I'm always looking for a new squash thing to get into. For those who have followed my journey of Serious Squash, I've designed merch, started a podcast, sold instructional videos and even designed a custom racquet. Serious Squash is always active on social media and I enjoy trying to explore new squash related avenues.
While in lockdown I started researching and getting into crypto. I did this a few years back and have always kept an eye on this market. I was intrigued by the idea of a new monetary system and not having to rely on banks or the stock market for investments and loans.
One are of crypto that has caught my eye recently was NFTs (non fungible token). If you don't know what an NFT is I will try to explain it. Basically an NFT is something digitized that can be traded and old over the open market. The NBA has started something called Top Shots where they sell short video plays from their stars. These are listed edition and in some instances only a single copy of a play can be sold. A Lebron James dunk recently sold for well over $100,000. The owner now has this exclusive video and will be the only owner of this video clip. They have the option to then resell this on the open market when and if they decide to do so. This is basically like a virtual basketball card.
NFTs are also been using a lot in video games and artwork, Just this week someone transferred a Banksy painting into an NFT and afterwards burnt the original painting to increase the value and ease of sale of this artwork. It was a $70,000 piece of art and I imagine the price will increase even more now. I know it sound crazy, but there are a lot of very good reasons to do such a thing. If this person wants to sell the painting they now have access to a larger population and they can sell it instantly over the internet without having to ship a product.
A lot of sport teams are also starting to take advantage of NFTs. Some soccer teams are using them as a virtual ticket to their games and others are adding bonuses, like a virtual trading card of a star on their team. I realize that it's difficult to comprehend the value of an NFT, but I do believe they will be a mainstay in our world and they will continually provide more and more use cases for them. In fact, Kings Of Leon just released their newest album only on NFTs. The possibilities are really endless.
So what does this have to do with squash? Well yesterday I decided to create the very first ever squash NFT! The trick is that an NFT has to be under 30mb so my video had to be pretty short. I decided to use a video where I did a cool new solo drill. I was also able to determine how many total I am allowed to sell and how much people can buy it for. I decided to offer a maximum of 10 copies of my NFT and the price is .01 Ethereum per NFT.
So I'm sure you're wondering, 'why would I buy an NFT of your video if I can watch it online for free or even screen record and save a copy for free?' Well this goes for every NFT on the marketplace. The NFTs are sold through the blockchain, meaning that this is the only way to own an official copy of something. All other copies are simply a replicate like a burned dvd.
I realize this is not for everyone. But if you are into squash and also crypto (which is probably about .000000001% of the global population lol) then I thought this might interest some people. And for that small percent of people that would like to look at or perhaps even purchase the first ever squash NFT you can do so here:
I strongly believe the PSA will eventually get into NFTs as they are excellent for engaging fans and for generating extra revenue streams. Think about how cool it would be if you could purchase the ownership rights to a shot of a month by your favourite player? Who wouldn't want to won a copy of that crazy rally with and Gaultier? What about an epic dive by Paul Coll or a wild celebration by Asal? The possibilities are endless and it's only a matter or when not if for the PSA. At least I can say that Serious Squash was ahead of the curve and got things rolling in the right direction.