An afternoon with Champ Medici - a Web3 panel recap
Swish | 22 September, 2022
Talking NFTs and the Metaverse with Champ Medici
A highlight of the event, guest speaker Cordell Broadus, otherwise known by his Web3 handle 'Champ Medici', provided an inspiring recount on his own foray into crypto, along with some invaluable advice on how newcomers can get involved investing and building in the Web3 space.
Who is Cordell Broadus?
As someone who has always preferred creative work, Cordell created his first NFT in 2019 after being introduced to Crypto by the late Nipsey Hussle in 2017, and after learning more about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by graphic designers in LA.
Following a brief stint playing college football at UCLA, Cordell put himself out there modelling for Dolce and Gabbana's runway shows. Not content with modelling work, Cordell went a step further, offering up his creative services to some of the biggest fashion labels, including Joyrich and Tommy Hilfiger.
Today, he has carved out a name for himself in the Web3 space by onboarding and advising for esteemed rapper Snoop Dogg, one of the biggest players in the music industry, while driving diversity and inclusion with Welcometotheblock, an early-stage Web3 investment fund which aims to support a range of creators and innovators.
Why Web3?
Despite taking an interest in fashion and film, Cordell has his eyes set on the Web3 space at the moment.
For Cordell, the space remains reminiscent of the early hip hop days where self-expression takes centre stage. On the retail side, collectors have taken to buying NFTs and joining online communities which embody their persona. At the same time, emerging projects have also worked to differentiate themselves through unique branding and project goals.
The relatively new NFT space also provides an even playing field for aspiring creatives to launch their own project while leveraging on the recognizable IP and existing community support behind existing projects - and the moderate success behind Bored and Hungry, a fast-food restaurant marketed around Yuga Labs' Bored Ape Yacht Club is a testament to that.
Advice for newcomers
Educating oneself as much as possible remains a key priority for newcomers looking to get involved into the Web3 space.
Looking back on how he first got started, Broadus recounts how he first sought to understand how to maintain self-custody of his own digital assets through the use of Ledgers and decentralized wallets, which has empowered decentralized ownership, an important ethos of the Web3 space.
To understand the Web3 space, Broadus also recommends “going down the rabbit hole” through the wide array of resources online, including YouTube videos by established KOLs like Gary Vee, while sifting through the noise by paying attention to what industry leaders like Yuga Labs are doing to drive value for stakeholders of their ‘blue chip’ projects.
Final Thoughts
While we may still have a little way to go before the mass adoption of NFTs, games like Fortnite are already normalizing the idea of digital asset ownership among younger audiences (while amassing over a billion dollars for its parent company through the sale of in-game cosmetic items).
For investors and business owners looking to capitalize on this emerging technology, the main thing one can focus on is to get themselves educated not just on the technical front but on the cultural front as well – by understanding what established projects and smaller project builders are doing on the ground level.
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