POW with Jeric Santos

Let’s meet Jeric Santos, a fellow NFT enthusiast and co-Web3 content contributor for The Mega Maxi.

 What were you doing before Web3?

I’m Jan Jeric Santos, NFT degen and a contributor to the Mega Maxi, I initially wrote guides to NFT PFP projects but I now contribute to the content in the Mega Maxi Twitter account.

As for my full-time job, I work on the family business even before Web3. My hobbies include collecting sneakers and talking about them in the rare times I create content on social media. 

 How did you get into Web3?

I got into Web3 because of basketball. I remember listening to one of the episodes of NBA Ringer’s ‘The Mismatch’ Podcast roughly around Feb 2021 and even made a Youtube video about it.

One of the hosts said he bought a Ja Morant video highlight for a platform named NBA Topshot. He explained that the moments are essentially clips of NBA highlights being sold which coincided during the time I was card collecting. 

Given that I was about to invest my money on the project, I tried to research more about it which took me about a week or two of hanging out in their Discord before deciding to put some money on it. 

Ever since, I’ve dabbled in numerous different projects such as Axie Infinity and Doodles.

 What was your first crypto or NFT project?

The first ever NFT project I bought into was NBA Topshot. It was my introduction to the world for Web3.

Despite the project not being decentralized which was a general feature of Web3, it was a wonderful introduction to the crypto world.

The project had a very seamless integration of the blockchain that could be understood by a casual person. Despite the issues that were persistent on the project early on, there were a ton of valuable lessons that I was able to take away from it.

From my initial $200 that I spent on the platform my portfolio reached as high as $10,000 during its peak but it has gone down since.

 How would you explain what you do to someone outside of Web3?

In a nutshell, I do recaps of recent events and happenings in a very niche community similar to a news outlet but only for Twitter.

 Which creator or thought leader do you enjoy learning from?

Casey Neistat. I would love to pick his brain about film making.

 What is the biggest highlight of your career so far?

It is definitely having a total allocation of 5 Doodles at mint price. This was during the time where you had to grind allocations of NFT projects.

Meanwhile for this specific project, everyone inside the server was included in the presale allocation as the founders decided to close down the server very early on.

It even came to a point that some of NFT friends decided to forego minting their total allocation to give away to other friends that weren’t able to join the server. Doodles definitely helped me build a sizable crypto portfolio.

 What tech or crypto trend are you watching this year?

Not specifically for this year, but looking forward to Bitcoin Halving next year which would likely be the start of another bull run.

 What advice would you give someone starting out in Web3?

For someone starting out in Web3, it is definitely a steep learning curve to it. However, much like any other job or interest that you want to get into research is very important. #DYOR

If you could do a TED talk on any topic, what would it be?

Individuality: The Importance of Knowing Yourself.

 What is the one thing you would bring if you were stuck on a deserted Island?

Bolo knife.

POW stands for “Proof of Work.” It is a new feature article series in The Mega Maxi to highlight the savviest builders in the Web3 space.