https://ift.tt/gfB4cjR Apes, CryptoPunks, PLAYSK8 – How Subcultures Drive the Explosive NFT Market

Living on the fringe is a part of the core ethos of PLAYSK8. While adoption is good for those who have invested their time in an industry (whether that industry is NFTs or skateboarding), an unfortunate drawback to mainstream adoption is the death of authenticity. As concepts become more popular, a lot of the culture and authenticity that kickstarted their communities in the first place, get lost in the machine.

SK8 is focused on encapsulating the culture of skateboarding in the metaverse, taking inspiration from how projects like BAYC and CryptoPunks have transitioned from fringe subcultures to the mainstream, PLAYSK8 hopes to use NFTs to ensure that skating retains its authenticity, at least in the metaverse.

What is PLAYSK8?

PLAYSK8 is an NFT-based game where players compete in a game of SK8. The collection has already turned heads by partnering with NFT marketplace behemoth OpenSea, and some of the best skaters in the world like Nyjah Huston. When designing their NFTs, they partnered with Venice Beach graffiti legends Can’t Be Stopped (CBS) to maintain an aesthetic true to the origins of skating.  Each PFP comes with 3 tricks, the collection as a whole includes the largest library of design assets ever distributed in an NFT offering, with 10k NFTs consisting of  300,000 tricks and trick variation animations.

Beyond the game itself, PLAYSK8 is partnering with professional skaters like Nyjah to blur the lines between IRL and Metaverse skating. Before even launching, PLAYSK8 community members have had their dreams come true via campaigns that have allowed winners to compete in a game of SK8 against Nyjah, the best professional skater in the world today. The PLAYSK8 team has taken a unique approach to grow their community, enlisting the help of skaters around the world in daring bounty campaigns to help spread the word. It was through these bounties that they caught the attention of Nyjah, who is now an official partner of the project.

PLAYSK8 has partnered with OpenSea for its mint. The collection consists of 10,000 NFTs (with over 300,000 trick animations), but will be released in phases. The first phase ends at 3,000 NFTs minted, and a reveal will occur directly after it.

The SK8 team wants to bring skating culture into the metaverse, and focus on its beginnings to ensure that this digital world remains pure where the physical one couldn’t. Where skating competitions are now riddled with big brand sponsorships and advertisers who don’t benefit the community, through NFTs, we, the community and the players, benefit directly through the growth of skating culture.

For the first time, we as users can take ownership of the brands and subcultures we identify with, and build alongside them– essentially turning would-be consumers into brand partners and evangelists.

To join the PLAYSK8 community, click here.