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X+ DeGods with @aarondegods
Recorded: May 17, 2023 Duration: 1:00:10Space Recording
Full Transcription
I hope everyone is doing well tonight.
I hope everyone is doing well tonight.
We are going to be talking to Aaron DeGods tonight.
What's up, Aaron?
How's it going?
Hey, GM.
How's it going?
I'm pumped to be here.
You're not going to squeeze any alpha out of me tonight, though.
I'll tell you that right now.
Oh, man.
It makes me very, very sad.
Maybe just a smidgen, just a little bit.
Yeah, so we're having this space.
Obviously, Aaron is one of the masterminds behind DNYC,
so we want to ask a couple questions about that and kind of get his take on it.
It's been a while.
It's been a couple of weeks now,
but still want to take this opportunity to get a kind of behind-the-scenes look
at what went into that.
And we also want to talk about maybe before we jump in,
why don't we just get kind of your background?
I don't know if everybody really knows the full story.
How did you end up at D-Labs, and what do you do there?
And, yeah, we'll just jump in with that.
For sure.
So I guess I've been officially pumping the bags on payroll for a little over a year now.
So I started out as, like, my first entry into the D-Labs team was as an Alpha team member
early, early on, like March of, like, last year.
And I slowly but surely, like, became a mod, then became, like, you know, they called it, like, a growth lead at the time.
We didn't do much.
I don't really know what that was.
And then right around July is when Frank and Finn hit me up.
And they were like, hey, come to L.A., help with Utes.
So I stayed in L.A. for, like, four months, living at the house, working with everybody,
helping to launch Utes, being helpful where I can.
And then now I am a full-time team member for Dust Labs.
So I kind of wear a bunch of different hats depending on the day.
For example, today my hat was events.
So as a lot of you guys know, we're, you know, super into events, especially, like, the community-driven, like, meetups and stuff.
So we have a lot of really fun stuff we're working on there, coordinating with some community leaders already
to, like, try to support some of the events that they already do.
So, yeah, I mean, I just kind of, like, you know, it depends on what we're doing.
But I fit in and help where I can.
And before I was involved with D-Labs, I was the Web2 startup bozo.
So I was a startup founder.
I had a company that was ā we essentially did automated alcohol compliance.
So we had, like, mobile ID.
So, like, as a user, you would be able to essentially use our app and go to a bar without your wallet
because we would have your debit card and your ID.
And then we would automate the actual compliance piece on the merchant side.
But that was, you know, kind of killed by COVID.
People stopped going out, which was kind of terrible timing.
So we weren't able to get that off the ground.
And then crypto was, like, my guilty pleasure.
So then I just kind of found D-Gods, fell in love with the community through tweeting about D-Gods and stuff,
and then found my way to the house.
All right.
So of all the places you could have landed in crypto and NFTs, I think ā I don't want to speak for you,
but I'd imagine you feel pretty fortunate to have landed in D-Gods and not another project with, you know,
how many have not lasted or just are not the quality that D-Gods is.
Yeah, dude.
It's kind of crazy because ā so I knew Frank before I knew he was Frank.
And, like, that's the wildest thing is, like, the Web2 startup bozo world is, like, actually a pretty small world.
And so we had this group chat on all of our doxxed Twitters, and it was with all these people I had met over, like, a year or two.
Met a bunch of them in Miami when we went on, like, a tech week kind of trip there.
And it was, like, this group chat of, like, 30 to 40 or so just, like, tech founders and, like, VCs.
But, like, all of us were just, like, young people in the space.
So we would, like, meet up in cities and hang out.
And Frank was in that group with me.
We weren't, like, friends.
I had never met him in real life.
But I remember in how I figured out he was Frank was he sent a meme once in that group chat.
It was a meme about crypto.
It was a really funny meme.
It was, like, right when everything crashed.
And it was, like, this meme of, like, a redneck in a pool.
And he was, like, I was pretty rich there for a couple days.
And so I was, like, that's a banger meme.
So I took that meme and I posted it on my Instagram story.
But I wasn't just going to, like, take his meme and not give him credit.
And so I followed him.
He followed me back and I tagged him when I posted the meme.
And then fast forward a couple months, Frank, as Frank, is up at NFTLA at his, like, first public appearance.
He's got, like, the red bandana on on his face and stuff.
And, like, there's that picture that we memed, like, crazy at the time of him on stage.
And I just thought that picture was a vibe, dude.
I thought it was a vibe.
So I posted that picture to my story.
And this motherfucker swipes up on my Instagram story.
And he's, like, yo, no way.
You're into D-Gods?
And I was, like, yeah, dude.
Like, what do you mean?
Like, of course I am.
And, like, I knew he was involved, like, on the team.
I didn't know he was Frank, though.
And so then had a bit of a moment where I was, like, yeah, dude.
Like, I minted.
Like, I have a couple of them.
Like, I'm so fucking pumped.
And so, like, that's when I figured out that, like, Frank was Rohan and Rowan was Frank.
So it was pretty funny.
Like, it is a small world.
And it's kind of weird how I ended up here.
Because so many people from my life just, like, know Frank and a bunch of the other people that started D-Gods.
So it's, like, we were already, like, one degree removed from each other.
And so it's pretty crazy, man.
That's wild.
That's pretty cool.
I love stories like that where it's just kind of, like, a lot of coincidence.
But, like, it was meant to be, like, kind of like an origin story.
That's really cool.
So speaking of some of these IRL events, I wanted to pick your brain a little bit while we have you about DNYC.
But also just kind of, like, behind the scenes look.
Like, what went into it?
What was it like planning it?
But also from a marketing perspective or from a growth perspective or whatever perspective for that matter, what is the goal for these IRL events?
What is the angle?
Is it just to create a really fun experience?
But what is ā kind of D-Gods has been known for throwing, like, some really awesome parties, some really awesome IRL events.
I was not fortunate enough to be able to go to DNYC.
But all I heard about was, I believe, like, D-Gods was the best, as was Klano.
I think people spoke really, really highly of Klano as well.
So it's like, what is the angle for these IRL events?
What's the goal and what goes into setting them up?
Yeah, I mean, I think it kind of depends on the event.
Because, I mean, we activate so many events.
Because right before New York, we did, like, Paris and stuff.
And those were two very different events for us to support internally, just from, like, an operations perspective.
Because, like, the Paris event was ā we were much more so just, like, passengers on that boat.
You know, like, we didn't have to do a lot of the legwork of, like, oh, this is exactly what's happening.
Book the venue, all this stuff.
We just kind of, like, joined.
DNYC, on the other hand, was, like, ground up on us.
So it was two kind of different internal processes.
And I think, you know, to your question of, like, what do we go for or, like, why and, like, what's the value point in having these events?
I mean, I think on the surface level, it's pretty clear that, like, our community enjoys meeting each other in real life.
Like, it's just a thing, right?
I don't know how we got all the nerds in Web3 in one place that are actually down to meet up IRL.
But we did.
And, like, it's a thing that's already happened organically for so long that it's almost like we're, like, leaving such a big opportunity on the table if we don't do more IRL events because it's what people want.
And then I think when it comes to actually throwing the events, it really comes down to, like, how big and, like, how impactful is the event to the people that participate?
Because, like, there are some events that may be, you know, for 10 people that could be really, really cool and, like, could be very much so worth it for us as, like, a team to, like, actually plan, especially if it was, like, targeted or something, right?
It's, like, for example, right, let's say, you know, some pro snowboarder, right, wants to go, like, snowboarding with some members of our community.
We could find, like, the snowboarders in our community and, like, figure that out.
Like, that would be sick.
But then more so for, like, these bigger events, it's, like, people were traveling for New York.
And so one of the big insights was that it's a lot of people's first time in New York.
That was one of our assumptions is that, like, a lot of people may not have been to New York before, which was a big inspiration around the scavenger hunt, the treasure hunt, and, like, kind of forcing people to, like, explore the city and, like, actually take in New York for what it was.
So that was pretty fun.
And then another big insight was that, you know, regardless of the events that we planned, the most important part was that people were together, right?
And so, like, being at the hotel, having, like, this central meeting place was, like, a huge value add because, I mean, I'm sure people that went to the event can probably speak to this.
It's like, like, you may have gone to our official events and stuff, but I imagine that there were more memories made when, you know, just small groups of holders, like, met up and went to a bar and got lunch together type stuff rather than, like, at the happy hour or at the party.
And I think that was one big thing that we wanted to happen, and so having everybody in one place was, you know, really beneficial for that reason.
But, yeah, I think all in all, when planning New York, my personal goal was, among other things, is I wanted everybody who didn't go to experience the most dangerous level of FOMO they have ever felt.
Because I think, like, we do truly have this crazy opportunity as a community, as a team, as a brand, to, like, really do events well and, like, hit actual culture and, like, create this brand that, you know, people that don't give a fuck about NFTs would give a fuck about our events.
And I think that's where we're going.
And so, really, New York was just our way to prove that we can do really, really cool big stuff.
And I think, you know, we made a lot of mistakes.
We had a lot of friction points.
Not everything went perfectly, but we learned a lot.
And so I think, you know, now that we're planning some more events into the future, we're already, you know, working on Basel and a few other things.
We're going to go big and we're going to do it better.
And hopefully, like, the value add to the community and to the NFT holders there is that, you know, if you're into these IRL experiences and, like, these fun events and meeting other people, then, like, you have it and, like, that's there.
And, like, even if you're not into that, I think our, you know, hypothesis here is that if we can continue leveraging that aspect of this brand to grow our presence globally, then it's just going to drive all the value back to the membership, which is owning the NFT.
So, yeah, I think New York was good.
It was a W.
We could have done a lot of things better.
But I think it was a great, like, proof of concept that, like, hey, as a team, we can execute things on a much larger scale.
And so now that we have, like, that one notch in our belt, I'm excited for the next one.
I think it'll be big.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
I had a question, kind of, like, when you're planning these events, like, and these experiences, are you trying to create an event that attracts the kind of community and holder and brand and brand image that DGods wants to achieve?
Or do you look at what the current community is and try to craft an experience that best fits what the current community and holder base is?
And I say that because you have some holders that it'd be impossible, right?
It'd be 100% impossible to create an experience that every single DGods holder is perfectly tailored.
Like, some people want to do a scavenger hunt.
Some people want to go to a fancy dinner.
Some people want to do shoeies.
Some people, like, not all DGods holders are the same.
They don't want, like, the same things necessarily.
Are you trying to go, like, shoot broad and, like, make everybody happy?
Or are you trying to, like, project an image that's going to or project an experience that's going to attract the next, you know, attract and onboard the next 1,000 people into the DGods community?
Great question.
I mean, honestly, I think a little bit of both because, you know, I think in some ways you can kind of solve for the, like, special interest groups and, like, the people that want to do different things.
But also, I mean, we're pretty transparent in the way that we're framing, like, DGods as a brand and youths.
And, like, we want to create memorable, magical experiences.
And so, you know, I think it's one of those things where it's like, I mean, and you kind of touched on it, right?
It's like you can never make everybody happy.
I mean, shit.
You know, you airdrop people literal cash.
Somebody's still going to find a way to complain.
So, it's like you can't make everybody happy.
But I think what we can do and what we're trying to do is just make sure that there's something for everybody.
And that doesn't necessarily mean that, like, you're pumped about and, like, what you're going to, you know, go to or travel to.
But, like, my thinking here is, like, I would love if every single holder at least saw, like, I don't know, two or three events a year that they were like, wow, I would go to that.
Like, that looks like fun.
Whether it's virtual or in person, right?
Because it's like we can do a lot of really cool things digitally as well, which we're going to start doing more of.
And so, I think there's going to be something for everybody.
And it's also one of those things where it's like if we don't have it now, it doesn't mean we can't throw a new event, right?
So, it's important for us to get as much feedback as we can from the community.
And so, like, you know, anybody here that's listening, right, it's like if we aren't throwing events that you want to go to, like, tell us.
And, like, tell us what kind of events you do want to go to because without us, you know, knowing, we can't throw those events.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
I think that makes a ton of sense.
I wanted to throw it over real quick to Mag to see if he had any questions on this topic and IRL events.
I think he was able to go to DMYC.
So, I wanted to kind of get his viewpoint and maybe input if he has anything on this.
Yeah, what's going on, guys?
I went to NYC when we did our first episode after that.
Like, I expressed, like, that I thought it was damn near perfect.
Now, obviously, everyone doesn't have a perfect experience.
Like, maybe I just got lucky.
But I loved it.
I know a concern that seems to be getting thrown around a little bit, maybe just in the whale community.
I don't know.
To be honest, it's not a concern I have.
I actually kind of look at it totally the opposite direction.
But I'll try to steel man their argument a little bit, which is just sort of like, you know, pizza parties and scavenger hunts.
Like, is that attracting, you know, the big whales that's going to get us to, like, a 500k floor?
My take on it, and then I'll throw it back to you, Aaron, for your take and the team's take.
Like, the reason I'm not personally concerned about that is, like, A, I think having a healthy mix is important.
And I think in NYC, like, we nailed it.
You know, you had the pizza party and the scavenger hunt, but you also had, you know, X-Plus dinner with Frank.
You had the X-Plus party, which you didn't have to be an X-Plus to go to.
You just had to buy the ticket that was, like, a little more pinky out.
And then you had the basement party that was kind of, like, in the middle.
And, you know, I'll just, you know, I had one buddy, because you were talking about bringing in people that are, like, not NFT people or whatever, or, you know, just making people feel FOMO.
I had a buddy who's giga rich.
Like, this guy could buy and sell me a million times over, like, nine-figure-plus rich.
And he's not an NFT guy.
He's, like, a Bitcoin maxi.
And he happened to be in the city that same weekend.
I brought him to the basement party.
And I don't know if he actually bought a D-God, but, like, this guy is, like, doesn't buy shit coins, doesn't buy NFTs.
He's, like, the typical, like, you know, giga Bitcoin maxi.
And after a couple hours at the basement party, he was, like, dude, you know, I get it now.
Like, I'm really interested in this community.
Like, because he would give me shit about D-Gods and, like, oh, bro, community, blah, blah, blah.
And then he went to the basement party.
And, like I said, this guy is giga rich.
Like, he wasn't looking for, like, a pinky-out champagne party.
You know, he was looking to have fun.
And I think that's what we provided.
And so, you know, maybe for some people that's not what they're looking for.
And the balance is important.
But I do know that, like, that is sort of a concern.
So, for some people, again, not me.
So, just throw it back to Aaron.
Is there any thoughts from the team about, you know, whatever, providing the bougie whale experience?
Or is that something that's super important?
Or what do you guys think about that?
Yeah.
No, it's a good point.
It's a good point.
I mean, the short answer is yes.
I mean, love a good bougie whale experience.
And, like, that is where, you know, we are positioning D-Gods.
It's like, you know, it is a premium, you know, brand.
It costs a lot of money to join.
So, like, it should be premium.
I think on the topic of, you know, things like a pizza party and a treasure hunt not being, you know, as premium.
Or as, you know, at that $500,000 mark.
I don't disagree with that.
I guess what I would come back at that and say is, like, is giving away $100,000 during an IRL scavenger hunt bearish?
I don't think so.
I think that's still, like, a bullish thing for, like, a project.
Even if that's not something you would participate in.
And I would also say, like, the biggest surprise to me, too.
Because when I was planning out the scavenger hunt, like, a lot of the inspiration came from a similar scavenger hunt I did while I worked for Red Bull in college.
And so, like, it's very much so oriented towards, like, a younger demographic.
People who are, like, literally down to, like, cannonball into a fountain and drink hot dog water, right?
Like, I don't expect somebody with a nine-figure net worth to, like, do that.
And, like, that event wasn't really for those people, right?
Kind of back to that previous point of, like, something for everybody.
I do think that event was, like, positive EV for us as a brand.
There was a lot of really great content that came out of that.
And a lot of the people that participated did have ā I don't think anybody that participated didn't have a fun time participating, right?
And so, like, that's the important part to us.
And then, you know, like you mentioned, I think there ā we ā the X Plus had an event that we didn't plan, but it was an amazing event.
And I would love to, like, do more high, you know, like, high-class stuff like that.
Like, dude, when we were pulling up, I remember I saw ā I don't think he's in the audience right now.
I saw Vince in the lobby of the public.
Motherfucker was wearing a tux, man.
And I'm wearing, like, an Alameda risk management hoodie.
Like, I have never felt as underdressed.
But, like, that's the vibe, and I love that.
So I think it is a little bit of both.
I just ā I would be very skeptical if the fact that we gave away $100,000, literally $100,000 in a scavenger hunt,
and still managed to make money on DNYC, like, if that's not a bullish thing to buy into as a whale, I don't know what is.
You know, even if you don't want to participate in it, I think the fact that it happened is still pretty cool.
Yeah, that's how it was for me.
I'm fucking way far away from Nine Fingers, maybe one day.
But even for me, like, the scavenger hunt, like, as soon as I saw the list of stuff, I was like, yeah,
some, like, 20-year-old kid is going to, like, grind this out.
No, it's not even worth it.
Dude, the craziest part, though, is the winning team was not kids, bro.
I don't know how old they were.
They were definitely not in their 20s, though.
They looked, like, early, mid-30s, maybe.
Could have even been 40s.
I don't know.
But they were just, like, this group of dudes, and they were just having fun.
They just had fun.
And, like, that was the best part.
And, you know, when I was giving out a lot of these prizes, which that was a big friction point I was not expecting.
Apparently, buying a bunch of, like, electronics and gift cards at the same time is, like, a red flag for most merchants online.
So that's been really fun to deal with.
But the emails, right?
I, like, email the teams.
I'm like, hey, you won.
Let's get you your rewards.
And, like, these top couple teams that got the Utes and the D-Gods, you know, the response is, like, one of these team members, they literally were like, look, you know, we got to New York and, like, our plans got rugged.
And we basically made a decision on that first night.
And we were like, we're going in on this scavenger hunt.
Like, this is what we are going to make our NFT NYC experience.
And that's what they did.
And they won a fucking sick NFT for it.
And, like, because of that, they made all these memories with some of their best friends.
And it's like, dude, people can foot it all they want.
I don't even care.
And it's like, dude, as long as the, you know, couple hundred or so people that participated, like, like, had a great time and a memorable experience.
Like, that's the dub.
And I think, like, if more projects just, like, focused on the micro like that, then their events would be better.
Because it's like, our events are really only good because we literally think about the singular person on the other end of it.
Right?
It's like, how much fun is, like, one person going to have?
And, like, for New York, for example, it was like we put ourselves in the shoes of as many different types of holders as we could.
We're like, how can we have something for everybody?
Right?
The scavenger hunt, the happy hour, the party, the pizza party, hanging out and playing basketball across the street.
It's like, you can drink.
You don't have to drink.
Right?
You can run around.
It's like all this different stuff.
It's like, you just have to have it all available.
And the beautiful thing about our community, too, is there's just so much passion and energy in the community to also just run this stuff without us as a team.
And so that's the big thing that we're working on now is how do we build systems to, like, support our community members around the world?
Doing meetups, you know, every month so that we actually have this, like, worldwide, like, meetup tour just happening all the time.
Like, that's the dream.
Yeah, that makes me real happy here.
And, like, the X Plus Party, a good example.
I know the D Hot Party.
I don't know if that ever happened, but I heard about that.
That sounded lit.
And these more community-run things, if they had a way of, like, easily syncing up with you guys, like, you know, maybe once these, like, outside groups have kind of proven themselves to be legit, you know, maybe, oh, if there's a sponsor and you guys don't have an event that month, maybe you could pass off, you know, do some kind of rev share or whatever, build that way through the community.
And just your response in general makes me kind of happy because, to be honest, when I hear about, you know, oh, whatever, we got to get away from the shoeies or whatever, like, to me, that's, like, this is just me speaking.
Like, that's a red flag.
That kind of reminds me of, like, you know, like a punk rock band gets super popular and then they sign to a label and then the label, like, starts telling them what to do.
And then a couple years later, they've jumped the shark and they're not cool anymore.
I don't want to see, like, D-Gods ever forget where they came from and, you know, be that kind of, like, Green Day 2005 versus, like, Green Day 1997 type shit.
I'm aging myself a little bit.
But, like, yeah, so super, from my perspective, at least, like, stoked to hear your answer.
I think well-rounded is kind of the key on these big events.
Yeah, and I'll even drop a little bit of alpha for you right around that.
You wanted some alpha?
So I'll give you the enchilada right now.
So we've already started building out that system.
We've started talking to a handful of community members that have already been doing events.
So some of you, especially in the L.A. area, might have been to one of Mark Colter's meetups.
Or maybe you went to a pickup game with Suddy playing some basketball.
Recently, if you were at ConsenSys, you might have gone to Beck's event down there in Austin.
Frosted in Atlanta has been doing some events, going to, like, Hawks games and stuff, Topgolf, things like that.
And so they've been doing that for a while already.
And so we've already connected with them.
We're going to start setting up, you know, really, like, more regular.
Like, basically just I'm going to try to support them, right?
As from, like, a team perspective, being, like, D-Gods and Utes, it's, like, how can we help these awesome community members, like, level up these events?
And we're working on it.
So, like, we're building out the system right now.
It's, like, so early stages.
It's hilarious.
But I will tell you, like, it is happening.
And, like, it's literally, like, it was, like, half my calls today were about.
So, like, this whole idea of supporting these community-led events is, like, a very real focus of ours.
And it's something that we're looking to scale out very quickly.
So I would imagine in the next couple weeks we're going to start, you know, reaching out to a lot of the clubs.
And we're already talking to, like, and, God, I can't give out too much alpha, but, like, D-Golf, a bunch of you guys know about D-Golf, like, dude, the absolute legends.
So they've got some really interesting stuff coming up that we're going to be helping with, maybe or maybe not related to another sports property that's related to D-Gods.
I don't know.
So I just, you know what I mean?
Like, there's just, there's a lot cooking.
We're building systems so that we can get better at this because we as a team 100% realize that, like, the community needs this.
The community wants it.
And so it's, like, we got to make it happen.
Awesome.
Oh, go ahead, Mag.
Did you have something on that?
No, no.
I was just going to start trying to pry some Season 3 Alpha out of Aaron, but I'll let you go first.
I was going to do the same thing.
I was getting ready to ask a pretty direct question because you brought up nine-figure portfolio, man.
Aaron, so for somebody who's, you know, maybe not at a nine-figure portfolio, maybe they're at a four or five, six.
Maybe they're blessed enough to be at a seven.
But let's say somebody's trying to add the next zero to the end of their portfolio.
Where do you see the biggest opportunity in the D-Labs ecosystem for that or Dust Labs ecosystem?
Is there anything?
I mean, obviously, we're all bullish on Utes, D-Gods, and Dust.
But is there any in particular that just, you know, you might be a little more partial to?
No, no, there isn't.
You know, I love all my JPEGs equally.
I guess there is one Ute I love more than most of my other Utes, but unrelated to any Alpha reasons.
Yeah, I wish I could give you guys more.
The funny thing is, is like, I actually just don't have much Alpha about Season 3.
Like, I just don't work on that.
Like, I just don't work on the NFT stuff, mostly.
Like, my job mostly revolves around, like, community activations, brand activations, events, you know, partnerships, stuff like that.
The NFT side is heavily guarded from D-House.
And so I think they've all been, like, locked in there for a few weeks.
I haven't gotten too much Alpha.
But what I will say is, like, it's very exciting.
And, like, from the Alpha that I have gotten, it's going to be pretty fun.
I think it's really cool, like, just internally, operationally.
Like, when we hop on a call and, like, Frank is just fucking pumped.
And, like, what I will say is, like, Frank is fucking pumped.
And so, like, that always makes it a fun, you know, time for being a holder of D-God's Utes and Dust.
So, yeah, I'm excited, man.
Nice.
So, I guess next question, you know, maybe somewhat Alpha related.
And I know, like, there might not be, like, dates ironed out or anything.
But, like, obviously season two, season three, everyone's looking forward to it.
But maybe even on, like, the events side of things, like, what's the next big thing that we should all be looking forward to?
What's the next big event?
What's ā is there a timeline?
Are things still shaping up to be Q2?
Are there delays to be expected?
Kind of what's going on on the timeline front side of things?
Yeah, I mean, happy to speak on the event side.
As far as, like, the season release, I think everything's looking good.
Like I said, I don't really, like, work on that day-to-day, so I don't know.
But on the event side, the next, like, big thing that's coming, we are actually working on something that I think is going to be pretty cool.
We haven't announced it yet because we haven't, like, locked in all the details.
But some of you may have noticed we recently had a community member join, Stevie Williams, who's a professional skateboarder.
And so there's a lot of community members that, I guess, were fans prior.
And there seemed to be a ton of excitement about him joining the community.
And he was pumped, too.
So we've been talking, and he does some biweekly events in L.A.
So I think we're going to maybe do something with him in mid-June or so.
And then the Killer 3 season starts towards the end of June.
I think the first game is, I want to say, like, the 25th, maybe?
I would have to check on that.
But, yeah, so the Killer 3s is, like, the first big thing, which we haven't announced anything around that yet.
But what I will say is we're announcing stuff very soon.
And I'm personally very excited for the Killer 3 season this year.
I think, you know, we're definitely taking a different approach.
And we're really trying to focus on, like, elevating the fan experience.
So not only for people that go to the games, but for people that, like, want to watch and stuff at home and just, like, being a fan of the team.
So super pumped there.
I think anybody that goes to a Killer 3s game this season is probably going to have a really good time.
Hoping to announce the stuff around that probably next week, honestly.
So, yeah, and then, like, Killer 3s season starts, runs.
So there's a bunch of games in cities all across the country.
And then, yeah, got a few things towards the end of the year.
Dude, I mean, we literally have, like, I think right now on the events schedule, there's, like, got to be 40 or 50 just for this year.
And we haven't even started adding in a lot of the community-led stuff.
So there's a lot coming.
And we're working on, like, consolidating it all, putting it all into one place so it's easy for people to, like, plan and go.
But what I will say is something that we're very much so improving on is timing.
So New York, we announced New York pretty late.
And granted, we got a pretty late start planning New York.
So I'm just glad we pulled it off.
But we announced it late.
We're already planning Basel, for example.
So, like, all the details around that stuff will come, you know, very early, much, much more early than we did for New York this year.
But, yeah, there's tons of stuff.
And then what I will say, too, is, like, any other events that, you know, anyone in the community feels like that we should go to, we'd love to hear about them.
Because I even think, like, non-crypto events can make sense.
Like, so, for example, Comic-Con is happening in San Diego pretty soon.
Sent in the San Diego group the other day if anybody wanted to do a Comic-Con event.
So it's, like, stuff like that we're also down for.
I think the biggest thing we look for is, like, who wants to go and, like, is there enough interest in the community for us to, like, throw an event or do something here?
And if there is, like, we're pretty much down.
Yeah, yeah, makes sense.
Follow-up question to that is, it seems like a lot of the event stuff is more on the D-God side.
Is there going to be some mute stuff or is it just going to be all mixed up?
Or are the live IRL events mainly focused for D-Gods?
Yeah, great question.
I mean, honestly, I wouldn't even say they're focused for D-Gods.
I would say they're, like, D-Labs focused.
And, like, honestly, at a lot of these meetups, and if you ask the people that organize these two, it's, like, token gating them is really just, like, not worth it.
And so not even just to, like, say D-Gods versus Utes, but to say, like, D-Labs holders versus non-D-Labs holders, it's, like, typically the more the merrier, right?
And especially, like, from a brand perspective, if, like, people outside the brand come to an event, have fun, meet some fun people, it's always good.
So I would say most of these events are more so just geared towards our community and our fan base as a whole.
Obviously, when it comes down to capacity and stuff, then, you know, holders will be prioritized.
And then I think one of the big kind of insights we've had is, you know, we don't necessarily need to throw token gated events.
I think what's more powerful is if we throw public events, but then give our holders elevated experiences at those events.
So as an example, right, you go to Coachella, you can get the general admission, or you can get the, like, platinum wristband.
So it's like, well, you know, if we had D-Gods Coachella, maybe people could buy general admission, right?
But then D-God holders and U-holders get the, you know, the wristbands and stuff.
So I think that's more so the approach that we're going to be taking now is, like, how can we have larger scale events that are more or less open to the public,
but then just focusing on, like, how do we make the holder experience, the member experience, you know, extra premium or more so than the general experience?
Yeah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
No, Mag, you were going to try to extract some alpha.
I wanted to give you a chance to do that before.
We still have a little bit of time here, but, you know, before we maybe bring some people up to ask some questions and then end up wrapping it up.
We try to keep it to around an hour so it's very digestible for anyone who can't make it and to listen to the recording.
I won't try too hard here, but I am a little curious without, I know you're not going to tell me what it looks like or even your opinion on it,
but have you gotten a sneak peek of the art?
If so, like, is it good?
What are your, you know, without telling me the details, like, did you get any kind of sneak peek?
What's your vibe like on the sneak peek that we all know you have and you have to tell us about now?
Dude, I swear to God, I have not seen it.
Like, I could not be, like, less connected to the season three, season two stuff.
Like, I, and the other thing, too, is, like, they keep that shit so locked down in that typically, like, right now, for example,
we have a zillion figmas for all the different products we have, all the websites we have, all the stuff.
Um, there's probably, like, like one that's password protected and it would be that one.
Um, so it's, like, it's, it's, it's, like, locked down, you know what I mean?
Um, but, no, I, I think I've, I've heard from other team members that have seen it and, like, I think it's, it's, it's, you know, a vibe.
I think it's, it's cool.
I, I haven't seen it, so I really don't have any opinions on it, but what I do know is, like, I trust, uh, Johnny and Candy Apple.
I think they're, they're both just, like, phenomenally creative people and, um, you know, watching them work along with Pencils and Scum during the, uh, the huge process was, was pretty cool, man.
Like, it's, I'm not an artist, so, like, I just don't, I don't really connect to that, like, world.
Um, but, but, like, seeing them work was, it's pretty crazy just to, like, see the wheels turn and, like, to see how they got from point A to point B.
Um, so I, I fully trust them.
I, uh, hope they don't rug by one of one.
So, uh, you know, fingers crossed.
Yeah, bro, I'm, uh, I always tell Frank, you know, I'm excited, but I'm very afraid, just my PFE, like, leave it, we can just skip my PFE for season three.
I'll, I'll try out season four, maybe, but, um, quick follow-up on that before you bring people up, because maybe people are interested.
I'm kind of interested now, because it sounds like the, the, the teams are, like, very segregated.
Like, is the art team, like, in a different, you know, floor of the house?
Are they, like, out in the garage, or what's the deal with that?
Is there any little inside scoop you can give us on that?
Is Frank having them locked in the basement?
What's the deal?
I mean, honestly, dude, like, I'm the one that's separated.
Um, I, I'm just not at the house.
So, I actually, I currently live in Oklahoma City, of all places.
I know, it's, it's weird.
Um, but I'm about to move to Austin, Texas.
And so, I'm just not even close to LA.
Um, the people that are at the house, slash, working out of LA, like, they've definitely all seen it.
Um, that, that's the biggest thing.
And so, I wouldn't say, like, the team is as much separated.
It's just, like, my work scope doesn't, I'm not an artist.
All right?
Like, I'm not an artist, and I'm not, like, Frank.
So, it's, like, I don't really have too much to, to give on the NFT side.
Um, but, but I can provide a lot more value on, like, the events, operations side, and, like, community management and stuff.
So, happy to, to just, like, pull my weight where I can.
Um, because I promise you guys, you, you do not want me involved in the decision making of anything art-related, um, on your JPEGs.
Gotcha.
So, it's a distance thing.
All right, cool.
Understood.
Um, if anybody does want to come up, ask questions for Aaron, ask, uh, me and Forrest if we're still gigabullish or anything in between, feel free.
Otherwise, uh, do you have any more questions for our guests, Forrest?
Uh, honestly, not really.
Maybe we have a couple people up if anyone wants to ask questions.
Uh, if nobody has questions, I guess my last one would be very broad and general.
I'm, like, I feel like Aaron's been, uh, trained by, like, an elite, like, Navy SEAL team on how to avoid, uh, spilling alpha in, in, you know, some way or another.
Just deny the fact that you've, you, you, you even work at Dust Labs or D Labs.
Uh, no, uh, uh, uh, any insight into Kevin and what Kevin's building?
Maybe even just, you know, how are things going?
It could just be a good, you know, bad, you know, things could be going better or things are going really great.
Um, how's, you know, how's the Dust Lab side of things?
Even if it's just super general, just checking in.
Um, and then we'll have some people up if anybody's requesting.
Yeah, man.
I mean, Dust Labs is going great.
I mean, you know, I think, uh, over the last couple of weeks, we've, we've, like, really, like, honed in on, uh, on the direction.
And, and yeah, I mean, things are, are turning along, dude.
It, it honestly surprises me every day because, like, just the sheer talent we have on the engineering team is, like, just wild.
Like, they, they, they just completely speak a different language than me.
Um, so it's just, like, it's really cool to see.
Um, but we're working on a lot of really, really cool pieces of tech.
I know, like, there's always, like, FUD.
It's like, oh, do you guys have built anything?
It's like, all right, yeah, maybe we didn't reinvent the wheel.
But we, we built a few websites in our day.
Huh?
Um, and so, so, yeah, I mean, we, we've been building a lot.
And I think a lot of that stuff, uh, is going to be coming out over the next few weeks.
Um, you know, stuff that is going to involve, you know, a lot of community members, clubs even.
Um, so, yeah, it, it's going to get really exciting.
I think, uh, I wish I could, like, drop more to you.
But I think, honestly, it's just better if you guys get surprised.
Cause, like, and I think that's part of it, too, is, you know, we, we can, we, we know
how to build a pipe and we know how to get people excited about stuff.
But I think almost what's more magical is, like, when people aren't expecting it and
then, like, they actually really enjoy whatever it is or they think it's really cool.
Um, so, yeah, I mean, we've just been heads down working.
I think, you know, Q1 was very much so, like, getting our ducks in a row and, like, setting
us up for success.
Like, getting the building blocks in place.
Uh, and now, now we're just moving.
So, it should be, should be a pretty, pretty exciting few weeks for not only, like, the
community, but I think, like, the ecosystem.
Cause, like, a lot of the tech we built at Dust Labs is available for others, too.
And that's, that's the alpha, baby.
Nice, nice.
Well, uh, cool.
I don't, I don't see any hands.
Do you see any hands, Mac?
I don't, man.
Our audience is, uh, shy tonight.
I have a question for you guys, though.
A hundred percent.
Go for it.
So, being, I mean, X plus, right?
I mean, obviously, like, and, and for, for those of you that, that don't ever, like,
quantify it for yourselves, like, that's, that's what, like, 150 grand minimum investment
into this ecosystem at this point.
Like, it's, it's no, like, small amount.
Um, so, like, being, like, this, this, like, you know, fucking whale group, uh, how can
we, as a team, like, like, do better events?
Like, kind of, like, we were, we were mentioning earlier, you know, more whale events, more, more
premium, kind of, like, closed off stuff.
Like, like, what is the perfect event we could do for X plus?
Because I loved what you guys did in New York.
I thought, I thought that was awesome.
Um, and thank you guys so much for having us.
So, I want to know, like, what could we do at our, like, our next anchor event that you
guys wouldn't have to, like, do all the work for, but we could do for you?
Um, I wish I could, I wish, like, Matt was up here, someone that, like I said, that was
maybe a little more concerned about this than me, but just trying to steel man them, I guess.
I guess something that is a little more premium and a little more presentable is what they're
looking for.
Um, I know Azuki's had this, like, they did some event at, like, they had this art, art
expo and, uh, you know, I, I didn't go or anything, but visually it looked really high
and cool, um, so I think the gist of what they're looking for is just something that's,
you know, maybe a bit more presentable or a bit more, like, bougie, but again, I'm kind
of, like, steel manning an argument that I'm not, like, the biggest believer in, so I don't
know if, uh, Forrest, do you have any insights on that better than me?
Um, no, I'm, honestly, I'm not the best person either, um, to, to talk to you about that
kind of thing, um, you know, it'd be really nice to get to your hotel room and just have,
like, gold bars on the bed that you can, like, you know, like, airdropped gold bars
or, I don't know, something like that, maybe, um, you know, some very expensive, um, art
that you can, you know, make a, make up, no, I'm just kidding, um, like, but that's just
kind of going back to, like.
No, I wrote that down, don't worry, I wrote it down.
That's, that's what everybody, like, that's what a lot of, you know, a lot of people are
in NFTs to, to, to make money, uh, and I think that's what, um, sets the D gods apart
is, like, yeah, a lot of projects are, like, you know, they'll airdrop a new thing or they'll,
you know, you have board API club or whatever, but I, I think, uh, I think D gods has really
nailed the, the experience side of things, too, to where, like, you know, you, you can
go and, and, uh, and have good memories and memories are, are, and community is worth
a lot, too, so, um, no, I, I wish I could answer that question better, I will definitely
think about it a little bit more, and, uh, either DM you or, or send, send you a message,
um, somewhere, uh, if I can come up with a, a more concise answer.
Yeah, and on the flip side to that, um, because this is more of my stance, so I can speak to
it a little better, it's, like, no matter where we go, like, bougie-wise, and, like, definitely
as we grow and have a higher, fuller price and have higher net worth of individuals, it
makes sense to, like, cater to them to some degree, but, I mean, I also think people have
nine-figure-plus net worth don't necessarily need us to throw them a party, but either way,
like, no matter what direction we go on the high end, like, uh, I think it's very important
to not forget where we came from and, like, never think that D gods is above, like, a
fucking pizza party, like, that's just me, I think that would be, like, a major red flag
for me, so I, I hope we don't ever, like, you know, forget our roots and forget our culture
for the sake of, like, some existential whale that may or may not be turned off by.
Drinking hot dog water, yeah, that's just my two cents, though.
No, dude, 100%, man, I mean, I, I think it's, it's, like, one of those things, right, it's,
like, something for everybody, right, like, you could have the, uh, the cigar whiskey lounge,
um, on the same day as you have the hot dog drinking contest, you know, it's, like, you
can have those for different sets of people, um, and, and I think, like, that's, that's the
idea here, and that's why I ask, is, like, you know, when we're, when we're thinking about
Basil, it's, like, well, what could we as a team plan for, like, X Plus or 007, um, that
could just, like, be special for them, because, like, would love to do that, and, like, also,
it's not just, like, X Plus and 007, it's, like, working with a lot of these other, like,
super active clubs to figure out what can we do and, like, help, help just, like, elevate
the experience that they want to give to their club members anyways, um, but just, like,
like, 10x-ing it, um, by putting our weight behind it, so, I don't know, I would love to
talk about it more with you guys, I'll definitely, like, come up with some ideas, because, I mean,
like, we're, we're gonna go pretty hard in Basil, um, it's, it's, it's gonna be a fun time,
we, uh, we had a lot of doors get open to us after New York, so, uh, Miami should be,
should be one for the books. Yeah. Are you guys planning on, or go ahead, of course. Oh, no,
my bad, I didn't mean to interrupt you, uh, I was just gonna say, like, I think something I've
heard Frank say in the past is, you know, kind of talking about, like, the value of NFT communities
being able to bring, like, actually help people make friends, right, so, like, if you have, it,
like, can facilitate, you know, people, like, people sparking new friendships, and, like, why would you
ever want to sell an NFT of a project of, like, where, like, you have three or four really good
friends, uh, in the project, and, and, like, like, why would you ever want to sell that, and, like,
forego the opportunities to, to meet up with them, and stuff, so, I think, like, that really translates
to, to floor price, and, and people valuing the, the NFTs in the community a lot more, but, no, I, I didn't
mean to interrupt you, Matt, go ahead. Oh, all good, man, I was just gonna ask, do you guys plan
on doing, like, the singular hotel in Miami for, uh, Basil? Dude, I don't, I think we need to take,
take a little breather from this whole hotel thing for a minute, um, yeah, I, it was in, I mean, I'm
interested, I mean, you know, being there, I guess, I guess it maybe seemed like it went better, but
it was very stressful, uh, it was, it was a chaotic, chaotic adventure getting that stuff
figured out, and so, I think, realistically, I don't think we're gonna run the hotel play
for Miami, um, I think, you know, definitely want to do it again, I think it, it, it was
a cool concept, I think we need to spend way more time figuring out how to actually do it
better, um, for example, like, the merch drops in the rooms, we had a lot of issues with those,
um, some people didn't get them, people got wrong sizes, stuff like that, I mean, generally
speaking, the public hotel is, is, like, their whole shtick is being basically, like, an automated
hotel, so, the fact that we kind of tried to, like, host a conference there, which didn't
really make sense, um, and, and that was an oversight on our part, uh, we just thought
the public hotel was nice, and it is, it's a very nice place, um, but realistically, it's
like, that, that whole experience would have been way better if we had, like, like a, you
know, like a, like a hotel in Vegas, right, that's, like, set up to run a convention and
has the staff necessary, um, so it's just, it's just, like, a lot of work, whereas to,
like, you know, if we just say, hey, by the way, we're all gonna stay at, like, these three
hotels that are within a block of each other, kind of accomplishes a lot of the same goal
and allows us to spend a lot more time and resources, uh, focusing on, like, the actual
events and activations themselves outside of just, like, the booking and the lodging.
Gotcha, makes sense.
Yeah, I do, I will miss, uh, having everyone in one place for, for Miami, but the Bozo's
house party, you know, look out for it, it's gonna be lit, so that's, that's the one upside.
I mean, it's like, it's, it's like, it's not like we can't do that, right?
Like, like, I, I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't think we'll do it to the same
extent, so, like, I think there's still a possibility that, like, we could get a block
of hotel rooms somewhere that, you know, holders could, could purchase, um, that's not out of
the question.
I don't think we're gonna do, like, a custom duffel bag full of merch for every room, you
know what I mean?
Like, stuff like that, we'll probably hold off on for Miami, um, but we're still just, like,
working out all the details, but what I will say is, like, we're gonna have it all figured
out months in advance, so everybody will have plenty of time to plan for this one, um, unlike
New York, so, we're learning, we're getting better.
All right, I'm, man, well, I'm stoked, uh, yeah, once again, last call for all you shy
motherfuckers, we got a decent amount of people in here, nobody wants to come up on stage,
but, uh, if nobody else wants to come up, Forrest, you got any final questions?
No, that's, that's it for me, I think we could, uh, wrap it up, we have only a few minutes
left anyways, and we try to keep these under an hour, so this is perfect timing.
Let's go, I appreciate you guys having me, man, it's, it's always good hanging out with
the X Plus crew, um, and, and, like, I love, like, that, that event I went to in New York
was, was incredible, like, you guys just did such a good job, and it really did, like, open
my eyes to, kind of, uh, a different type of event, um, that we should, we should probably
be doing more of, um, so I love it, man, you guys are absolutely crushing it, um, excited
to, to continue working with you guys to see what we can do to, to blow you up even more,
um, but, yeah, I'm, I'm always just, uh, a DM away, even if it takes me a few hours to
respond, sorry.
Right on, man, uh, one last final thing I'll say to you, and you can pass it along to Finn
and whoever else helped you with the event, like, because, again, maybe I did get lucky,
I know everyone's experience wasn't, like, totally perfect, but I talked to a lot of
people, man, for the most part, I think people had a blast, and just remember that, like,
you're dealing with the people that are complaining, you know, so your perspective is probably skewed
after the fact of, like, everyone that had something to bitch about came to you, so you're
looking at it, like, oh, I got 100 people bitching, like, maybe it wasn't so great, dude,
it was fucking awesome, and I think, like, for 95 plus percent of people, they had, like,
a very similar experience to me, so shout out to you guys for that event, and definitely
looking forward to Miami.
Appreciate that, man.
Yeah, it was, it was me, it was Finn, it was Bobby, it was me here, um, you know, a bunch
of people helped out, especially while we were there, like, dude, that's the craziest
part, is, like, our devs were literally, like, helping us run these events, so it, like, I
love, and to your point earlier, too, about, like, never getting away from, like, that, like,
kind of, like, punk, grungy, like, homegrown vibe, it's, like, dude, that's, that's literally
what it is, like, it was literally the whole squad, you know, sitting in this hotel room,
like, like, just using that as, like, our, our war room for the week, just, like, slinging
it all together as we went, which, like, it's scrappy, and it's a fun story to tell, um, I
think we can still tell that story while also buttoning up the back end, so that it all
goes better, um, but no, man, we're, we're never gonna get away from that vibe, I
think, I think, uh, you know, D-Gods is, like, it's classy degeneracy, and, like, whenever
we're on calls, and people ask me to, like, describe D-Gods as, like, a brand and stuff,
I typically say, I'm, like, you know, I think, I think D-Gods is, like, Soho House meets Red
Bull, um, it's, like, you know, it's, it's, like, this exclusive group of just, like, manufactured
excitement and hype, um, so, yeah, it's just fun to be a part of, it's, it's so much fun
to, like, plan these events for a community like this, so all I ask is that, uh, you guys
keep showing out, keep coming out, keep meeting people, and having fun, and, uh, we're, we're
gonna keep having the events.
Awesome, man, I, I love to hear it, um, we're gonna wrap it up with that, we're, uh, right
at our hour, Aaron, it was a pleasure having you on this space, thank you so much for your
time, uh, we really, really appreciate it, and we appreciate all the stuff that you're doing
at, at D-Labs, we're looking forward to season two, season three, um, guys, I'm, I'm as bullish
as ever, um, so go out there, and not financial advice, but go buy some D-Gods, go buy some
Utes, go buy some Dust, uh, you heard Aaron, he said Dust, uh, was probably minimum going
to, like, $50, I think was his price target, um, no jokes aside, thanks so much, uh, for
giving us your time, and we'll, uh, wrap it up there, peace everyone.
