wenser: It's kind of like a gentle trap. It feels like it's painted in a nice, bright light, but then you step in and realize it's not that way at all.
Sleepy: Yeah, and to give you a very simple example, and one that I mentioned when I was talking to a VC friend earlier. Because creator tools, to put it bluntly, increase productivity. Suppose I am Van Gogh, I a painting, I may before I paint 10 years, I paint a painting sold a few hundred million dollars. But the extreme point, such as my creator tools are very good, I may be able to paint ten a day, each I will sell 100 dollars. So if Van Gogh is like this, his works are 100 dollars, then why should I spend 100 dollars to buy a sleepy work? I would definitely buy a Van Gogh.
Wenser: It's actually more competitive, because it's still a zero-sum game, those who are outstanding are actually more outstanding, and those who are niche are more cold.
Sleepy: Yeah, so I think it's not about improving production efficiency, you have to find ways to increase the buying power, you have to make more people want to buy these things.
Wenser：OK, let's talk again, if the community partner, as we mentioned earlier, also wants to start a business, or he also has his own project, or he also has some of his own idea or something, just now also mentioned to give holder some of our so-called "What kind of support or planning is there in this area?
Sleepy: If you are a member in our WGG family who is starting a business, you are welcome to contact us. If there is something we can help, such as we go to help you dock some resources, help you to do something, other things can be done together, we are happy to do. Of course, not just anything can be done, like the kind of money plate or something, we certainly do not do. Under the premise of not violating public order and law, we are willing to cooperate with everyone to do something to enrich our entire ecology.
Wenser: Got it. Calling out loudly to families to contact quickly. If there is a reliable idea or project, or if you are trying to do something yourself, especially in terms of offline entities. Because now at home and abroad, in fact, physical brands, physical entrepreneurship are not very good, the situation is rather difficult, if in this regard can do some cooperation and communication with Weirdo Ghost Gang and ManesLAB, I think it is relatively speaking certainly a certain amount of help.
Sleepy: Yes, because some of our family members may be in Web 2 startups, some in Web 3 startups, some do NFT tools, some do defi projects, some open dessert stores, some open coffee shops, etc. I think the community itself is very rich, so I think the main thing is to see how we can unite as one.
Wenser: Creating a Weirdo Ghost Gang group with a large ecology haha. ok, the next one is a topic that leans towards the comparison category.
Do you think there is a big difference between NFT and overseas in terms of digital rights, intellectual property rights, or other usage examples, or what are the more detailed differences? What do you think about this?
Sleepy: The differences are really not that big from a cultural perspective. Although there are a lot of Web 3 practitioners who don't like domestic, such as affiliate chains and domestic digital collections, I have actually been paying attention and doing some research recently. Because I also tracked some projects. I think their community is doing really well and active. Although they do not use DC, only on WeChat, but may WeChat 500 people group, there are six or seven, every day each group is 999 + unread messages; including they will do a large scale offline activities, will do music festivals, will find a variety of red rapper to perform; may even holder to see the performance offline, such as free tickets, which is still relatively basic rights. Some projects will even give the holder red envelopes, clothes, and some (digital or physical) works of other artists.
Wenser: This empowerment feels no worse than the NFT program.
Sleepy: Yeah, including the community atmosphere, including what they're doing, really, I think we should not continue to look at it through colored glasses. There's really a lot to learn from a lot of projects.
Wenser: Indeed. It's probably not quite the stereotype or the perception that most NFT players have in the past.
OK, finally, let's talk about the vision of Weirdo Ghost Gang and its parent company ManesLAB, which is to connect and bridge Web 2 and Web 3. Or how do you think it will work?
Sleepy: I think, first of all, we can use Weirdo Ghost Gang as a door knocker, including brand co-branding, doing some offline activities, in fact, we are using Weirdo Ghost Gang and these companies, businesses, brands to establish a connection. Through some deeper cooperation, we make them willing to try in the direction of Web 3, and then through their radiation effect, their own customers and users can be exposed to Web 3.
Wenser: Here comes a question: How do people in Web 2 perceive or see the empowerment or benefits of Web 3? What do you think will attract the attention of these so-called "Web 2 people"?
Sleepy: I think one of the better points for these people is that they may not think so heavily about financialization. For example, if I go to buy a digital collection, although there are many people who go there to make money, but maybe I buy it because I can see some music festival or Livehouse show offline, I may buy one for the benefits.
Wenser; relatively diverse purpose? Not just for the money.
Sleepy: It's still more about the feeling of life, not just the financial attributes.
Wenser: A little bit on the opposite side of investment, leaning towards consumption and interest, this aspect is really a very prominent contrast as well.
Sleepy: Actually, this is something that I feel, although it's not a Chinese characteristic, it's true that China, including parts of the United States like New York, this idea of speculation can be a little bit heavier. If you look at Japanese projects, such as CNP, it's actually a little bit on the consumer side, it can offer you hundreds of offline store offers, such as giving you a noodle, giving you a discount, giving you a string of these.
Wenser: It goes back to talking about that so-called …..
Sleepy: Centurion card, haha.
Wenser: Lifetime passcard. Yeah, it's black card, lifetime membership card or something.
Sleepy: Yes, I think that NFT/digital collections must be integrated into people's lives to a certain extent, and it must not be such a state that is completely separated from life.
Wenser: It's really far away from people's daily lives now. The original purpose of Bitcoin was to transfer money peer-to-peer, but now it feels like when you transfer money, you're actually going to buy something or make an investment for a very specific purpose, rather than playing the role of a currency, so that cryptocurrency can really overlap with the real world. If we get to that day, I think NFT is good, or other areas of Web3, to have a better and healthier development. OK, finally, anything else you'd like to say to our listeners, other communities or projects? Anything you want to say, feel free, feel free.
Sleepy: Then, please take care of us! Haha, there's no need to say anything else.
Wenser: Okay, welcome to stay tuned and keep an eye on Sleepy and Weirdo Ghost Gang and ManesLAB. Thank you very much to Sleepy for communicating with everyone in the form of an interview, I hope to interact with you more in the future, and I look forward to a smooth and successful celebration of Weirdo Ghost Gang's first anniversary!
Sleepy: Thank you, Wenser, and thank you, dear listeners!
Wenser: Okay, goodbye.
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Some infos about Weirdo Ghost Gang：
Official Website：https://weirdoghost.com/
Twitter：https://twitter.com/WeirdoGhostGang