Back in the summer of 2021 Nick and I started jamming on how we could bring a new and innovative art project to the Vancouver Running Co. community. We wanted to drive a project that celebrated diversity in run through visual art that would be created by our friend Marlon Soriano.

Shortly after beginning the yet to be named project, and seeing the first design ideas from Marlon, it became very apparent that his art deserved to be seen by millions of people. At the same time NFT's had been working their way into regular discussions at VRC, in particular how they could make sense for our community and company. It was Nick who brought up the now very obvious point that it looked like we had our very first NFT project right in front of us. The challenge was Web3 technology and NFT’s were so new we needed to figure out how we could add value to NFT holders in addition to the amazing art that token holders would own. We also knew there were very few companies creating a long-term road map for their NFT projects and token holders and so we had the opportunity to be one of the companies changing that.

I kept hearing two comments that made me realize there were many brands and creators not doing a great job at creating long term benefits and ultimately value for their community; Were NFT's just a 1 of 1 asset in the digital space? Were they .jpgs that could simply be screen shared and effectively without value after first purchase?

The short answer is no and no.

NFT’s are indeed a 1 of 1 digital asset that is part of a limited collection, determined by the creators, and for some that is where it stops. Consider that there are NFT’s that are investments for their holders (buyers) and traded much like stocks on the stock market. The original creator/artist is paid fairly for their work and the holder may or may not make a return on their investment of that art, or they may choose to hold onto that NFT forever. That wasn’t enough for me to be convinced NFT’s made sense for VRC. Then I discovered the utility benefits of NFT’s and at that point I realized Nick was right.

Utility benefits?

Let’s say you now own an NFT. It is a 1 of 1 digital token that you purchased from a collection that had released a total of 500, let’s call it ‘Frozen Friends’. The company that created the Frozen Friends NFT collection makes ice cream and being such a lover of ice cream this was a no-brainer purchase for you, plus the artist commissioned to make the NFT artwork (which is digital) is amazing! It turns out this ice cream company doesn’t just make ice cream, they also happen to be the premier ice cream maker in the industry and annually they host a conference for ice cream lovers and creators. The creators of Frozen Friends are keen to leverage the utility of the token and so every month they airdrop a new token to each holder that gives them a free ice cream of their choice at any of their locations - now you are 1 of 500 Frozen Friends token holders that realizes the additional benefits of holding this token. The token holders (NFT owners) simply show up to a location, show the free ice cream token and it is redeemed for a tasty ice cream. Then one day, the creators really surprise you. That annual ice cream conference…it has a capacity of 5000 people and every single Frozen Friends token holder just received a token to redeem for full attendance. You see where this is going - the value of the NFT can be largely influenced by how well the creators of the NFT reward and engage with their community of token holders.

The benefits of leveraging the utility of the NFT is endless and in some ways it mirrors what a membership might do except for some profound differences.

• NFT’s allow for a global community of like-minded individuals to come together whether that be online (Discord) or in-person (Run Retreats, special brand perks etc.)
• NFT’s are likely to increase in value (limited number available) when their creators engage with the community and develop rewards and recognition programs
• NFT’s holders can sell their token at anytime in the open marketplace

I have always considered Vancouver Running Co. to be a pioneer in the run industry. We’ve never been content with following in the footsteps of those before us and have no intention of stopping ourselves from evolving. Our partnership with OddFutur3 and the utilization of Web3 technology allows Vancouver Running Co. to reach our global community and solidify our place as a global brand. Those who have believed in us from the beginning and supported us along the way can now own a piece of our evolution and brand in a way that rewards and engages in no other way seen before.

So, you guessed it right, a screenshot of a .jpg isn’t quite right.

This is far more than that. This is the evolution of community. This is Run As You Are.