Guardian of the Week — Edition #7 — Meet ‘StepFam’
Welcome to Edition #7 of the ‘Guardian Of The Week’ series!
Every week, a special member of the community will be chosen by the team to be featured in the latest edition.
This is our way of acknowledging and celebrating all the contributions, love and hard work you have all given to this family.
We appreciate every single person who has contributed, and we hope this series gives everyone an insight into the people that make this community what it is!
A year ago, today, a user named “StepFam” stepped foot into the Guild of Guardian’s discord, unaware of the adventure he was about to embark on.
Fast forward to today, StepFam finds himself named this week’s Guardian of the Week.
Serving as a Guild of Guardians Ambassador, Senior Moderator and Twitter Space host, StepFam’s apprehensive beginnings have evolved into the confident, visionary, and knowledgeable community leader he is today.
StepFam’s conviction and enthusiasm within the Guild of Guardians community are unmatched, spreading positivity and a forward-thinking outlook every day. Participate in one of StepFam’s weekly GoG Twitter Spaces and you’ll find yourself inspired and motivated to create.
Scroll through his Twitter feed and you’ll be smiling at one of his creative memes. Or just chill out in Discord and you’ll find yourself building a genuine friendship with a compassionate human being, that is Stepfam.
Through his passion for gaming and learning, StepFam’s journey epitomizes the growth we can all achieve through active participation in the Guild of Guardians community and larger web3 space.
To learn about his journey, motivation and contributions to the Guild of Guardians community, we asked StepFam a few questions. Here’s what he had to say.
March 4th marks the one-year anniversary of you joining the Guild of Guardians community. Looking back, how have you grown personally?
Yeah, it’s crazy how far we’ve gotten really. And to say that I was there when the Discord was still getting off the ground and the community was just starting to solidify. March 3rd, GoG went public and 24 hours later StepFam appeared, still, brand new to the space in general. I’ve personally grown in what my vision is and in my desire to explore and get involved with all the projects that are being built. Both the GoG Community and Web3 space taught me all sorts of lessons. And you HAVE to make mistakes if you want to make it because that makes you move a little differently and safer within the space. It made me into a more driven person to actually build something with like-minded and brilliant minds. I still have that first day feeling of when I first discovered the space. I say, “I wonder what I will learn and see today”. I’ve grown to be more in tune with my vision and create my metaverse with all sorts of different projects and the GoG Community.
Reflecting on your past year’s involvement in Guild of Guardians, what is one memory that stands out the most and why?
I would say the POAP GOG Founder Badge event. That felt like the longest event ever. I was still new to everything so when I heard about the event, I was like cool, this should be easy. Then GoG proceeded to break the bot and everything else. Haha! That word “Guardian” was everywhere but in the DM of the one who you actually had to send it to. It was crazy. Less than 28k holders but I swear that I thought we had already hit 100k in the discord that moment. That event taught me about all sorts of people walking among the space, just like in real life. But it was a very good moderator experience because it was a good way to onboard new people and something moderators should be doing to help the community grow. POAP was my top event for 2021. Looking forward to my top 2022.
What role do the friendships you’ve made through Guild of Guardians play in helping you navigate your way through the emotional rollercoaster that is the Blockchain space?
It’s hard for me to stay upset over something I don’t have control over. I learned that quickly when I first joined the space. The friendships I’ve made help make sure I don’t get trapped in that emotional rollercoaster myself. Now I’m excited for both the good and the bad news because I just sit back and watch events play out like a movie. But like always, the GoG team comes through to remind us that GoG is a long-term play and holders get rewarded. We’re all in the same boat waiting, so why not live it up and have a good time with each other until then. The blockchain space is so much fun when you make friends and connections. Especially on Twitter. I met really innovative minds whose projects could easily be adapted to GoG.
Between family and personal life, how do you find the motivation and balance to participate in the 24-hour world of NFT gaming?
I love living. The saying, “Do something that you love…” has subconsciously become a part of me when I came into the space. Just the opportunity to be able to meet people via Web 3, find some really cool projects and get valuable insights from professionals keeps me going. I’ll be working my way into a Web 3 career and I will pay off my house in the upcoming years with the help of the space and those in it. Having a strong desire motivates me to keep going because I know that if I was to stop, I would regret it and I beat myself hard when I know that I stopped three feet away from gold. I do have a supporting wife that understands me and my desire to create something. She’s seen me throw myself into everything I can and that drives her crazy. Once I get involved in a project or idea, I drop it and move on to the next and then come back and pick it up again to keep creating the bigger picture. She doesn’t get it, but It’ll make sense in a few years or so.
What is your long-term goal in the NFT gaming space and what are you personally doing to achieve it?
To make it my source of income and help build and sustain an NFT Gaming Ecosystem. I’ve been a gamer all my life and there are A LOT of games I wish I could be able to play and lose myself for hours and days at a time in, but I have a family. I can’t just sit and play traditional games anymore when I’m broke. What example will that set for my kids? My wife doesn’t deserve a husband like that. I will personally be acquiring and looking for hidden projects to help me do just that. GoG has opened my eyes to the possibility for me to sit and enjoy playing video games knowing that the time I’m spending in it will be rewarded in the years to come. There are projects in the making that will change how we play and interact with gaming and I know that it’s for the next generation of gamers. Having four kids, three of which play video games, I need to make sure I get ahead of the curve so that when they are exposed to it, they already have an expert in the subject who can direct them in the right way.
What are some of your personal hobbies and interests?
I go hiking on the weekends with my buddy on the mountain trails around us. Good cardio and leg workouts never hurt anyone. And if you want to make it out of those GoG Dungeons, you don’t skip leg days. I’ve really grown an interest in art and design and I am looking to finally create my “StepFam Signature” soon with my own hands. Right now, I’m just taking in what these next couple of months or years have in store for me before finally creating one. I also love reading new information about the space and other blockchain projects. It’s hard for me to not be in space. We are all going there. It’s inevitable. I’m lucky to be able to have the best of both worlds, literally, before they become one.
What is your favourite Justin Bieber song and why?
Bruh, I really enjoy his song “Holy”. I have Justin Bieber’s latest album on rotation now while writing this. It’s really a banger. But half of the time, I’m listening to the instrumentals more than the actual vocals with Bieber’s voice adding that touch to it. “Holy” because that’s one of his latest hits and I pretty much grew up listening to his songs since he came out in 2009. Trust me that Bieber Fever is no joke, I’m not ashamed to admit it. But he’s come a long way with his music. Looking forward to the day he joins the community. Maybe we can set up a blockchain celebrity eSports team in the future and recruit him. I’m sure Nick and the community would go full Degen x 10, and we already know what happens when the community goes full Degen, S/O WT. Dab
How can people get in touch with you?
You can find me on Twitter at @StepFamGang and my Discord name is StepFam#0001.
We hope you enjoyed our seventh edition of ‘Guardian of the Week’. Each week, we’ll introduce a new community member, to acknowledge and celebrate their valuable contributions and achievements.
Guardian of the Week is a community-run initiative written and managed by Axiemaid from The GoG Academy. You can follow Axiemaid on Twitter here.
Until next time, Guardians.