Tell us a little about yourself.
Network Engineer by trade. Been working in information technology for about 25 years.
I live in the suburbs of Chicago with my family, 3 kids, 2 girls, and 1 boy.
How did you get into web3? What was your web3 “aha” moment?
It started back when I was learning about crypto mining.
I was trying to build a gaming rig for my kids and couldn’t get a graphics card as they were all sold out. Then I started digging around Google to learn about Ethereum and smart contracts. It was very confusing at first—until I discovered Decentraland.
Decentraland was an interesting way to learn about how smart contracts work and how they incorporate them into gaming. This was the aha moment where I could actually see the idea behind an NFT and how it works on the blockchain. Things started making sense and I wanted to be a part of it.
How did you find out about Decentral Games, how long have you been involved in the community, and what kept you coming back?
I’ve been involved in the Decentral Games community since the doors opened, or within a few weeks of.
I started with playing some crypto roulette and blackjack. I met people early on like Saus, Murphjestic, 100Rainbows, etc while playing various events.
Onboarding to Decentral Games and moving money to Polygon was a very scary concept. Gas fees were so high and any mistake could cost $50-100 in gas. I spent a few hours just feeling things out for free, then worked with the team to walk me through how to bridge my funds.
I remember making a mistake at some point and thinking I lost all my money. Someone from the DG team took the time to hold my hand a bit and help me find it. This greatly increased my trust level in the community. I was impressed at how important it was to Decentral Games that my questions were answered and I felt comfortable.
What really won me over was pre-alpha testing ICE Poker. Being involved in testing, providing real-time feedback, and talking directly to the developers and major stakeholders was such a treat. Getting $DG prizes was the icing on the cake.
The final ah-ha moment was when ICE Poker was finally launched. Seeing the results of our testing and how they took it to the next level made sense that these guys were up to something great.
What’s your favorite ICE Poker wearable collection?
My favorite collection is the Joker set, but my favorite wearable HAS to be the WAGMI Baus sweater.
What’s the biggest challenge in web3 right now?
It’s scary! Trust, clarity, and ease of onboarding are the biggest items.
- Trust: You have to trust who you’re dealing with, and even then the person you trust may be compromised. It makes it hard to trust any website really. Crypto is supposed to be zero-knowledge trust but you do need to know who you’re dealing with and if they are possibly compromised.
- Clarity: We have to constantly sign transactions that are far from clear as to what they are asking. Long strings of numbers, letters, and cryptic terms make it impossible to know 100% if you’re signing a legit transaction.
- Ease of onboarding: This really falls into the other two categories. I cannot be onboarded to crypto/web3 website unless I trust the site, which still may not be legit. I cannot gain trust without clear transaction information. Everything needs to be much simpler to understand and read.
Who are some of the people in web3 who have inspired you?
Murphjestic really ramped me up fast when learning to develop and collaborate with others. He helped connect me with PopRoXxX to create my first wearable NFTs and Hiroto’s tutorials helped me understand how to actually make them.
Saus, Baus and Hiroto Kai: Each of them have demonstrated various skills and commitment in the face of the bear market.
Saus shows creativity, Baus shows leadership, and Hiroto demonstrated to me the helpful nature of this community. I reached out many times about struggling with Blender and he would always provide good feedback and direction.
Are you working on any projects in web3?
Not at the moment.
I have lots of ideas bouncing around in my head that I hope to see and latch onto one day, but currently my “Network Engineer” hat pays a little better for me.
Where can people learn more about you and what you’re doing?
You can check out my website or follow me on Twitter: @manzier3.
