The DeGods/y00ts | The Capital

The DeGods NFT collection was launched in October 2021 on the Solana blockchain. It was created by Frank DeGods (Rohun Vora) and DeLabs in 2021. Based in Los Angeles, California in the USA, DeLabs is described as a technology company that specialises in the development and distribution of innovative products and services. The DeGods collection were the first deflationary Solana NFTs.

When it comes to the success of any NFT project, its founder is one of the most important aspects.

Frank DeGods is widely regarded in the NFT space as one of the GOATs (greatest of all time). Frank DeGods is a pseudonym. The first name (Frank), was inspired by the founder’s love of American singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. The second name (DeGods), is taken from the name of his NFT collection. As previously mentioned, the collection creator’s real name is Rohun Vora. In an impressively brave move, Frank DeGods doxxed himself in a good morning post on X (Twitter) on 29th November 2022.

This revelation was prompted by media attempts to uncover his identity, leading Vora to disclose it himself. Following his announcement, other members of the DeGods community also revealed their identities. One notable figure included Dust Labs CEO Kevin DeGods, who identified himself as serial tech entrepreneur Kevin Henrikson.

Frank DeGods’ background and subsequent rise to fame exemplify the ideals of the American dream. His family were immigrants from India, and have been described by Frank as extremely hard working. This contributed in large part, to instilling in him the kind of work ethic that would later see him create one of the industry’s most respected NFT collections.

Frank DeGods would begins his journey towards the mantle of Web3 legend, by working in the film industry at the age of 15. This inspired his film studies at UCLA (The University of California, Los Angeles). Eventually Frank dropped out of his studies to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams.

The goals of the project’s founders were as lofty as they were essential for their success. They wanted to create an NFT collection that was creative and innovative. They wanted to prioritise the project’s transparency to the NFT community. This contributed heavily to the Web3 community’s excitement and trust in the DeGods/y00ts collection. They wanted to build a strong and enduring brand. And they wanted to create a cult like community. The four pillars of any successful NFT project.

DeGods is a collection of 10,000 NFTs on the Solana blockchain. Each NFT was minted for a price of 3 Solana (SOL). Due to the hype, the entire collection sold out in just seven seconds. This was despite some technical issues during the launch.

The target audience for DeGods was male, tapping into the “Crypto Bros” meta for the creation of its collection. They targeted a younger demographic, typified by the wild public events that the project would hold. Some detractors referred to their community as “a sausage fest”, and their events were known for some of its participants engaging in “a shoey”. This was a practice that involved an individual drinking a beverage of choice from another person’s shoe. An overtly frat-boy ritual, and extremely effective in solidifying the bonds between its participants in an all-male Web3 space.

On a personal note, with the post-feminist gynocentric world we currently find ourselves in, and being a man myself, I applaud any service or project that attempts to create a space where “boys can be boys”. Men have been forgotten by modern society.

This is something that can be observed through popular culture, and the lack of support systems for men. The former exemplified by cartoons like Family Guy, or the latter, exemplified by the mental health system in many countries. This is particularly sad when you consider, the biggest cause of death in the United Kingdom for men under 50 is suicide.

Anyway, I digress.

…Back to Web3.

It should be noted that while DeGods was designed to specifically target the Crypto Bros demographic, DeLabs’ subsequent project y00ts was created to appeal to a wider audience.