June 3, 2022 • 21 mins
Micah Johnson is a former professional baseball second baseman. He has played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves.
He joins the podcast to talk about his groundbreaking success NFT creation Aku World and how he made 20 million dollars in revenue through NFT.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Today's guest is a
former Major League Baseball player. He has played for the
(00:21):
Chicago White Sox, the l A Dodgers, and the Atlanta Braves.
Most recently, he shifted his focus into the art world.
A long time physical artist and painted, he has now
made his first n f T collection called Acou Dreams.
Money Movers, Please welcome to the podcast. Micah Johnson. Hi, Michael, Hi,
(00:41):
it's good, good good, Thanks for having me. I'm so
excited to have you here. You know, I feel like
the first time I stumbled across you was in the
clubhouse days. We were in the middle of a pandemic,
and you know, it's kind of bopping around clubhouse rooms,
and you were speaking about n f T s cryptocurrency,
and you were in the right preliminary phases of launching
(01:02):
your first n f T project. Yeah, we did. Uh,
that was back in February. Um it wasn't necessarily my
first project, but it was the first one that um
it was like it was different than like art by art,
you know, what I'm saying where it was like this
is well, I guess you call it project because it's
at the time it was a project. I look at
it as, uh, you know, obviously it's gone a year
(01:25):
now for year, and now we got I know, we
got long years ahead. And so yeah, that was back
in February, and uh, we're on that clubhouse and that's when,
you know, that was the first n f T drop
on clubhouse. I realized, like it was that early. I mean,
it was that early. It was a year ago. It
was it was legit a year ago on Monday. Oh wow, Okay,
(01:46):
so that was probably the first n f T that
I bought. Absolutely your collection was one of the first
n f T s that I bought. UM, And I
was like, it was such a weird time and space, because,
like I said, we were still in the pandemic. People
have been talking about cryptocurrency, had been into cryptocurrency is
very mildly, but all of a sudden everyone was talking
about n f T s UM and what I think
for me really resonated with what you were building was
(02:08):
you had sort of built a whole community around a coup.
So tell us a little bit. Number one about Aku
and what your vision was for this project, and then
we'll go back into the baseball years and some of
your other physical art. But I just I really want
to talk about Aku and how incredible it is in
the community that you've built around it. Yeah. No, And
what really started it was a derivative was a derivative
(02:31):
of my paintings. My paintings I started, Uh my nephew
asked if astronauts to be black and and um it
was early two thousand, uh, and I started painting him
as an astronaut um with a national helmet, you know.
And eventually, uh, we'll started releasing these these paintings I
was making is animated n f t s. So like
(02:51):
in early like February of two and twenty, I was
releasing these these paintings. I was animating myself because I
had no other gag. I couldn't get into a gallery,
you know, And I saying, and like n f t
S were, there was no gate keeper. So that's what
I was doing. And it caught on people like sort
of collecting my work. And this was way before there
was any articles or n f t S or mainstream
and no one, no one knew what a n f
(03:12):
T was at that point, and uh, I was able
to have some good sales and took it to a
gallery and sort of say hey, like in Art Angels
in Los Angeles and said, hey, like this is what
I'm working on. These my paintings looking at I sold
some as you able to use the n f T
top proof point, and they gave me a solo exhibition
that year and it sold out, like, you know, like
pretty quickly, and uh, I was like when I I
(03:33):
gotta reach it broader audience, Like I wanted to reach kids.
I wanted to reach you know, people like my nephew's age,
you know, six years old. And uh that's how I
came up with this character ACU, and uh, you know,
created this kind of like idea that if I released
as an n f T, it's like this episodic series,
I could have time to prove out that people like
it or not, generate revenue that I can use to
like build scale out and do more line your content
(03:56):
and kind of do it independently. And that's kind of
like was the mission. I mean, what's so incredible is
you know, and I think what your project does for
me and why I think It's such a great gateway
for so many people to understand why n f t
s are important in the importance. It started with this
idea where you had this your nephew, who I'm assuming
as a young black kid, who was like, wait a second,
(04:17):
I want to be an astronaut, but can astronauts be black?
And that, to me, was the catalyst to the story.
You created an entire storyboard around this character of Aku,
and you know, this first drop was sort of the introduction.
But you know, being able to create a story, you
built community. You had people talking about it, and people
(04:38):
really felt like they saw themselves in your character, and
I think that's what also drove people to the project. Yeah,
I think I think that's. Uh one of the most
important parts about this way I'm releasing content was I'm
releasing it in the open until in the story in
the open where people are putting their dollars in instead
of saying I liked this movie. You know by this,
(05:00):
you know, subscribe to it this platform Netflix to watch it.
I'm gonna put my dollars up and say I like
this so much that I want to uh quote unquote
quote unquote invest in this. I p in this story
and they're given to give you feedback. And I was
building this, I p out in the open and engaging
with the community on like what they like or they
didn't like. Like there was a point in the middle
of like chapter four and five, like in August and
(05:21):
September where we started doing really pretty linear storytelling and
the community is like, we actually liked when it was
more artful, and like, uh what kind of like we
there's left left up for interpretation. So I was able
to pivot on that like comments on those comments and
suggestions from the community, and that's the that's the that's
what's really special about this. Like Disney and these and
(05:42):
these bigger enterprises are building in silos, right, but for
smaller creators like myself, how do we get to that
level of like, uh create you know, creative output and distribution.
It's like we this is this is how we're gonna
do it. And this I mean the Web three world,
the metaverse, and just this idea of like, you know,
creators really owning um their content and having a direct
(06:04):
link to people in the community where they can influence it.
I think this is the epitome of what web three
is and why I think it's so exciting, Like there's
just so much more to come from it. That's what
I'm saying. Like what's kind of frustrating to me is
like we had this proofpoint of accu right, and I
think like one thing I really hope to see is
like other people telling episodic stories using n fcs, Like
(06:27):
you know, let's really do that. Like you see a
lot of PfP projects and you see like you know board,
It's like I'm telling you that I was able to
take an idea. I had, like a simple idea of
this character, create this character, create these like episodic series
using like a game engine like that you can have
like unreal immunity and build these assets. And I was
(06:47):
able to turn that into a movie deal and doing
a vent Experienceial have been in Art Bassle, like really
take over Art Bassel and then generate X amount of
dollars in any year. I think we've done twenty million
dollars in total sales in one year. Um, I just
want you to say that again because I think there's
so many people out there who are very you know,
barish on n f T s. They're like I'm not sure,
(07:08):
I don't understand and here you are, and I think
it's really important for our community to see like Greenwood
is about, you know, uplifting and empowering black, brown, BIPOC
people of color. And you were at the forefront of
something that I feel like it's truly a renaissance. You
know what we're doing in crypto and n f T
s and you just made twenty million dollars. It's not
a scam. It's not a fad doing something that you
(07:29):
absolutely love. Yeah, it's not. It's not a scam. It's
not unfab because there are you know, caveat is that
there's a lot of scams. There's a lot of and
there's a lot of like things out there and trash
and people aren't putting the effort or energy in because
they don't have to. There's people still buying it. But like,
as a black creator in this space, I gotta do
it at a different level, Like I gotta do it
at a level that no one's ever done it before,
(07:49):
because that's how it is. And so when I when
I talked about we were the first n f T
to be options to become a feature film, we are
the first and the last one like that and no
one had done it. Its like that's still we still
we did it in April, Like we did it in April,
one month after releasing, you know, and so we did
that thing in Miami. We took over art Bassls three day,
(08:09):
thirty thousand square foot interactive exhibit. Like we're doing this
at a whole different level because we have to you know,
how it is, and so um it's like yeah, like
not only are we capitalizing ourselves to do this independently
and do it how we want to do it, we're
also like driving value back to the community. Because it's
also important to note that Chapter three is selling for
(08:31):
fifty sixty grand. It was originally a thousand a thousand bucks.
So we're driving value back and that's everything we continue
to do. Is the first question we has is how
is this going to impact the community, How is this
gonna drive value back to them? And so as as
as as as consumers who are thinking, like you, how
can I get into n f T s Like I
see this board, Dame, I don't resonate with that, Like
it's look at the projects that you really resonate within
(08:53):
the teams that like are out there like really building
something that makes sense in the real makes sense to you,
and I think that's the biggest key. People say that,
but then they missed the point and they're like, oh,
this PfP makes sense and that's fine. Like I've got
a couple of pfps that I really really like. But
you know, it's really the community, the narrative, the storytelling
that's that's around it that is important to me, and
I think that builds something that will be long lasting.
(09:16):
That's it. Like cool, Like some of the stuff is cool,
like you got your p fps and stuff, but like
the most important thing is if your project is not
focused on like other business verticals that are that are
not tied to n f t s, it's not going
to be successful because this is the hottest market on
planet Earth. And then not every market to states high
like how high can the ceiling really go? So like
(09:38):
for us in particularly, ACU was never designed to be
an n f T only project. I I I use
n f T s to build an audience, let people
really invest in the IP that they believe in, and
let them wins when I win, And that's really what
it's about. But like A was always designed to be
that Mickey Mouse of the next generation and you need
mass distribution for that. And so like that's one thing
(10:00):
I would say, like, you know, look at the projects
that our focus on other business verticals, not just merch drops,
you know, right emerge drop and and so like going
back to you know, the early days, like I mean,
obviously you were incredibly visionary in this space, but how
did you sort of have the foresight to know that
that's where the strength wasn't building because so many people,
(10:20):
like you know, there was at this point, there was
crypto punks, crypto kiddies. Like I don't know what to say,
but you know, how did you really see like three
years ahead to be that this was really the valley
it was example, it was that it was really simple
because nobody would give me the time of day in
the real world when I was coming out of baseball
trying to find like what's my next job, Like how
can I talk to this person that CEO of this
(10:43):
company or like this, Like I didn't have access to it.
But these people in the n f T world who
were like in it and deep in crypto, I could
DM them and they hit me right back and and
they would say, hey, man, like actually check this out
like this is what you need to be looking for,
like and and putting me on game when I couldn't
even get like friends to hit me back. That like
I'm trying to figure out how I did getting this
(11:04):
this job or like what is it? Like how do
I do this? Because even even friends are not even
hit me back, So like that was no brainer, Like, Yep,
this is gonna win. This is where I'm gonna go
because like that they're doing it their own way and
like they're giving me game that other people aren't giving me.
It was that simple. I mean, I just love that
you said that, because I mean there's a lot of
to what you're saying here. You know, you were a
professional Major League Baseball player. You've played for teams, you
(11:27):
know across this country. You know, you would think that
you had so much access, but here you are, You're
a black man. You're like, I made a little bit
of money, but I'm here. I'm out here trying to
get a job and reiterate myself in the next part
of and nobody would call you back. Oh no, because
everybody wants to be with the hottest thing. You know,
everybody was to be the winner and they see his
kids retire from baseball, who's shouting? Who was trying to
figure out his path? And Art I wasn't the major
(11:48):
league baseball player, you know, like that, I didn't have
the jersey on anymore. So people rock with the jersey.
Same thing is happening now. It kind of leaves you.
It kind of leaves me very like reserved and closed
off now because like now everyone's calling you back me
how do I get into n T S? And it
keeps me very I'm very reserved about, you know, uh,
about what I'm doing because um, you know, everybody wants
(12:13):
to be everybody wants to be in that position, and
like I'm like, I'm I'm not with that anymore. No,
But you know one thing I also really love about
you said, and I think this is really true, Um,
for you know, this web three world people like and
maybe it's because it's so new, but people I think
are very willing to help educate and learn, you know.
(12:34):
And You're right. There's this whole community where you can
d M someone and they will respond back to you.
And it's kind of like the equivalent of being like, hey,
if you went to DM Mark Zuckerberg, chances are the
guy is not going to write back, but what's And
this is why I feel like there's so much opportunity
for people of color. This is why I think having
conversations like this are so important, because we don't want
to miss out and we don't want this idea of like, okay,
(12:57):
it's a it's a scam. There's so much fear. I
I implore people to get involved, do your research, understand,
and just have like a better understanding, because I think
once most people do educate themselves on web three and
blockchain and cryptocurrencies, they get it, they understand. I haven't
seen a lot of people, if they've actually taken the
time to do the research, walk away and go no,
(13:17):
I'm not interested. No, it's tough, you know, if you
have to do the research and this, Like I didn't
just like figure out how to make a programmable artwork
that spans eleven years and that you can donate to
two boys and bitcoins overnight, Like that was something I've
picked up years of grinding and figuring out the technology,
you know what I mean? And and I think that's
what it is, Like you gotta everybody sees this quick
(13:38):
money and there's quick flips and that's the problem of
like the current era we are in with n f
t s. It's like, you know, people are just flipping
money and so they is an easy cash crap type thing,
but a lot of people aren't seeing long term you know,
just get in there, like learn, learn, get an n
f T figured out, you know, talk to people, ask
questions and then like you'll figure it out. Like I
don't think like the n f t s are not
(13:59):
going anywhere, like best first and foremost like that is
they're not going to go anywhere. The fact that vaccine
cars are still paper in your wallet and gives me crazy.
It's like the best example in use case that could
have come out of the past couple of years. And
here we are with our que cards wile like like
I lost the vaccine card, like the day I walked
out of the place. The fact, you know, and all
this is replaced all of this, and so it's best
(14:21):
to educate yourself now because it's still super earlier when
I think n f ts have may become more accessible.
The prices are going to come down, there's gonna be
more micro transactions occurring, so there's gonna be a lot
more volume lesser high price assets, so it's gonna be
more accessible. So like learn game now, Like yeah, tell
me again, Let's talk more about like what's next for
(14:41):
a world because you have built you know, really like
a whole realm around it. UM. You talked about securing
a movie deal, So what's next for it? What can
we look for? We're releasing UM fifteen thousand acutars, three
D generated n F T s UM And once you
see chippertin you understand why it really all ties. We
tied it all together. This is a bigger universe that
(15:03):
you said. It's the occuverse UM, and we haven't. We
have partner with an incredible designers and brands, design traits
and UH one. I guess one of the most interesting
components of what we're doing UH with with the occuverse
and the acuitars and specific is, UH there's five teams.
So there's let me three thousand acuittars per team, and
(15:24):
we've got some really cool things planned. But we also
got brands and people integrating into these teams and really
treating these teams is like ecosystems where they can add
value to the thing they own. Like not every branch
should be launching n f T s. It doesn't make sense.
You start talking like how can I get into n
f T S. It's like, well, you can get into
the Accutar community, acuitar team and do what you do
in the real world and add value to that team,
(15:46):
and then it's gonna that's gonna raise the value of
the asset that you own because there's only limited spots.
Oh that's great, that's really great. Yes, and so that's
that's really it. And I'm still working on, you know,
developing linear content um activations Big Accousta as she was
being built right now. We can't wait. And I still
want a physical piece. Are you still creating physical art?
(16:06):
I need to. I'm trying to get into it more.
I'm trying to get into it. I think I get
more time. I got a lot more help. Okay, Okay,
I have some other questions because you know, I'm I
love to collect and I'm also wondering tell me the
last um n f T that you bought and some
black artists in the space that you're really excited about
last n f T that I bought. Um, that'sk you
(16:28):
a question. I'm sure I think what it was I
met a mask. I think you might have been Crystal
by funk Render. Yeah, I think it might have been
a Crystal butt fuck Render and a black artist. There's
a couple of people I really like that I think
are really doing some things behind the scenes. Latasha and
(16:52):
Jah um Lethabo Uh Latasha John really other music and
kind of like video elements of like leveraging blockchain technology
to like really monetize independently. You know their art and
they're super dope Halite Maw on the music side is
(17:14):
super dope. Um Lethabo digital you know digital paintings, incredible um. So,
like there's there's there's a there's a there's a couple
of sear suits like a visionary as a person who
just follow sear suit s I r as you follow
him on Twitter if you want to just understand And Okay,
(17:34):
so before before I let you go, I want to
go back to you know, you were a former Major
League baseball player. You played baseball, you were an athlete.
How did you sort of like navigate these two worlds
of like baseball art. Were you always creating art? No?
I started in two thousands sixteen. That's when I really
figured out found painting. Um, and I don't know. I
(17:56):
think it's just anything. I really believe that I could
do anything, like I really do believe that it's not
like some like night like crazy thing. I really do
think that it's only because I love the work that
takes to do something like I'm not scared at the
beginning of like painting or frustrated that like I suck.
It's just like I know that I get better if
I keep working at it, and I love that seeing
that process. So like painting, if you think about it,
(18:18):
painting is like the most tangible way to see yourself
get better or something like if you if I was like,
let's start paying, I'm gonna give you lessons and for
the next year, you're painting, right, or we said let's hey,
let's go, let's go do it's like archery classes. Let's
what's just for next year. Don't get better and you'll
see yourself get better. And it's just a Painting is
something I fell in love with and watching myself get
better And you know, um, that's really it. Well, you guys,
(18:42):
he's super talented, both in the digital world and the
physical world. So please, Mike, can you tell everyone where
to find you on social media on Instagram where they
can buy a coup and take the journey that you
were taking us all on. Yeah, you know you can
follow me Michael Johnson three, Michael Johnson on so uh
uh and then you can follow ACCU Dreams on Twitter
(19:04):
and social highly encouraged getting a chapter just one, uh,
especially for what's coming next with the acuitars. Uh and
and and that's really it. Oh my goodness, Well, thank
you so much. It's a pleasure having you on our
show today. You know, you've done some incredible things and
I just hope that you know so many in our
money means audience can hear your journey, see what you've said,
(19:26):
and realize that they can do anything. Like in the
words of Michael Johnson, you can do anything, anything anything.
I never told a story, but I say, I've never
like made anything three D before. I've never told a
story before. I never heard children's book or a book.
I've never done anything like that. But I I went
away from you know, doing this, you know, not heard
to like like I said twenty million dollars and told
of sales in one year, like as anything as possible.
(19:50):
But I'm not some special yo feature here like this
is anybody could have done it, anybody can't do anybody
will do it. There's other people are going to do it.
I also think it's like testament, and I see this
a lot oftentimes will help athletes who come on. But
you said something apart from saying like you're like I
really think I can do anything, you're like I like
the work. Yeah, like I like the work. So there's
so much work went into what you created. So much
(20:12):
work went into your career as like a star baseball player.
So much work went into like creating a painting or
creating like a digital and a t collection. So like
you know, let people know. Like you're like, I like
the work. It's work and it always pays off as
it like I wake up at four him, I get
my work in, like I get eight hours, seven hours
working before the West Coast wakes up. Like yeah, we
(20:34):
like still like it's not like I'm sitting here, it's
like satisfied, which work even harder. Yeah, yeah, still hustle. Gosh,
well you left us with so many jewels. You are
a gift. Thank you so much for all that. I
love being part of Aku's world. Um, this is great man.
Thank you and thank you money Movers. That's all the
(20:56):
time we have for today, but make sure you follow
Mica on all his social media handles and dive into
this web three world, dive into n f t s
and you never know, maybe it'll take you to out
of space with aku. Thank you so much for tuning
in Money Moves audience. If you want more or a
recap of this episode, please go to the bank Greenwood
dot com and check out the Money Moves podcast blog.
(21:21):
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Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts from.
Hey, money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Today's guest is a
former Major League Baseball player. He has played for the
(00:21):
Chicago White Sox, the l A Dodgers, and the Atlanta Braves.
Most recently, he shifted his focus into the art world.
A long time physical artist and painted, he has now
made his first n f T collection called Acou Dreams.
Money Movers, Please welcome to the podcast. Micah Johnson. Hi, Michael, Hi,
(00:41):
it's good, good good, Thanks for having me. I'm so
excited to have you here. You know, I feel like
the first time I stumbled across you was in the
clubhouse days. We were in the middle of a pandemic,
and you know, it's kind of bopping around clubhouse rooms,
and you were speaking about n f T s cryptocurrency,
and you were in the right preliminary phases of launching
(01:02):
your first n f T project. Yeah, we did. Uh,
that was back in February. Um it wasn't necessarily my
first project, but it was the first one that um
it was like it was different than like art by art,
you know, what I'm saying where it was like this
is well, I guess you call it project because it's
at the time it was a project. I look at
it as, uh, you know, obviously it's gone a year
(01:25):
now for year, and now we got I know, we
got long years ahead. And so yeah, that was back
in February, and uh, we're on that clubhouse and that's when,
you know, that was the first n f T drop
on clubhouse. I realized, like it was that early. I mean,
it was that early. It was a year ago. It
was it was legit a year ago on Monday. Oh wow, Okay,
(01:46):
so that was probably the first n f T that
I bought. Absolutely your collection was one of the first
n f T s that I bought. UM, And I
was like, it was such a weird time and space, because,
like I said, we were still in the pandemic. People
have been talking about cryptocurrency, had been into cryptocurrency is
very mildly, but all of a sudden everyone was talking
about n f T s UM and what I think
for me really resonated with what you were building was
(02:08):
you had sort of built a whole community around a coup.
So tell us a little bit. Number one about Aku
and what your vision was for this project, and then
we'll go back into the baseball years and some of
your other physical art. But I just I really want
to talk about Aku and how incredible it is in
the community that you've built around it. Yeah. No, And
what really started it was a derivative was a derivative
(02:31):
of my paintings. My paintings I started, Uh my nephew
asked if astronauts to be black and and um it
was early two thousand, uh, and I started painting him
as an astronaut um with a national helmet, you know.
And eventually, uh, we'll started releasing these these paintings I
was making is animated n f t s. So like
(02:51):
in early like February of two and twenty, I was
releasing these these paintings. I was animating myself because I
had no other gag. I couldn't get into a gallery,
you know, And I saying, and like n f t
S were, there was no gate keeper. So that's what
I was doing. And it caught on people like sort
of collecting my work. And this was way before there
was any articles or n f t S or mainstream
and no one, no one knew what a n f
(03:12):
T was at that point, and uh, I was able
to have some good sales and took it to a
gallery and sort of say hey, like in Art Angels
in Los Angeles and said, hey, like this is what
I'm working on. These my paintings looking at I sold
some as you able to use the n f T
top proof point, and they gave me a solo exhibition
that year and it sold out, like, you know, like
pretty quickly, and uh, I was like when I I
(03:33):
gotta reach it broader audience, Like I wanted to reach kids.
I wanted to reach you know, people like my nephew's age,
you know, six years old. And uh that's how I
came up with this character ACU, and uh, you know,
created this kind of like idea that if I released
as an n f T, it's like this episodic series,
I could have time to prove out that people like
it or not, generate revenue that I can use to
like build scale out and do more line your content
(03:56):
and kind of do it independently. And that's kind of
like was the mission. I mean, what's so incredible is
you know, and I think what your project does for
me and why I think It's such a great gateway
for so many people to understand why n f t
s are important in the importance. It started with this
idea where you had this your nephew, who I'm assuming
as a young black kid, who was like, wait a second,
(04:17):
I want to be an astronaut, but can astronauts be black?
And that, to me, was the catalyst to the story.
You created an entire storyboard around this character of Aku,
and you know, this first drop was sort of the introduction.
But you know, being able to create a story, you
built community. You had people talking about it, and people
(04:38):
really felt like they saw themselves in your character, and
I think that's what also drove people to the project. Yeah,
I think I think that's. Uh one of the most
important parts about this way I'm releasing content was I'm
releasing it in the open until in the story in
the open where people are putting their dollars in instead
of saying I liked this movie. You know by this,
(05:00):
you know, subscribe to it this platform Netflix to watch it.
I'm gonna put my dollars up and say I like
this so much that I want to uh quote unquote
quote unquote invest in this. I p in this story
and they're given to give you feedback. And I was
building this, I p out in the open and engaging
with the community on like what they like or they
didn't like. Like there was a point in the middle
of like chapter four and five, like in August and
(05:21):
September where we started doing really pretty linear storytelling and
the community is like, we actually liked when it was
more artful, and like, uh what kind of like we
there's left left up for interpretation. So I was able
to pivot on that like comments on those comments and
suggestions from the community, and that's the that's the that's
what's really special about this. Like Disney and these and
(05:42):
these bigger enterprises are building in silos, right, but for
smaller creators like myself, how do we get to that
level of like, uh create you know, creative output and distribution.
It's like we this is this is how we're gonna
do it. And this I mean the Web three world,
the metaverse, and just this idea of like, you know,
creators really owning um their content and having a direct
(06:04):
link to people in the community where they can influence it.
I think this is the epitome of what web three
is and why I think it's so exciting, Like there's
just so much more to come from it. That's what
I'm saying. Like what's kind of frustrating to me is
like we had this proofpoint of accu right, and I
think like one thing I really hope to see is
like other people telling episodic stories using n fcs, Like
(06:27):
you know, let's really do that. Like you see a
lot of PfP projects and you see like you know board,
It's like I'm telling you that I was able to
take an idea. I had, like a simple idea of
this character, create this character, create these like episodic series
using like a game engine like that you can have
like unreal immunity and build these assets. And I was
(06:47):
able to turn that into a movie deal and doing
a vent Experienceial have been in Art Bassle, like really
take over Art Bassel and then generate X amount of
dollars in any year. I think we've done twenty million
dollars in total sales in one year. Um, I just
want you to say that again because I think there's
so many people out there who are very you know,
barish on n f T s. They're like I'm not sure,
(07:08):
I don't understand and here you are, and I think
it's really important for our community to see like Greenwood
is about, you know, uplifting and empowering black, brown, BIPOC
people of color. And you were at the forefront of
something that I feel like it's truly a renaissance. You
know what we're doing in crypto and n f T
s and you just made twenty million dollars. It's not
a scam. It's not a fad doing something that you
(07:29):
absolutely love. Yeah, it's not. It's not a scam. It's
not unfab because there are you know, caveat is that
there's a lot of scams. There's a lot of and
there's a lot of like things out there and trash
and people aren't putting the effort or energy in because
they don't have to. There's people still buying it. But like,
as a black creator in this space, I gotta do
it at a different level, Like I gotta do it
at a level that no one's ever done it before,
(07:49):
because that's how it is. And so when I when
I talked about we were the first n f T
to be options to become a feature film, we are
the first and the last one like that and no
one had done it. Its like that's still we still
we did it in April, Like we did it in April,
one month after releasing, you know, and so we did
that thing in Miami. We took over art Bassls three day,
(08:09):
thirty thousand square foot interactive exhibit. Like we're doing this
at a whole different level because we have to you know,
how it is, and so um it's like yeah, like
not only are we capitalizing ourselves to do this independently
and do it how we want to do it, we're
also like driving value back to the community. Because it's
also important to note that Chapter three is selling for
(08:31):
fifty sixty grand. It was originally a thousand a thousand bucks.
So we're driving value back and that's everything we continue
to do. Is the first question we has is how
is this going to impact the community, How is this
gonna drive value back to them? And so as as
as as as consumers who are thinking, like you, how
can I get into n f T s Like I
see this board, Dame, I don't resonate with that, Like
it's look at the projects that you really resonate within
(08:53):
the teams that like are out there like really building
something that makes sense in the real makes sense to you,
and I think that's the biggest key. People say that,
but then they missed the point and they're like, oh,
this PfP makes sense and that's fine. Like I've got
a couple of pfps that I really really like. But
you know, it's really the community, the narrative, the storytelling
that's that's around it that is important to me, and
I think that builds something that will be long lasting.
(09:16):
That's it. Like cool, Like some of the stuff is cool,
like you got your p fps and stuff, but like
the most important thing is if your project is not
focused on like other business verticals that are that are
not tied to n f t s, it's not going
to be successful because this is the hottest market on
planet Earth. And then not every market to states high
like how high can the ceiling really go? So like
(09:38):
for us in particularly, ACU was never designed to be
an n f T only project. I I I use
n f T s to build an audience, let people
really invest in the IP that they believe in, and
let them wins when I win, And that's really what
it's about. But like A was always designed to be
that Mickey Mouse of the next generation and you need
mass distribution for that. And so like that's one thing
(10:00):
I would say, like, you know, look at the projects
that our focus on other business verticals, not just merch drops,
you know, right emerge drop and and so like going
back to you know, the early days, like I mean,
obviously you were incredibly visionary in this space, but how
did you sort of have the foresight to know that
that's where the strength wasn't building because so many people,
(10:20):
like you know, there was at this point, there was
crypto punks, crypto kiddies. Like I don't know what to say,
but you know, how did you really see like three
years ahead to be that this was really the valley
it was example, it was that it was really simple
because nobody would give me the time of day in
the real world when I was coming out of baseball
trying to find like what's my next job, Like how
can I talk to this person that CEO of this
(10:43):
company or like this, Like I didn't have access to it.
But these people in the n f T world who
were like in it and deep in crypto, I could
DM them and they hit me right back and and
they would say, hey, man, like actually check this out
like this is what you need to be looking for,
like and and putting me on game when I couldn't
even get like friends to hit me back. That like
I'm trying to figure out how I did getting this
(11:04):
this job or like what is it? Like how do
I do this? Because even even friends are not even
hit me back, So like that was no brainer, Like, Yep,
this is gonna win. This is where I'm gonna go
because like that they're doing it their own way and
like they're giving me game that other people aren't giving me.
It was that simple. I mean, I just love that
you said that, because I mean there's a lot of
to what you're saying here. You know, you were a
professional Major League Baseball player. You've played for teams, you
(11:27):
know across this country. You know, you would think that
you had so much access, but here you are, You're
a black man. You're like, I made a little bit
of money, but I'm here. I'm out here trying to
get a job and reiterate myself in the next part
of and nobody would call you back. Oh no, because
everybody wants to be with the hottest thing. You know,
everybody was to be the winner and they see his
kids retire from baseball, who's shouting? Who was trying to
figure out his path? And Art I wasn't the major
(11:48):
league baseball player, you know, like that, I didn't have
the jersey on anymore. So people rock with the jersey.
Same thing is happening now. It kind of leaves you.
It kind of leaves me very like reserved and closed
off now because like now everyone's calling you back me
how do I get into n T S? And it
keeps me very I'm very reserved about, you know, uh,
about what I'm doing because um, you know, everybody wants
(12:13):
to be everybody wants to be in that position, and
like I'm like, I'm I'm not with that anymore. No,
But you know one thing I also really love about
you said, and I think this is really true, Um,
for you know, this web three world people like and
maybe it's because it's so new, but people I think
are very willing to help educate and learn, you know.
(12:34):
And You're right. There's this whole community where you can
d M someone and they will respond back to you.
And it's kind of like the equivalent of being like, hey,
if you went to DM Mark Zuckerberg, chances are the
guy is not going to write back, but what's And
this is why I feel like there's so much opportunity
for people of color. This is why I think having
conversations like this are so important, because we don't want
to miss out and we don't want this idea of like, okay,
(12:57):
it's a it's a scam. There's so much fear. I
I implore people to get involved, do your research, understand,
and just have like a better understanding, because I think
once most people do educate themselves on web three and
blockchain and cryptocurrencies, they get it, they understand. I haven't
seen a lot of people, if they've actually taken the
time to do the research, walk away and go no,
(13:17):
I'm not interested. No, it's tough, you know, if you
have to do the research and this, Like I didn't
just like figure out how to make a programmable artwork
that spans eleven years and that you can donate to
two boys and bitcoins overnight, Like that was something I've
picked up years of grinding and figuring out the technology,
you know what I mean? And and I think that's
what it is, Like you gotta everybody sees this quick
(13:38):
money and there's quick flips and that's the problem of
like the current era we are in with n f
t s. It's like, you know, people are just flipping
money and so they is an easy cash crap type thing,
but a lot of people aren't seeing long term you know,
just get in there, like learn, learn, get an n
f T figured out, you know, talk to people, ask
questions and then like you'll figure it out. Like I
don't think like the n f t s are not
(13:59):
going anywhere, like best first and foremost like that is
they're not going to go anywhere. The fact that vaccine
cars are still paper in your wallet and gives me crazy.
It's like the best example in use case that could
have come out of the past couple of years. And
here we are with our que cards wile like like
I lost the vaccine card, like the day I walked
out of the place. The fact, you know, and all
this is replaced all of this, and so it's best
(14:21):
to educate yourself now because it's still super earlier when
I think n f ts have may become more accessible.
The prices are going to come down, there's gonna be
more micro transactions occurring, so there's gonna be a lot
more volume lesser high price assets, so it's gonna be
more accessible. So like learn game now, Like yeah, tell
me again, Let's talk more about like what's next for
(14:41):
a world because you have built you know, really like
a whole realm around it. UM. You talked about securing
a movie deal, So what's next for it? What can
we look for? We're releasing UM fifteen thousand acutars, three
D generated n F T s UM And once you
see chippertin you understand why it really all ties. We
tied it all together. This is a bigger universe that
(15:03):
you said. It's the occuverse UM, and we haven't. We
have partner with an incredible designers and brands, design traits
and UH one. I guess one of the most interesting
components of what we're doing UH with with the occuverse
and the acuitars and specific is, UH there's five teams.
So there's let me three thousand acuittars per team, and
(15:24):
we've got some really cool things planned. But we also
got brands and people integrating into these teams and really
treating these teams is like ecosystems where they can add
value to the thing they own. Like not every branch
should be launching n f T s. It doesn't make sense.
You start talking like how can I get into n
f T S. It's like, well, you can get into
the Accutar community, acuitar team and do what you do
in the real world and add value to that team,
(15:46):
and then it's gonna that's gonna raise the value of
the asset that you own because there's only limited spots.
Oh that's great, that's really great. Yes, and so that's
that's really it. And I'm still working on, you know,
developing linear content um activations Big Accousta as she was
being built right now. We can't wait. And I still
want a physical piece. Are you still creating physical art?
(16:06):
I need to. I'm trying to get into it more.
I'm trying to get into it. I think I get
more time. I got a lot more help. Okay, Okay,
I have some other questions because you know, I'm I
love to collect and I'm also wondering tell me the
last um n f T that you bought and some
black artists in the space that you're really excited about
last n f T that I bought. Um, that'sk you
(16:28):
a question. I'm sure I think what it was I
met a mask. I think you might have been Crystal
by funk Render. Yeah, I think it might have been
a Crystal butt fuck Render and a black artist. There's
a couple of people I really like that I think
are really doing some things behind the scenes. Latasha and
(16:52):
Jah um Lethabo Uh Latasha John really other music and
kind of like video elements of like leveraging blockchain technology
to like really monetize independently. You know their art and
they're super dope Halite Maw on the music side is
(17:14):
super dope. Um Lethabo digital you know digital paintings, incredible um. So,
like there's there's there's a there's a there's a couple
of sear suits like a visionary as a person who
just follow sear suit s I r as you follow
him on Twitter if you want to just understand And Okay,
(17:34):
so before before I let you go, I want to
go back to you know, you were a former Major
League baseball player. You played baseball, you were an athlete.
How did you sort of like navigate these two worlds
of like baseball art. Were you always creating art? No?
I started in two thousands sixteen. That's when I really
figured out found painting. Um, and I don't know. I
(17:56):
think it's just anything. I really believe that I could
do anything, like I really do believe that it's not
like some like night like crazy thing. I really do
think that it's only because I love the work that
takes to do something like I'm not scared at the
beginning of like painting or frustrated that like I suck.
It's just like I know that I get better if
I keep working at it, and I love that seeing
that process. So like painting, if you think about it,
(18:18):
painting is like the most tangible way to see yourself
get better or something like if you if I was like,
let's start paying, I'm gonna give you lessons and for
the next year, you're painting, right, or we said let's hey,
let's go, let's go do it's like archery classes. Let's
what's just for next year. Don't get better and you'll
see yourself get better. And it's just a Painting is
something I fell in love with and watching myself get
better And you know, um, that's really it. Well, you guys,
(18:42):
he's super talented, both in the digital world and the
physical world. So please, Mike, can you tell everyone where
to find you on social media on Instagram where they
can buy a coup and take the journey that you
were taking us all on. Yeah, you know you can
follow me Michael Johnson three, Michael Johnson on so uh
uh and then you can follow ACCU Dreams on Twitter
(19:04):
and social highly encouraged getting a chapter just one, uh,
especially for what's coming next with the acuitars. Uh and
and and that's really it. Oh my goodness, Well, thank
you so much. It's a pleasure having you on our
show today. You know, you've done some incredible things and
I just hope that you know so many in our
money means audience can hear your journey, see what you've said,
(19:26):
and realize that they can do anything. Like in the
words of Michael Johnson, you can do anything, anything anything.
I never told a story, but I say, I've never
like made anything three D before. I've never told a
story before. I never heard children's book or a book.
I've never done anything like that. But I I went
away from you know, doing this, you know, not heard
to like like I said twenty million dollars and told
of sales in one year, like as anything as possible.
(19:50):
But I'm not some special yo feature here like this
is anybody could have done it, anybody can't do anybody
will do it. There's other people are going to do it.
I also think it's like testament, and I see this
a lot oftentimes will help athletes who come on. But
you said something apart from saying like you're like I
really think I can do anything, you're like I like
the work. Yeah, like I like the work. So there's
so much work went into what you created. So much
(20:12):
work went into your career as like a star baseball player.
So much work went into like creating a painting or
creating like a digital and a t collection. So like
you know, let people know. Like you're like, I like
the work. It's work and it always pays off as
it like I wake up at four him, I get
my work in, like I get eight hours, seven hours
working before the West Coast wakes up. Like yeah, we
(20:34):
like still like it's not like I'm sitting here, it's
like satisfied, which work even harder. Yeah, yeah, still hustle. Gosh,
well you left us with so many jewels. You are
a gift. Thank you so much for all that. I
love being part of Aku's world. Um, this is great man.
Thank you and thank you money Movers. That's all the
(20:56):
time we have for today, but make sure you follow
Mica on all his social media handles and dive into
this web three world, dive into n f t s
and you never know, maybe it'll take you to out
of space with aku. Thank you so much for tuning
in Money Moves audience. If you want more or a
recap of this episode, please go to the bank Greenwood
dot com and check out the Money Moves podcast blog.
(21:21):
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