#9 - Becoming The Impossible Brycent, the man developing the NFT gaming space
NFT gaming by the CEO, Loot Squad.
Bryce Johnson, an NFT gamer on Twitch and YouTube, believes that NFT gaming is changing the world. He’s doing this through his company, Loot Squad, a community of blockchain gamers enriching the gaming experience by leveraging NFTs, Crypto, and the Play2Earn space.
Brycent, who lives by his favourite quote, "Become the impossible", tells Faces of Web3’s Esther Eze how he became a top NFT game developer.
Getting into the NFT space
My transition into Web3 was pretty seamless. I'd worked as a software engineer for about 3-4 years beforehand. So, it wasn’t that difficult.
People look at the terms, "Web2" and "Web3", and think they’re very different. I think of Web3 as this permissionless system where people interact with and make decisions in a decentralised way. While Web3 encompasses the world of crypto and decentralisation, Web2 houses the server.
When I wanted to, I didn't know how to start collecting traditional NFTs, but I had friends who put me in positions to get there. If I didn't have them, I wouldn't have known what I should be doing there.
I kind of got in [the NFT space] last April with Infinity, a hub for NFT communities. At the time, I didn’t know anything about the blockchain, DeFi, or crypto. I just focused on my love and appreciation for the game.
If I hadn’t started NFT gaming, I would’ve been incredibly lost in the NFT space. In the gaming section, everything felt natural because I'd been gaming all my life.
I was always on my computer, so I welcomed the idea of the metaverse being the space where people interact. If I’m on Discord talking to someone about crypto, Web3 or anything in-between, I’d feel like I am participating in the metaverse. While, for me, getting into the Web3 space wasn’t that difficult, I think it was a question of being in the right place at the right time.
Becoming the impossible Brycent
I experienced life without the internet, and it's made me more rounded.
My mother would say that I was very optimistic as a child. I had three siblings, and I was the middle child. A lot of what I used to do involved playing outside. We didn't have phones, so I was often outside playing sports.
My parents were also really open and allowed me to try different sorts of things. If I wanted to play basketball, I would play basketball. If I wanted to try karate, I would try karate. If I wanted to play videos, my mom would drive me to tournaments. It was cool growing up in a space where I could try everything and be who I wanted to be.
"Becoming the impossible" came from my wanting to empower others to become the person God wants them to be. That's how I came up with the term. Now, it's my slogan. I’m sure people are already tired of hearing it, but I will continue to say it until I can't anymore.
Before I got into Web3, “Chase the impossible” was the slogan I lived by. “Becoming the impossible” happened because I realised I didn't have to chase anything. Every day, I was doing something that was making me become the person I wanted to be. My biggest goal is how I can get the characteristics of a person who is genuine, authentic, provides value to people, goes out of their way to help people, and is kind.
When you come up with your own slogan and phrase to live by, I think you’re leveraging your thoughts and your creativity. At the end of the day, it'd be something to be remembered by. People see your brand and see what you’ve been doing, and it shows that you own it. You created it, and you embody it.
Building Loot Squad
I thought of ways that would move the entire NFT [gaming space] forward. So, my focus was on how to continue spreading the good works of NFT gaming while building my own brand as a thought leader in the space.
I had a couple of co-founders whose idea it was to build a company called Loot Squad to focus on creating tools for the metaverse. They wanted somebody to be the front face of the brand. They saw me being that: the CEO and front face.
I strongly believe that without my community, I wouldn't have reached the height that I have so quickly. Everything we’ve done to this point [at Loot Squad] has been on how we can derive our value and bring it back into the community, not on how much money we can make in the media.
We focused a lot of our energy to grow and create something that not only looks sustainable but also has a real and positive impact. Our main focus is on empowering gamers who believe in what we’re doing and providing them opportunities to be successful in their Web3 journey.
My idea was to build a platform in gaming [while] also having a strong message when teaching people about Web3 and the spaces we interact. I think if you focus on that more than the monetary aspect, you can make money and create long-lasting relationships.
Next-level NFT gaming advancement
I love what we’ve done with Loot Squad on the gaming front. I’m a firm believer that, as a tech company, we would be much larger in the long run.
We want to build tech products, consumer applications, and ways for people to connect in a meaningful and thoughtful way in Web3. We want to create earning opportunities for people. Our long-term plan is to be a company people look at as a gaming organisation that has 4-6 products changing the way people are educated about crypto, the way people are onboarded into the space, and the way games and token AmEx situations are created.
There is a lot of pressure that comes with doing things that are unconventional, but the people who take those risks are the ones you [eventually] look up to. I’ve always been someone who thinks taking risks is a better way to find who you are than just waiting and being patient and passive and letting others tell you how you should live.
Paying it forward
I’m excited to see what's built in Web3, and I'm excited to see the amazing things Faces of Web3 is building. I’m only here because someone helped me, and if I can just keep paying forward, that's where I want to spend my energy.
I definitely think Loot will be one of the leaders in the metaverse helping people in crypto, NFTs, and gaming, as well as educating them and providing them with the tech tools they need. Whether it’s DAO, a Web2 company or a game, we want to be there to support them.
We’re working on some products we plan to launch soon, and we’re super excited. We have some amazing connections with Cozomo de' Medici, Snoop Dog's alias. We also had a really cool conversation with The Chainsmokers about what we’re building, and they want to get involved. We’re just doing a lot of the valuable behind-the-scenes work, like me tweeting and streaming all of the Twitter spaces. That's how we build the brand and connect the team.
The main focus for us is on how we can build both the future of work and play of the metaverse, and I don’t think there’s one answer to doing that. I think you just build that passion with a group of people and help people as much as you can.
Five things about Brycent the impossible
He's never been scammed in the crypto community.
He believes the biggest thing for your cryptocurrency is to have a hardware wallet.
One of his favourite songs is You Ain’t The Problem by Michael Kiwanuka.
He onboarded his mother and sister to Web3.
He has a comprehensive spreadsheet where he writes down all his ideas, then he focuses his energy on the best ones.