Meet the Digital Nomads Behind ‘The Trip’
Co-creators Harry Resnick, Jeff MacPherson and Ricky Moore speak with Crypto.com NFT in the second installment of a two-part feature on “The TRIP.”
Less than two weeks ago, “The TRIP” launched its first in a two-part series of curated collections on Crypto.com NFT — an introduction to its transformative virtual journey. One of the marketplace’s most anticipated collections, “The TRIP: Origin” — featuring nine 3D animations and a 10th redeemable scene that represent the general human experience — sold out in approximately 20 minutes. This week, the creative collective will release the second of its back-to-back drops: “The TRIP: Genesis,” a 9,999-piece profile picture (PFP) project featuring variations of its mushroom mascot — sans 10 one-of-a-kind PFPs inspired by the origin clips, totaling 9,989 fungal avatars up for grabs on May 6.
In a prior feature, Crypto.com NFT explored the project’s concept in-depth — breaking down the significance of each animation in the first drop as well as its signature mushroom character, which essentially represents the next stage in human evolution and the enlightenment of humanity’s collective consciousness. In this interview, “The TRIP” co-founders — creative director Harry Resnick, marketing lead Jeff MacPherson and community manager Ricky Moore — share information about their personal journeys, how they connected to work on the ambitious project and how it has evolved since they began their voyage together.
Crypto.com NFT spoke with the trio of digital marketers about their diverse experience in music, sports, fashion and technology — and how they combined forces to create and develop “The TRIP,” as well as its flourishing community.
Read the Q&A with Harry Resnick, Jeff MacPherson and Ricky Moore below, and visit “The TRIP: Genesis” drop page for more information.
Where are you guys from and how has it affected your work?
Resnick: I was born and raised in New Jersey. I grew up in a small town and graduated with like 100 students. Since my days in high school, and transitioning into college, I was always trying to create businesses and products — because my dad is my biggest inspiration and mentor; he had a business and I wanted to be just like him. My mom was a teacher, so I was always around her helping students and had it embedded in my DNA to want to help people grow and learn. They gave me the freedom to go out and be my own person, believing in my dreams along the way. I wouldn’t be where I am today without their support and trust [in] my vision. I was always taught to help people around me and, now that I have the ability to do so, that is my ultimate goal. I want to empower the next leg of creatives.
Moore: I [also] grew up in New Jersey, in a small suburban town. I’m the youngest of three, with my sister Latrice being the oldest and my brother Billy. Can’t leave out the parents Will and Michelle! In my town, growing up, you saw a very wide range of social classes. On one side of town, there were people who were very well off and on the other side there were people just getting by. My parents always provided everything that I ever needed, but being in that town allowed me to be able to see a different side of life outside of home. This really helped me in my work, because I never felt that there was a limit to where I could go in life. The first step is definitely believing it in your mind, but it helped out a lot to see people around me achieving great success.
MacPherson: [I was] born and raised in a small town outside of Toronto, Ontario, growing up with a very tight friend group and community. My parents worked hard to keep myself and my sister in our sports, [with] me playing competitive ice hockey. Growing up and watching how closely you can be friends with people, and how hard your parents can work to keep you doing the things you love, kept me grounded to what is important. Throughout my hockey career, I was never the best player on the ice — but I competed every single day. And most importantly, no matter how big the opponent was, I always protected my own. This all stems into my core values of building a business from early stages: having a very tight community, building friendships that last a lifetime and protecting the ones around you at all costs. These three things can simply grow a business and a strong foundation to the long-term goal. Most importantly, you have [to have] fun doing it — with the ones you love!
How did you all connect to work on “The TRIP?” What drew you to each other?
MacPherson: Harry and myself met at a GaryVee conference five years ago. I was in New York City for a marketing conference and Harry drove in from New Jersey. We had spoken a few times through text and calls, but this was our first interaction in person. We hit it off right away and knew [that], one day, we would build something special together. Over the next five years, and in our own business ventures, we always helped each other out in whatever capacity we could — [while] staying [on] our own paths. In 2022, my path for business changed and this is when Harry and I decided to partner up and build what we have set out to do. Funny enough, we both got a free stress ball at that conference five years ago and still hold onto it today!
Moore: [Harry and I] met each other while we were both working in the music industry. From then, we’ve always connected and remained great friends. Through “The TRIP” is where I was introduced to Jeff. I really love how passionate and hard working both Harry and Jeff are. That energy is very contagious and it really pushes me to strive for greatness as well.
What were you doing before you linked for this project?
Resnick: NuWave Media was where I got to really start showcasing my digital marketing and creative strategy. The team over at NuWave was amazing and we did a lot of great things together. I originally started [as] a consultant for them, just bringing in business. Once I was introduced to the major label ecosystem through a mutual friend, I was then able to bring NuWave bigger clients — Warner, Universal, Sony and the subsidiaries, etc. — all catering to digital marketing and creative strategy for the music industry. From there, I was asked to join the team full-time — because we were scaling fairly quickly. We accomplished a lot in those fields, working with every artist you could imagine — and most importantly, I made lifetime relationships with people who are family to me now.
Tell us about some of the most interesting campaigns you worked on.
Resnick: My two favorite projects I ever did were the “Plug Talk” album, in conjunction with The Plug Records, and [an] XXXTentacion global mural campaign and animation contest. I really feel like [those two in particular] put me on the map…
The “Plug Talk” album was a movie, if you want a funny story. A guy had reached out to me on Instagram ’cause he wanted my username. Now he is one of my good friends — but at the time, the person wanted my Instagram name. I told him no and we just followed each other, and carried on. At the time, I was doing work with some people in Canada — and they reached out to me one day and asked, “Hey, how do you know this guy? He follows you.” I mentioned the Instagram thing and found out he was a very important and well-respected person. From there, I introduced him to these Canadian businessmen to talk — and after that, he noticed I was involved in music.
One day, he asked me if I ever made an album — and the truth was [that I had] never put a song together [in my life], let alone an album. But I said, “Yes, of course. I make albums all the time and I’m the best at it.” From there, we worked on a full-length album that included some [of] the biggest artists in the world… This is singlehandedly one of my favorite stories ever; this project alone opened the doors to so many opportunities and introduced me to a large number of people overseas that are now family to me.
The XXXTentacion mural and animation contest is also one of my favorite projects, [which] I had the pleasure of working on with the EMPIRE team and his estate. We contracted muralists from all over the world to put up murals and then tied them back to a fully 3D interactive website, where people could go and see the murals in all the [different] locations. This project was one of my favorites because it allowed me to connect with many artists from around the world and also [shine] light [on] one of my favorite artists, who had passed away.
[In addition] to the global mural activation, we simultaneously ran an animation contest. I think this is where I [discovered] my love for animations and different styles of art. We contracted animators from all over to [share] their ideas [for] how the music video should look, and then we ran a contest where people could vote [on their favorite]. The winner eventually went on to make the full-length animated music video you see on his YouTube channel. This campaign was super special to me and will forever be one of my favorites. [Between] the pure creativity behind it, and being able to use all those international connections I [made] from working on “The Plug” album to help bring this to life, [it] was very special. LLJ.
How about you, Ricky? What were you doing before “The TRIP?”
Moore: Within the music industry, one of my proudest teams to be a part of was Future Moguls — a record label founded by a recording artist named Titus and producer Myles William. I learned a ton, working with this team, in [regards to] artist management, marketing as well as social media strategy. Watching them build a record label from the ground up really showed me the hard work and dedication it takes to be successful. This was one of the best learning experiences that I have ever had.
Through relationships built while with Future Moguls, I was also able to work with the clothing brand Young Entrepreneurs in their early stages — in a business operations role. That was my first [experience] within the fashion industry, where I was able to learn [about] picking out fabrics, creating packaging and coming up with creative campaigns and events to push the brand forward. Much love to those guys; I know they recently dropped a new collection.
Sports have always been a part of my life personally and professionally. I grew up playing basketball, baseball and was fortunate to even play one year of college football at the University of New Haven — so naturally, I was attracted to the business side [of sports]. One of the first teams that I had the pleasure to be a part of was SAMPLE Fitness. I had worked with the founder Travis Sample since the beginning of his journey, and played an operational and advisory role in launching the business. As that business grew, it led me to consult for various athletes such as professional boxer Michael Coffie and current NFL kicker Younghoe Koo of the Atlanta Falcons.
[But] prior to NFTs, I was working with the Future Moguls team and more specifically with the artist Titus as an advisor — and also assisting with day-to-day management duties. He’s such a great artist to work with and, even though it is hard work, I love helping him bring his visions and art to life.
What’s a day in the life of an NFT project’s community manager?
Moore: My role within “The TRIP” is to make sure that we stay on the right track as a team and as an overall project. We are looking to position ourselves as a blue chip project, and that means that we must be very organized, detail oriented and crush all deadlines. While Harry is focused on the creative direction of the project and Jeff is locked-in [on] how we can grow the brand on a daily basis, someone has to be there to make sure that everything we communicate to our community and the world is aligned — and the message is crystal clear. Great ideas are meaningless without the proper execution.
In terms of the community management side, it first starts with accepting that you will not be sleeping a lot [laughs] — making sure that I am in Discord everyday, from the second I wake up and until I go to sleep. [Also,] making sure all announcements are posted correctly [and] answering all the questions and support tickets from the community members, in addition to monitoring all socials for “The TRIP.” We always have a ton of things going on — from contests [and] giveaways to mini games — so I need to make sure that all instructions and information [are] clearly communicated.
Why do you think you’ve been able to build such a strong community around “The TRIP?”
Moore: To put it simply: without the community, we are nothing. I believe that it is crucial to constantly stay in touch and tapped in with all the members in our community. Making sure that we listen to them and are able to adjust to [ensure] they are satisfied is what brings us happiness. The bond we share with our community is amazing. I think that the fact that there are no outside moderators in the Discord and no outside managers of our socials is what has helped the community become so strong and tight knit. All members know that they can get in touch with a co-founder of the project at any time.
Early in the Discord, one of our community members suggested that we come up with a name for us while we go on this trip — and that is where the name “shroomies” was created. That story clearly defines who we are as a project: creators who cater to our community. We let them help create and give input into this TRIP as we go, and I believe that is why we have such a strong bond with the community. Even if someone has a tough day or a great day, they know that our Discord is a place where they can come chat to feel some positivity.
And what about you, Jeff? What can you share about your experience, prior to “The TRIP?”
MacPherson: My online entrepreneurial journey started when I was 21; [I’m] turning 30 this November. I first started in e-commerce, where I designed, developed and manufactured a product overseas — bringing it to life [and] selling [it] globally within weeks. While learning the ins and outs of retail and wholesale, I got hooked on how you could have someone purchase your product online [without even leaving] the house. I started to create viral style campaigns where, when my customers purchased, they shared. This allowed me to fall in love with building a strong community and doing it the right way. I ended up selling that business [and using] my expertise [to] help others market their businesses to the world…
Before I dove full force into NFTs, I was building SaaS companies and mobile apps. With over five years of experience in marketing and software development, I fell in love with the technology behind NFTs — allowing people you never met to purchase a piece of art, to be part of a community and build a company together… I knew this was the way I needed to go.
Tell us more about your hockey career.
MacPherson: Being Canadian, the sport of hockey is ingrained into you at a very young age. I played in my small town until I was 14, when I moved up to the next level — called AAA… With hockey, and many sports, there is a lot of politics around who is going to make it to the NHL. Never being the best player on the ice, I had to prove myself day after day — working harder than the players around me. Although, at the time, it was very upsetting knowing how hard someone can work to get passed over — it built internal resilience [that] I put in building businesses.
When I turned 16, I got my first break — moving away from home, living with a family and playing on my first junior, a team. Moving away at such a young age gave me the confidence to get out of my comfort zone and go after something I wanted more than anything. I think it is super important in life to break through your comfort zones and explore, especially if it is for something you want so badly. Every time you break through, you build confidence in yourself — all while opening up doors you may never have known about.
After my first year, I asked for a trade to a team that was closer to home and where I knew a lot more of the players. Making this decision wasn’t easy in the beginning, but ended up being for the best. This decision was one of the first real “business” decisions I ever made — as a teenager at 17 years old. Knowing where your value as a person is very important for positioning yourself to succeed, and it was a decision I needed to make at that time to better my hockey career.
After two years playing with that team, I ended up in a town called Woodstock. Very similar to my hometown, I felt welcomed and was excited for this final year. Our team looked very strong after training camp. The team was very close and everyone was super excited, and that’s when I received the news that the team was trading me and [I] wasn’t going to be playing with them that season. It was the hardest, most deflating news I have ever heard. I was alone, across the country, with all the hard work I put in to get to that point and no team to play on.
Within about a week, I ended up on another team and the first game I played with them was against Woodstock — who [had] traded me. This goes back to “[knowing] your value.” Woodstock traded me and I had the [opportunity], in my first game, to play against them and prove them wrong… That first game against Woodstock, I played one of the best games of my life and made my mark — not only on Woodstock, but the new team. Our team was one of the best teams in the league and we had a real shot at making it to the championships. We didn’t have the flashiest or best players in the league, [but] we [were one of] the hardest working and toughest teams to play against. All of my teammates showed up every night, ready to battle and protect the guy beside them at all cost… We unfortunately never ended up winning the championship, but the team and those teammates will always be my brothers.
That final season gave me the ability to showcase myself [and] I signed to join a varsity team in university. Before going to school, I was excited to play — but started to have doubts. Playing hockey wasn’t for me anymore. After only one year, I decided to drop out of school and start my first business. To [summarize] my career from the beginning to the end: me making the decision to leave school and not play competitively anymore allowed me to realize that, in business, you may need to make the decision to shut it down [and] move in a different direction. Holding onto things can sometimes be a bigger burden than dealing with the short term struggle of resetting.
You’ve described yourself as a “growth hacker.” Please elaborate on your role in “The TRIP.”
MacPherson: From the beginning, I was focused on creating [a] business structure for long-term growth. With my experience in building multiple large team businesses, I knew [that] — to accomplish what we set out to do — we were going to need the proper things in place to be successful. With any product launch, there comes months of preparing from legal, finance, technology, marketing strategies, marketing roll outs and much more. Being through it all before, I was able to put together phase roll outs when we needed things completed to stay on schedule and be prepared. As a team, we all make decisions together, but [I] know that both Ricky and Harry look to me for advice on certain paths.
I do not look at this as me “being better,” by any means. We all move together, but [it] shows me that — in the early stages of this business — they are hungry for learning and growth as well. Looking at these little things can make a massive difference for [a] company’s success. Coming up with viral marketing strategies is what I love to do, being able to take happy and amazing community members and get them to share that excitement with the world.
When building those close relationships, it helps build a more solid foundation. In the first stages of building our Discord community, I said to Harry and Ricky that — no matter how many times you need to answer the same question — answer it with a smile. I knew that, in time, this would show the community how much we are there — and most importantly, it allowed us to create “moderators” within our community without even trying. I would argue our community is one of the best, if not the best on Crypto.com NFT — and we are so thankful for all of them. Having the ability to use your community to help assist with any questions or new members coming in is still a form of “growth hacking.” It allows our internal team to focus on the goal at hand, while knowing our systems are in place to help guide the community in the right direction.
Did you expect such a positive response from the community?
MacPherson: When starting your marketing, you never expect a response like we have. It is mixed emotions, due to the amount of time and effort a team can put into a project before announcing it to the public. It can go either way — and [in] our sake, the community was instantly drawn to us. When building marketing campaigns, we look into consumer behavior and what we would want to see if we were on the other side. We knew we were going to be the “new kids on the block,” so [we] wanted to show that we were here for the community and wanted to bring them all with us on “The TRIP” right away.
With all the projects coming into April, and the status behind some of the other creators, we knew we would need to make an impact in another way and “win” the community — spending day and night with them, answering all the questions and being as transparent as we could to ensure the relationships were built. With the connection with our community, we knew that the word of mouth marketing would start to unfold!
Resnick: I felt that the project would be well received, but the support and positive responses have been overwhelming. It is amazing to see how the CRO Fam has really welcomed us in. Being that we were the new kids on the block, there was a bit of fear in the beginning — but as we got introduced to the other creators and gatekeepers, we felt at home.
How has the project evolved since you first began?
MacPherson: With businesses, and especially in Web3, technology changes very fast. When we started exploring business models, it started as one idea and branched off into something even bigger. Every week, we are being connected to new individuals who will in time be joining the team to help us build the Web2 side of the business. We are building both sides of the business to protect from vulnerability to the market and our holders. We have goals in mind that we are going to accomplish; this allows our brand to be sustainable and grow.
How about creatively?
Resnick: When we started the project over a year ago, we originally set forth to create a scene that was supposed to be similar to a mushroom trip experience. Like art, everyone’s experience [is] different. As we progressed through example animations, we realized the picture was much bigger — so we created a fictional character that went on the journey through their trip to tell the origin and ultimately created the entire storyline like a movie. Each scene had a script that turned into a full animation. It all started from an idea on paper [and became] the full animation that you see now. We changed the ending a few times to really leave it open-ended for future journeys into new worlds. The complete backstory of the animation was a metaphor for everybody’s individual journey through one trip experience.
What inspired the project, overall?
Resnick: “The TRIP: Origin” is inspired by everyone’s individual journey — where they are, where they’re going and where they [will] ultimately end up. Each scene was crafted so that each viewer can see and feel something different than the next. We designed it this way because every single person is on their own trip and may feel a different emotion when viewing the various scenes. We fractionalized the entire animation to gamify the experience [and] create a trip inside of “The TRIP.” Regarding our generative art PFP collection, we used a mushroom-inspired character as a metaphor [for] each person’s individual trip. We did this because each person has their own journey and no trip is the same. The inspiration for the PFP stems from the character’s transformation in scene 10 of the animation. We created a storyline to tell the origin of how the PFP character came to fruition.
What can you share about the creative process behind the art for “The TRIP,” both the animations and the PFP project? How did it all come together?
Resnick: When I originally set out to make “The TRIP,” it was supposed to be a single animation — one small scene. I simply wanted to start experimenting with animation styles and different forms of art. At the time, I was being added to non-stop group chats about NFT projects and being sent tons of projects and roadmaps. I fell in love with the way creators were taking both community and culture and combining them together. I wanted to create my own world and project. That’s ultimately how it started.
I saw that other creators were over promising and under delivering. I knew then [that] I wanted to be a pioneer in the space and make something special. I was introduced to our lead animator Gregory through a mutual friend and we just connected. We made the first scene draft, which was completely different from what you see in “The TRIP” right now. As we finished the single animation of vibrant colors and mystical settings and the lead protagonist, I said to him, “I’m going to write a script.” I began to type a movie script essentially for each scene. The idea of “The TRIP,” to me, was much bigger than the animation. I wanted to take people on a journey. I wanted to evoke emotion through imagery and sound — and, more importantly, I wanted to tell a story.
Every person in the world has their own vision and adventure in life, that got them to where they are today. Taking everyone through an animation that was emotional, frightening, happy, adventurous and more, I was able to tap [into] the emotions of people — creating an echo in their minds. By doing so, we were able to make each scene the same, but different at the same time. When a person looks at, let’s say, scene two — they may feel one thing, and to another it may mean another. The project was designed to create a different emotion for each person watching it.
It was a very long creative process — with a lot of changes — because each scene had to be transitioned into the next, creating the entire storyline. The final creative breakthrough happened when we changed scene 10 to the main character you see across our PFP collection. I wanted to show the character’s journey in life. By changing the ending to having the character fall through the grass, we left it super open-ended. We did this because when the character falls through the grass, the real journey begins.
By changing the ending of the animation to show the character go through a change into the PFP mascot, we were then able to create a collection of generative art PFPs with over 200 unique traits. I was seeing a lot of derivative collections on other platforms and I wanted to create something unique and original, but also tie it to our main character from the animation. The PFP plays a big part in the animation because, when the character falls through the grass into a new world, the top 29 rare one-of-ones will be introduced into the storylines we have planned for everyone.
I wanted to tell a story, but I wanted to do it in a way that has never been done. By creating a fractionalized animation that’s also gamified, we were able to bring a unique project to market, create something new for the holders and most importantly — again — tell a story. You notice a big change in style between the animation and the PFP. One is a super Pixar-style animation and one is a raw 2D feel. I did this because I wanted to really tell the story of how the character came to life through a journey while creating this “collectors’ art.”
My first NFTs I had ever bought were “Art Blocks Curated,” so I wanted to cater to the community of people who buy NFTs for the art — while at the same time keeping that authentic feel to the PFP that everyone loves and introducing a “cute” character that we could turn into a branded flagship mascot, similar to how you see in “Super Mario” or “Sonic the Hedgehog.” I wanted to bring this playful character to life, because it would resonate more with the community — and [the] content could be playful and experimental in story development.
Originally, I had every intention to create the PFPs using blender to make them 3D, but I decided I wanted to keep it authentic to show people how diverse our team is. We can come with that Pixar-style animation or we can hit that nostalgic feel with the cute, playful PFP. “The TRIP” was designed for every type of NFT trader. It’s diversified down to its core. You rarely see this with projects — but in order to really tell an origin story and tie it back over to a PFP collection, it had to be created strategically so [that] every single type of person in the community will be happy. By using the two styles, we were able to cater to everyone — while simultaneously leaving the door open for multiple style secondary and tertiary projects, that can be both fully-animated or cute and playful.
If you could change anything about the NFT industry, what would it be?
MacPherson: We believe that there is a lot of fake hype [out] there, [and] projects who promise the world but do not deliver. It can be a very scary world and one of the reasons we were drawn to [the] Crypto.com NFT platform. With the support of the whole team, we have been able to [ingrain] ourselves [in] the community. With NFTs and crypto being the Wild West, we think it is really important to have a Web2 side of the business — to show [our] holders that there is going to be sustainability, even in a bad market. The minds of others will never be able to be changed, but we are hoping we can show the creators that there are safer and better paths to take to really build a business behind [their] creations.
Who are some of your favorite NFT artists or projects in the community?
Resnick: We have no favorites. We love and value every creator’s vision. Since the beginning, our storyline for content has been picking up each other’s projects on the way.
How did the James Davison sponsorship come about?
Resnick: Like any real brand, real life activities ultimately drive consumer confidence in the project. We see a lot of creators across many platforms continue doing the traditional billboards, and really wanted to do something to wow the community and show them the brand equity behind the project. We did the car sponsorship pre-launch to really push the narrative of how much potential the real world activations can get. James and [I] live in the same building in Miami, and became friends through interactions at the apartment complex. When James had mentioned he had an upcoming race, it was a no-brainer for us to bring to the community.
What are some new ways you’d like to leverage NFTs in the future? How would you like to see “The TRIP” community evolve?
Resnick: The main thing for us as a team is to inspire the next leg of creators. We hope to leverage our project so other members of the community can get inspired to create their own, to tell their trip. We hope to see our community evolve into one of the strongest on the platform by spreading nothing but love and positivity.
Do you have any tips for others hoping to enter the space?
Resnick: If you have a vision, go out and do it. Life is too short to not chase your goals and do a passion project. The main tip [I have for] someone who is looking to enter the space is to completely trust their vision, block out negativity and focus on the storytelling.
Browse DeFiance Labs’ “The TRIP: Genesis” collection.
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Editor’s Note (Oct. 10, 2022): an earlier version of this article was originally published on May 4, 2022 and has since been edited and/or updated.
