I'm thrilled today to bring you a very in depth conversation with Ronin the Collector. This is a long read absolutely packed to the brim with wisdom, thoughts, advice, and ideation around the future of NFTs. A lot of value here so sit back and let the words wash over you!

So nice to be speaking with you today Ronin. You really have led this space in many ways, and a lot of my own understanding of the potential of NFTs comes from thoughts and wisdom you shared.

Let's start at the beginning. When did this world come across your radar, and what were your initial impressions? How have those initial impressions evolved with your experience over time?

I first heard about NFTs through the e-mail announcement from Topps about them bringing Garbage Pail Kids to WAX. I've collected digital trading cards for the past 6 years in their apps, so naturally I was interested. Once I did a little research, my first opinion was it just made sense. As a guy who's played video games for the majority of his life, giving true ownership to digital assets just clicked.

I think with time, I've realized that NFTs are not going to be constricted to just Art & Games. I really believe that the future of social media is heavily tied into NFTs. I think with the way the technology creates a new type of relationship between creator and their community, it makes a lot of sense to utilize it to connect.

Below, StrawBerry Mojito by drawwriteplay

That's an interesting thought, how social will incorporate this technology. So far, we haven't seen TOO much from traditional social media companies in the space, but I think it fair to say it must be on their radar. Can you expand on your thoughts about how this technology applies to the future of social media?

With the symbiotic relationship that's created through the combination of elements, beginning with the NFT, the creator and their community, the secondary market, and the ability to always build upon NFTs in perpetuity, creators can always create value out of the assets at any time. Burn events, collecting mechanics such as completing sets to get a rarer NFT, adding utility to early releases as the project matures, are just a few ways that creators can go back and give value.

Through that ability to always provide value, collectors are incentivized to partake in a creators ecosystem. The key there is that the creator needs to be able to enact the secondary and understand how to build long term value. When traditional brands, artists, etc. begin to work with people who understand this aspect of NFTs, they will realize they can now engage their audience in a new way that provides true value to both the creator and the collector.

As long as it's done correctly and with the understanding that this is a long game, just like everything else in crypto. The best value is in the long play.

Below: The Bleeding Heart will Always Remember by chissweetart

This is why you're seeing a decline in secondary sales, especially on Nifty Gateway. Because they hold NFTs in a custodial wallet, there's very little to be done with them on the open market. People can't build experiences into the access in the same way they can an open NFT experience built directly with a platform like OpenSea.

Not being able to 'gamify' and create reason to interact with the creator regularly, is how NFTs lose their value. It's why they get the side eye from those looking in. There's no follow up. There's no dedication to the technology, the space, and those creators collectors. The ones who ARE doing that, like ThankYouX & JN Silva, GREG MIKE, MADDOG... their value is sustained.

Below: Portrait of a Cyber Gypsy, by Hipworth

There are so many approaches to NFTs, like you say, and pros and cons to these different approaches. If you could put on a "purist" hat for a second, what would be the checklist, so to speak, for the "best" NFT platform for artists to sell on?

Oh wow. One of the amazing parts of being in the unique position that I'm in with my understanding of digital collecting specifically, is that I've been able to create a large network inside of the NFT space, but also outside of it. Because of that network, I've had the opportunity to have this conversation many times. So I think I can answer this one pretty easily -

- Presentation of the NFT collection for collectors, creators, curators, collectives... ect. is front and center. The experience of a platform should lead with this and build from there.

- Customization of this gallery to the fullest extent. Including NFTs which utility is specifically for this reason. (Imagine someone creates a cool gallery out of an old cabin, and sells it as a 1/50 NFT)

- Contracts that support multiples of wallets for the pay out. It's possible, let us do it already. With how the space is evolving, we need to be able to split the contract between a handful of people who are all taking part in the creation process.

- Minting from primary wallet of artist, creator, etc. - Secondary Market much like Meebit's has now in ease of use. (From what I can tell... I haz no Meebits.)

- Social aspects built in for creators to host their communities and collectors on the platform.

- Social token integration like OpenSea has now, but even more built into the foundation of the platform.

- And a ton of other cool shit that I've got locked up in my head and I REALLY want to let out. (If you're a dev and wanna build this, LFG!)

Imagine an entire NFT experience built inside of this platform. You come over to my Fewocious art wallpapered gallery, sit at my J. Wolfe skinned table, and we play a game of chess on my chess board which has a special 1/1 set of pieces designed and programmed by CoinArtist and Kitty Bast. That's the world I'm ready to live in.

Really love your perspective on this. Agree with many of these features and I'm eager to watch the space evolve.

Let's talk about artists. Who are the anchors of your collection, who can we highlight here as people who really get how to experiment with the space? You mentioned some names, perhaps we can expand on what some of them have done or you can bring up new people we haven't mentioned yet.

I'll say that I'm a collector through and through, so my collection very much consists of a lot of art that I just love. Artists specifically who I am thankful to have in my collection are @KatSheKittyBast (anyone who follows knows she's my favorite artist in the space), @hipworth_ , @WGMeets , @drippieverse , @JonathanWWolfe , and @BlackDave . In regards to NFT projects that I collect and think are excellent examples of projects that bring value to the space; @BoredApeYC for sure #ApeGang , @zed_run , @BitcoinOrigins , @AxieInfinity , Meebits, and I love what @garyvee is doing with his Veefriends experience NFTs. I can't wait to see more projects that incorporate experiences, especially live ones.

What we're doing with @DAZNBoxing and the Canello Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders is another example of what I'd love to see more of in the space. We came up with a series we're calling 'Prediction' NFTs. You buy an NFT that signifies a round of the fight, and if the fight ends in that round, you win a reward.

Gamification and engagement are so essential to the experience. All these brands and celebrities that don't get that have burned the community and if they choose to try to enter the space again, it's going to be a real uphill battle.

We've lived through a lot this past year. Do you feel that the circumstances we were subjected to accelerated adoption of these technologies?

I’m positive it was a slew of perfect events. Discovering NFTs at the beginning of the pandemic was a real savior for my mental state. It connected me to a community that I didn’t realize I needed. This space and the people in it are unreal and unlike any other. As it grows, that will change, but that won’t take away from the amazing foundation that we have laid and the connections and relationships we have created along the way.

My best friends right now are people I’ve never physically met. And that makes me smile. I look forward to getting to meet all of them one day, but the relationship we forged in the Metaverse is stronger than most I’ve cultivated in my life up to this point. What the Metaverse, and NFTs give us is the ability to shed away the physical ‘us’ and live these lives that are complete expressions of ourselves. Through our avatars. Our handles.

The pandemic pushed us inside, but allowed a lot of us to open up to a much larger world than we were afforded before. My friends no longer live within a span of 50 miles. They cross the globe. This technology connects us and because it will continue to be woven in the fabric of the new internet’s foundation, this connection, much like an NFT, will live in perpetuity.

Below, We Are What We Pretend to Be by Kitty Bast

I’ve been feeling the same bonds, the same energy, the same reshuffling of my creative communities and I agree that the technology has unlocked all of this. I feel these circumstances allowed us to glimpse the future of how humanity connects through a global metaverse, and that glimpse was one of the biggest silver linings. It’s up to us to now make that future a reality.

As the world reopens over the coming year, how would you like to see these worlds blend together? The metaverse you’ve grown to love and the physical world that has been on pause?

I'm super excited for live events, especially concerts and festivals, to start incorporating the technology into their experiences. I'm looking forward to more AR/XR/VR projects, one of which I'm extremely proud to be an advisory board member of that I truly believe will change so many lives. And honestly, that last part... I'm ready to see large scale efforts to spread the education and awareness of blockchain technology to the masses so more people can partake in this unprecedented time in history.

Below, Ballet #2 by Wes Henry Art

Above, Red Glitch, MarvelMundo X Pranksy

Well said. So what’s next for you in the space, any plans for the next few weeks, months and years?

What's next is something I've known I wanted to do since I started this journey, but just had the opportunity to really put into motion. I'm extremely passionate about NFTs being the next evolution of art, gaming, and social media. Part of that passion comes from the idea of connecting house hold names, with artists and creators already in the space, to make something really freaking cool.

I'm starting a creative agency whose sole purpose will be to bridge the gap between brands, artists, musicians, as well as other creators, and their education of the long term value in the space + community. My intent is to work with projects who want to bring long term value to not only their brand through implementing real strategy and forethought into their work, but also to the community, in ensuring that we get less of the cash grabs and more of the innovation.

So look out for some of the projects and artists I'm working with because they're all gearing up to dive head first into NFTs for the long haul. I'm extremely proud of what we're doing with the @DAZNBoxing drop this weekend. As well as what these artists are going to be bringing to the space soon; @weshenryart has a featured drop May 13th on @makersplaceco , @mindbender_art is cooking something up, and we've got big plans for the rebrand of @ladzcity and building out more utility to our token through some really dope NFT experiences, including some digital + physical stuff we'll be announcing in the coming weeks.

It's an exciting time and I'm so thankful for the way this community has supported me along the way and cheered me on. It's thanks to all of my followers on Twitter, Clubhouse, and our LADZ Community, that I'm able to focus on working in the NFT space full time, and hopefully for the rest of my life.

Well I wish you all the success in these endeavors, and I thank you for this insightful conversation, frankly a masterclass in how one can begin to think about the possibilities that will unfold in this space. I'm glad to know you, I'm grateful for all you do for our community, and I can't wait to see where the future takes us. To the reader, connect with Ronin across all socials and read some more of his writing here, and to see his collection in the metaverse, visit his gallery here on OnCyber.