The Digital Dead: Introduction to the Deadfellaz NFT Community

While you might reasonably expect to see lots of terrifying creatures floating around the internet around Halloween (and US election season) — the Deadfellaz have popularized the zombie themed caricature, so much so that we are graced with their presence on our social media feed year-round.

These creatures come from a power couple in wedlock seeking to spook the internet with their menacing looking digital creations. Betty and Psych, the two founders of the project, used their creative ingenuity in synchrony with one another to create a world renowned digital brand in mid September of 2021, selling out their first Deadfellaz collection within 20 minutes of launch, and another $9mm in volume over the next 30 days.

The Queen, Betty (Deadfellaz Founder)

Betty is mainly responsible for brand/community development, and all things marketing and engagement: the face of the brand. In fact, the NFT community was lucky enough to see her in person at NFT NYC this week. For those not fortunate enough to be there live, the ultra-supportive and close-knit Horde (nickname for their passionate community), have blessed Twitter’s feed with selfies of them and the Horde Mother. She has no shortage of fans — and for good reason. In fact, she even had a mural in Brooklyn of herself that people rushed to see in person and capture themselves in front of. Her experience as Director of a creative production agency in Australia has undoubtedly given her the expertise requisite for the level of marketing and brand development necessary for reaching such a dedicated and diverse audience.

Psych

The man who has the most badass looking Deadfella the internet has to offer, is the tech guru who’s programming and design expertise this project stands on. His artistic and creative mind has built and created these little mutants and all their little intricacies — focusing on the quality of craftsmanship as the project’s staple, often one of the first reasons collectors and celebrities are so heavily invested. It takes a beautiful mind to create art with such a widespread appeal. We are fortunate enough to live in a digital world where we have a platform to collect and appreciate such creativity.

The Art: Unique PFPs Created by Betty

As I alluded to, the art, as one long-time holder and community moderator said, is so unique compared to the other collections in its illustration style and color scheme — one of the things that stands out most to people upon first impression and sticks with them throughout. Their different attributes, facial features/expressions, hair styles, and head appearance are all too reminiscent of ‘man buried alive’ in his everyday outfit — albeit outfits from all sorts of real life “characters”.

These mutant creatures appear in a traditional profile picture (PFP) style in which each piece’s gaze beams through the left side of the screen. The head is turned to the zombie’s right — barely shadowing the right ear and highlighting the left cheek. The outfit, often a focal point of the picture, is shown from just above the nipple-line. With over fifty different outfits and 69 different facial variations (how ironic), there is no shortage of creatively pieced together mutants that each have one feature or another that makes them so highly sought after.

The original Deadfellaz collection did so well that Betty and Psych decided to give the world even more chances to appreciate and own their art. And we are very thankful for that. First, they released the Deadfellaz Infected S1, which was 169 (lol) unique (as the name suggests) Infected Deadfellaz, created in collaboration with 13 different artists and collections, Cool Cats among the lucky group. While they don’t appear to be ill or (majorly) deformed, they are a great little brother to the original collection and gave many collectors that missed out early to be a part of the community.

In tribute to the project’s empowering and influential leader, right around Halloween of 2021 we were blessed with 225 generative pieces that feature Betty depicted as various horror characters, from Satan to Frankenstein. To date, this volume has done almost 300 eth worth of volume, and have proven to be a nice compliment to the rest of the collection giving it a more humane — yet still goosebump giving — balance.

To conclude the new releases (for now) Betty and Psych gave the Deadfellaz some little friends, Deadfrenz. In fact, in giving back to their community and rewarding their early supporters, Deadfellaz holders were given first priority — a free mint. Released right before Valentine’s day, these fellaz were freed to the world in comic style form as Betty and Psych discovered them in the depths of a testing laboratory on their latest date, which doubled as a raid: a true love story. Giving even more opportunities for collectors to join the collection, the founders offered a thousand different variations of thirteen different species — each one just as creative and unique as the next, and their ‘fellas. Each of these little creatures gave exclusive access to future merchandise offerings. holiday events in the metaverse, and some collectible items.

In short, there is no shortage of the world class art these two have created that ‘unites’ such a diverse set of collectors — largely why the community is so strong.

The Community: Blue-Chip NFT Community with Strong Bonds

It comes as no surprise that with a collection of art this unique and iconic comes a tight knit community of supporters. The discord is more than active, with conversations and “gm”s happening all throughout the day — reflecting the community’s dedication to making one another feel heard, and the global reach of collectors.

Not only is the community far reaching, but there are a couple celebrity status collectors that have bought it and put their endorsement behind the work. A personal idol of mine for his football acumen, Odell Beckham Jr., was an early supporter — purchasing in late December ’21 year a fella that is aptly fitting for him: gold chain, top hat, purple fur coat, and a “13” tattoo on the neck. Feels almost like a version made as a direct resemblance. He is known to tout the art as well, featuring it as all of his social media profiles: Twitter, Instagram, and even LinkedIn.

Some other celebrity holders like Steve Aoki feel so passionately about the project that they want to give back to the community and use their talents to give some utility to holders. Halloween 2021 Mr. Aoki performed an exclusive set for the collectors, featuring some of his greatest hits — a show for the ages. There was even a commemorative poster holders could “take home” following the event, a souvenir of sorts. Lil Baby, a popular rapper and one of my personal favorites is also a collector — fingers crossed he will do a show like Steve Aoki.

Oftentimes the project is considered in the same conversation with blue chip collections like Bored Ape and Cryptopunks, and there is significant overlap between holders of some huge name projects and the Deadfellaz. One study found that 48% of the total Deadfellaz supply was held by individuals that are a part of other blue chip collections: namely BAYC, MAYC, Cool Cats, Doodles, and World of Women. This very clearly signifies and cements Deadfellaz as one of the premier collections out there — one that is very highly sought after. So highly sought after, that people hodl, and hodl for a significant amount of time. That same study found that as of May 16, 2022 more than 90% of the supplies had been held during the recent bear market, and 82% have been held for more than three months — showing to the community and market that this community has no reservations for parting ways with their Deadfellaz anytime soon.

Conclusion

It’s hard to put many final words on a collection that does much of the speaking for itself. Betty and Psych, you two have created something so unique and fulfilling that I can’t congratulate you enough for all the hard work and dedication you’ve put into making sure the believers in your art feel welcome and at home amongst each other. You’ve fostered such a strong sense of community and pride that comes with hodling, and I really think that’s the biggest accomplishment attainable.

‍