Apefellaz Co-Founder Capo on Community, Wu-Tang, and Projects Like Deadfellaz, Doodles & BAYC

NFTs are a competitive space, and it’s a space loaded with potential, headed in a very positive direction. Far from just another derivative NFT collection, Apefellaz includes 8,888 Apefellaz, resides on the Ethereum blockchain, and was conceived by a small, dynamic team, led by co-founder, leader, and project manager Capo. He and his Apefellaz associates—xtinaaa (Social Media Manager), zai (The Dev), and Kōhei Gotō (The Artist)—see this as a long-term project, meant to build long-lasting value and exclusive benefits for its members.

The founders united over their love and support for the thriving Deadfellaz, Doodles, and Bord Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collections and, with a hard focus on the value and development of the project’s community, they have big plans in the works to ensure Apefellaz holders are regularly rewarded. In fact, long-term plans include a Metaverse implementation, merchandise, and giveaways, to name a few. For instance, check out the following freebies as the Apefellaz hit certain sell-out thresholds:

10% – Multiple Deadfellaz Giveaway
25% – Multiple Deadfellaz + 1 Doodle Giveaway
50% – Funds allocated for Sandbox Development
100% – Massive Deadfellaz floor sweep & a surprise Apefellaz holder will be a lucky winner of a Mutant Ape Yacht Club

Minting an Apfellaz NFT also gives holders access to a very private portion of the Discord and Website where one gets exclusive alpha including the ability to speak directly with the team and their very good friends. Clearly an interesting project with a focus on their family and fans, we connected with Capo ahead of the mint to learn more about Apefellaz, its origins, its goals, and the potential that exists in this collection.

Thanks for your time, Capo. Let’s dig in! Outside of the Project Manager for Apefellaz, who is Capo?

Capo: “Thanks for having me, Chris. I reside in sunny California and live with my best friend Ted, my doggo. I was laid off from work last year and came into a lot of free time and that is where I got started into web3 and NFTs.”

Apefellaz is “made by friends that consider each other family.” Tell us something cool about your partners, xtinaaa (Social Media Manager), zai (The Dev), and Kōhei Gotō (The Artist).

“xtinaaa is one of my IRL (in real life) best friends of over 15 years and happens to be the one who suggested I look into NFTs. She was pretty much the only reason I got involved in this space and I can’t thank her enough. Love you, Christina! Also, if it wasn’t for Christina I would have never known what or who the Deadfellaz were. Being able to join their discord and be a part of that community was an incredible experience and this is where we met Zai and Kohei!

“Zai is our incredibly talented developer who has taken time away from his personal endeavours of blockchain gaming development to help us seek out our dream. Kohei is one of the most genuine people I’ve come across in this space who would give you the shirt off his back if needed. We believe his art speaks volumes and are so excited to showcase his talents. I am so glad that we crossed each other’s paths many months ago and have flourished our relationships into amazing friendships.”

Apefellaz’ Roadmap

It’s noted on the project’s Discord that this came together when a “group of Deadfellaz holders met inside the Deadfellaz Discord many months back…” Give us details on the project’s timeline and when the idea initially materialized.

“The idea was tossed around on a call in late October, but most of us were swamped and busy with other things at the time. It wasn’t until after Thanksgiving that we started really taking things seriously.”

You also note that the creators “…absolutely love, own and support the Deadfellaz, Doodles, BAYC.” What about these projects do the creators specifically love? What made you want to own those NFTs and what about them led to the Apefellaz project?

“I love this question. Two things: art and community. Art is what brings everyone together and the community is what helps it grow. Without one or the other, it would be impossible to be successful. We knew very quickly that we wanted to create something that had a lasting impact on people. What better way than to develop a community that fosters friendships, relationships, networking and growth.”

It’s said that this “is NOT just a derivative NFT collection.” For the uninitiated, may you please elaborate as to how the Deadfellaz and Apefellaz projects are related?

“The Apefellaz and Deadfellaz are completely unrelated projects and the collections are not affiliated in any way with one another. Our collection, the Apefellaz, was inspired by the NFT collections of Deadfellaz, Doodles and Bored Ape Yacht Club. The term ‘Derivative’ in the NFT space comes from projects who often look like the original and in some cases function similarly in terms of utility. Derivative projects can also just draw inspiration from the art of these popular collections.

“When we say, ‘We are not just another Derivative,’ we are referring to the poor stigma associated with ‘Derivatives’ and we want to break that by building a long-lasting project jam-packed with utility.”

Also noted on your Discord is that, “We hope to be accepted by all three projects as a supportive collection who is here to help flourish and grow the already amazing awesome communities by spreading awareness.” We presume you’re speaking about Deadfellaz, Doodles, BAYC. Can you elaborate on the potential here?

“Deadfellaz, Doodles, and Bored Ape Yacht Club have done so much for the NFT space. They have given us a place to be ourselves, foster friendships and in some cases make us feel like a kid again! We believe these three collections will be here for a very, very long time and we want to make sure of that. What can we do? Spread awareness of the collections and love of the space. It isn’t exactly a secret that we are early in the NFT space so why not share the love?”

As many in the NFT space are aware, a project’s success and, ultimately its value, is directly related to the community and support thereof. While many NFT projects are rug-pulls, the successful ones create lasting value with continued growth and development. What are some of the Deadfellaz’s short and long-term goals (give us teasers)?

“We wanted to build immense value into our collection from start to finish. Every step of our roadmap was carefully curated. Some of our short-term goals are providing our holders with some incredible alpha. The alpha includes breaking news, statistics, and personal opinions of stocks/Crypto, NFTs and sports. We have veterans in these fields and hope to provide incredible information that may otherwise be difficult to find.

“Secondly, we wanted to move in the direction of the Metaverse. The Metaverse is going to be huge in the future of NFTs and we wanted to be involved. Our developers are currently working on architecting our Sandbox plot and at 50 percent sold we will purchase our plot. You can’t be in the metaverse without some fresh wearables and a sweet voxel character. So we got you covered! Each Apefellaz NFT you own allows you to claim one (1) of our three (3) piece wearables merchandise and a 3D Apefellaz Voxel Character, for FREE!

“Lastly, we have some big surprises with some very big names in the music space!”

Why is community and long-term growth important to the Apefellaz’ founders? 

“This is a play off the Wu-Tang song ‘C.R.E.A.M.,’ ‘Community Rules Everything Around Me.’ We are here for our community. We listen, we take criticisms and we adapt. This is the basis of any successful business. NFTs in most cases are no different.”

Your mint date is around the corner, February 11th at 12am EST. Can you tease any of the activities ahead of the Mint? What do people need to know about the mint and where can they get more info?

“Look forward to MASSIVE giveaways this week. We are giving away a ton of amazing NFTs such as Deadfellaz, Doodles, and Mutant Ape Yacht Club. Only mint our NFT on our official website on February 11th. The cost to mint our NFT will be .025 eth + gas fees. We currently have spots available on our ‘free to mint whitelist,‘ so be sure to follow us on Twitter and join our Discord and stay up to date.”

The floor is yours…. hit us with some closing thoughts.

“Chris, thanks for taking the time to do this interview. I hope we were able to give a good description of who the Apefellaz are and where we are headed. We will continually be massive supporters to the Deadfellaz, Doodles, and Bored Ape Yacht Club. As the space progresses, so will we. Our goal is to bring an immense amount of value to our holders in many different ways.”