Slow down is the way.
Sloooths: How NFT Art Can Help Mental Health
"All our members are part of our community. We looked to work with people that wanted to create something different and lead a change in this space. We were looking for people who care about mental health and want to be part of a more authentic and healthier community." That's how Ramon Sanchez, better known as @pequelord, built up his team. Ramon is an NFT and 3D artist, product designer, and illustrator with more than 20 years of experience. He's the founder of The Michis, the craziest cats living on Web3, and Sloooths, a collection of 3,500 super cute NFTs focused on helping people with mental health.
By now, he has a team with six members who work on Security and Discord, Community Management, Motion Graphics, 3D and Voxel Design, and three more fantastic Meditation Coaches and Copywriters to produce all the mental health content and meditation sessions for their app.
We sat down with Ramon to get all the details on how together with the creative minds behind the Sloooths project, he's trying to help create a healthier community and give more visibility to the mental health topic.
Let's talk about mental health
Mental Health is a topic that everyone on the NFT Space is always looking to discuss and offer support for. "It is also something that artists (speaking from my point of view) have to deal with every day due to the anxiety produced by being constantly connected and participating in the space and the number of hours of work to meet the expectations of collectors."
Many forget that there are people behind the projects, sometimes a team, sometimes just one person, like Ramon. So after a few difficult situations, he decided to care more for himself.
I was reading an AMAZING book about how to slow down, prioritize, and focus on the right things, and I decided to start working on the Sloooths.
This collection wants to help artists and anyone in this space deal with their mental health and understand that they are not alone. Sloooths are here to help us deal with all this and more, bringing experts to talk about this topic, making it visible to everyone, and using their app and tools to manage stress and create a healthier community.
We want you to understand that it is ok if you need to take a few days to rest, if you need to talk with someone about this topic or if you want to be part of a more friendly and out-of-FOMO community.
Accessibility is everything
Holding a Sloooth will allow you to use it as a membership pass to enjoy the future benefits of their fam.
90% of the effort will be focused on giving back to the community, working with partners to create tools to improve our mental health and making these tools more accessible.
That first tool will be the Meditation App. The idea is to have a place where you can find articles, meditation sessions, music, and more to bring a healthier routine into your life.
Bonus: You can now visit their website and try their first three meditations, as their idea is to show the community their commitment to this project. Go and meet Lydia and Brandy and enjoy the meditation experience!
Join the sanctuary
The Slooths own nine lands in the Sandbox Metaverse. Their idea is to create a space where all the Sloooths community members will have the chance to interact, play some of their games, learn more about the rain forests and how those ecosystems work, meditate, and more.
The team showed their community the Sloooths tokens they will receive as part of their roadmap. "We can wait to see our Sloooths Sanctuary full of friends having some fun with us." -said Ramon.
But that's just the beginning...
Sloooths are more than an NFT Token; they're a membership project. Their idea is to have the chance to move from digital to "in real life" (IRL) experiences and create a safe environment for everyone in their community.
The plan is:
- Inspire you to take care of yourself and understand that you need to be your priority.
- Create the necessary tools to give you the chance to find the time to relax each day and have a healthier routine.
- Connect with experts on this topic who will guide you on this fantastic journey.
- They will take care of their community. They already close their Discord every weekend to help others avoid stress and use weekends to relax.
- Also, help Sloths with donations and use their Metaverse space to educate people and show them why they have inspired the Sloooths.
Generating thousands of NFTs in seconds
Bringing 3,500 sloths to the Ethereum blockchain was different for Ramon, compared to his previous experience with The Michis. Which was his first project and one of the first "non-generative" collections in the Ethereum blockchain. "At that time, we had no access to tools like Bueno to help us create or generate the tokens… so… it was me drawing 40 Michis every week and minting them 1 by 1 at Opensea before the minting day."
Talking about the Sloooths was an evolution for him, and talking about digital tools too.
It was just great to have the chance to upload a few traits into Bueno and just click a button to see thousands of Sloooths in seconds.
"We were there from day one as we love what Pablo has been doing for the community and their projects. We tested the tool to create some examples for our collection. We love how intuitive and easy-to-use the interface is."
As Ramon says based on his experience, artists need to learn and understand how to integrate all this new technology into their workflows to be more proactive and invest their time more efficiently.
Using the Bueno Contract: Sloooths was one of the 5th first projects chosen to test the new Bueno Smart contracts, and as he recalls, it was a great experience. "We are sure people will love to have the chance to mint this project as we are offering not just great art, but we are also partnering with amazing people like you guys."
Information is power
There's a great opportunity for people worldwide to work doing what they love the most and change their lives for the better. The problem? as Ramon says, is there will be other people trying to scam others making this a dangerous space for everyone.
That's why is key to educate yourself about all the NFT space, technology and more. This space is evolving every second, and information is power. That's why educating yourself about all the NFT space, technology, and more is vital. If you are unsure about something, ask the community (not everyone) and look for the right people. That is why he decided to start working as a WEB3 teacher in Barcelona, Spain, to ensure all the new generations are prepared to join this space and have the basic info to protect their projects and communities.
Some advice?
Have fun and try to create something future-proof. It is not about the last trend; it is not about imitating other projects but about creating something that represents you and your brand.
Look for the right people to learn, help you and help them. Don't compare yourself with others… you're unique, which is the most beautiful thing here!
Try to make something remarkable with your projects; money and visibility are consequences of doing things right and good luck! But again… remember… have fun! - Ramon S. "pequelord".
Best adventure ever
NFT space has changed already. At Bueno, we want you and more creators to bring their art to life, just like the Sloooths team did. All the technology behind the NFTs will allow us to create unique worlds for people to play, share time and learn more about this fantastic new thing. It's been an incredible experience, but this time, we'll keep Ramon's three words to describe the journey in web3 so far: Best adventure ever.