Serious Squash Presents The 1st Ever SQUASH NFT!

 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: 

Serious Squash NFT

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. 

Serious Squash Presents Story Time

With all of this excess spare time I've come up another Serious Squash side project. What I've created is a video series called, Story Time. The goal of Story Time is to share short informational videos on specific areas surrounding squash. 

We are in a full lockdown so I can't access to the courts or the gym to film at this time. I only haver a few more on court clips to post, but I though that I could still create some useful content from home. 

I'm going to have some fun with this and I'll keep the episodes coming as long as we are in lockdown. In the first episode I provide my 4 main tips for getting more out of your solo practice. If you haven't already seen it you can watch it here.

Episode 2 will be dropping tomorrow and it's about the future of squash. I basically discuss how challenging this pandemic is and is going to continue to be on all of us. Whether you're a casual player, a professional, a coach or a club owner, we are all in a really challenging position. 

Are our numbers going to drop significantly? What does the future of tournaments looks like? How many professionals are going to retire in 2021? How many clubs will close down for good? I don't think we will fall completely off the map like racquetball did, but I do think things are going to be tough in our industry for a long time to come. I'm really interested to hear everyone's opinions so make sure you watch episode 2 and comment. 

If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the Serious Squash YouTube channel so you can stay connected with all the latest content. YouTube will be the only place I'll be publishing episodes of Story Time. YouTube.com/SeriousSquash

Serious Squash Updates

It's been a pretty busy fall and start to winter so I'm well behind on blog posts. I do have a lot of updates since the last post. I've had a number of new podcast guests since the last blog post. I've had squash legend Mike Way on discussing Ali Farag, Jonathon Power and college squash. I also recorded a tribute episode to Canadian squash legend, Stuart Dixon. The most recent episode featured Bob Bowers who is 1 of the top squash trainers in the world. If you're interested in training this is a must listen to episode. You can listen to these episodes wherever you listen to your podcasts by searching 'Serious Squash Podcast.'

In other news I'm up to episode 87 of Squash Shots. There's a new episode every Monday morning. If you want to learn more you can check it out at Patreon.com/SeriousSquash or on Instagram @SeriousSquashShots

Last week I thought it would be fun to a figure 8 volley challenge. One take with a cold ball and see how many I could do. I ended up doing around 980 (give or take 10-20) as I lost count once or twice. Here's the video if you want to check it out. 

1 Take Figure 8 Volley Challenge

I just completed my first draft of a sport psych workbook. For the time being I've called it 'Winning and Losing Between The Ears: An Athlete’s Guide and Workbook For Maximizing Mental Performance.'

It's 33 pages with 21 sections. Each section includes my viewpoint on the topic and concludes with a work section to customize that area for your game. Even though it's written by a squash player and coach it's applicable to all sports. If you're interested in this you need to subscribe to the Serious Squash email list where I will be sending out a free copy shortly. To subscribe simply enter your email address here: Serious Squash Email List

Currently in Canada, most areas are in lockdown. This applies to my club as well so I've started filming a weekly workout video and posting it online. If you want to check then out you can do so here: Lockdown Workout Playlist I'm going to be rating the difficulty of each workout from 1 to 10. I've also been easing into the workouts since the holidays and the goal is to keep them short (10-15 minutes). 

There's always plenty of new updates and posts on the Serious Squash Instagram and Facebook pages. Let's hope we get through Covid-19 in the next few months so we can get back to playing the game we all love.