We conducted an interview with Anthony Piper, illustrator for Marvel Comics, Lionsgate, and the Peace on Marz NFT project. Followed by an interview with John Morgan CEO of Nitches.
Anthony Piper’s Questions and Answers:
1. What are you most excited about with the PeaceOnMarz project? Do you have the baseline done and the traits to create the NFT’s?
I’m a fairly high-profile artist working in the comic and animation space, who has been approached numerous times about entering the NFT space. I’ve declined many offers from project developers, however Nitches appealed to me simply because they were creating the infrastructure to release a multitude of projects in the NFT space, not only from a creative standpoint, but also with the intent to transform the industry.
The “Peace on Marz” project was exciting not only because I would have the opportunity to work with the company, but also because I knew John “BadAssVegan” Lewis prior to working with him. Not personally, but I knew of him from some years ago when I got serious about being proactive about my health, and he was someone promoting his journey into a holistic lifestyle on YouTube. It’s the equivalent of being inspired by a particular artist or athlete during your youth, and 10 years later, having the opportunity to work with them. I wanted to help bring his message and ideas to a whole new audience, which is what we’re doing with this project.
In regard to the traits and assets for the NFTs, we do have a good portion done. I can’t give an exact percentage, simply because we’re in the midst of calculating which traits we want to release for the debut (it’s a long list). Art direction is something that tends to take a bit of time when it comes to bringing the totality of project together and having it emote the feel and look, you’re going for. Ultimately, we want this project to stand out from the rest of the field. As a creator and consumer, I’ve seen many times what happens when a project is released before it should be because of anticipation. It never turns out good, and there is no going back. My job is to release the best version of this project, so we can continue building something transformational, as well as something we can be proud of.
2. A lot of people are interested in your Lionsgate deal. How is that coming along?
I can’t divulge details on that at this moment. The studios and networks usually like to coordinate and release their own statements in regard to projects they’re working on.
3. How is working with 50 cent and other celebrities?
I love being able to expand influential creatives’ presence into the world of comics & animation. While both fields are growing on the pop-culture landscape, there are still numerous people who look at those things as “kid things”. My goal has always been to broaden interest in these fields for adult consumption, and working with celebrities who have a majority adult fanbase allows me to do so.
4. Are you new to the NFT space, if so do you see a future for yourself in it?
This is my first project in the space; however, this is only the beginning of what I hope to accomplish. I’ve been developing on my own NFT project that I will hopefully collaborate with Nitches on. My goal is to completely redefine the space and utilize everything I’ve done in regard to working in comics, animation & hip-hop, as well as street fashion. I’m very excited to get to work on it soon.
5. What makes your Peace on Marz project more unique than other projects? What makes you think this project will be a success?
My approach to this project is a bit different than most simply because we’ve created personalities for these characters before conceptualizing it as an NFT project. My job was to take John’s ideas and figure out how to best fit them within Nitches’ “Nitch” as a company. As a creative, I’m always thinking of every aspect of a project and how to pull it together: from concept, story, character design, marketing, merchandise, messaging, etc. I have a feeling most NFT projects only started off thinking about 1-3 of those concepts when first debuting; with everything else being an afterthought based on its popularity. Hopefully our conscientiousness to conceive all those aspects of the project before manifesting and debuting it will translate into it being a successful one, which we’ll be able to see soon.
John Morgan’s questions and answers
1. Are you excited to help launch the Peace on Marz project?
Man, I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am. It’s a great project led by two of my favorite Marz Variants (John Lewis and Anthony Piper). They are both incredibly Genuine and hilarious people. It’s been one of my great life pleasures to have been able to get to know the two of them and their personalities as well as their hearts for leading change in their local communities as well as this space as a whole.
2. How does it feel to be an innovator in the NFT space?
Surreal? I don’t know if that’s the right word but, a lot of my life has been defined by being the guy who always says “yes, I can do that” even though there are times when I have no idea HOW I’m going to do it, I know I can put the team together that can do it. One thing that’s helped me be successful in my professional and personal life is that I ALWAYS surround myself with people who are better than me. I’m not the best programmer, but I know the best. I’m not the best influencer but, I know some of the best. I’m not the best artist but, I know the best. Surrounding myself with people who are better than myself has allowed me to be an innovator and an agent of change through my team building skills.
3. How does it feel to work with someone that involves a name like Miles Davis, do you see Nitches working with other celebrities down the road?
Again, surreal, VooDo is one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met. He is the definition of cool and is really doing and incredible job of keeping the tradition of Miles Davis going (who was known for the “Birth of Cool”). It sometimes doesn’t feel real when I’m having high level conversations with people who WANT to work with us.
4. Do you think being involved in NFT’s will help the company evolve over time?
Let’s face it, in an economy that seems to be struggling as much as ours (as evidenced by the market) I believe that evolution and change is necessary for ANY company to survive. The Company will continue to evolve and grow In different and MEANINGFUL ways over the course of the next few months that I hope will help us to see meaningful growth and revenues in the near term.
5. What are some of the next steps you plan on taking in the NFT space and metaverse?
Call me an enabler but, Anthony has several ideas for the NFT space as well as other ideas and projects that he wants to work on through Nitches. I want to enable him to be creative. We don’t want to put the proverbial cart before the horse but, we want to be involved in enabling his creativity for as long as he will allow us to. Our next steps are assisting Anthony with getting the peace on Marz PFPs ready and for us to begin minting. Don’t hold me to it but I believe within the next few weeks we should be ready to begin minting. We may hold off for a specific date to start the minting process if there is a special day coming up that we believe will help the launch. Or it could just be a random Tuesday morning. We haven’t nailed down a specific date but, I believe we are only a few weeks away from the actual minting launch.
We would like to thank Anthony and John for taking the time to do the interview.
Websites: Nitches Corp Peace On Marz | Premium Universitile Apparel