There is a rhythm to crypto life. We have to groove along to the highs and the lows. Riding in harmony is challenging, and one way to coast through is by embracing the culture. There is a whacky madness to web3, and the pace of life is unparalleled by any subculture I have experienced. That’s why it was nice to slow down a bit and savour the space with girl dad, Cool Cat mod and St. Louisan, @stubbythereum.
JL: Do you like being a Cool Cat mod?
Stubby: I do! It’s been quite challenging since we all hopped on board with the Pets launch and market collapse. But I feel a tremendous amount of honor to be tapped to do this and feel super protective of the cats/pets and Clon and the community. And I’m constantly learning something…. Whether about art, web3 tech, discord, security, or community building. I also just love just helping/advocating for artists/creators. Plenty of critics out there. I prefer to be a supporter. I do spend most of my free time in the evening keeping an eye on things, and it’s getting tougher as my daughter gets older. Plus, working a full-time job that’s been a nightmare the last year. Sorry for the long-winded answer, I blame you bc you asked.
JL: I like your long-winded answer. What kind of full-time job do you have? How old is your daughter? You should know I tend to ask many questions.
Stubby: I do forecasting and scheduling for a bank contact centre, coordinating/planning schedules for 100-150 people each day/week to ensure we can take care of customers. My daughter is 2 yrs old!
JL: You sound busy! Do you like your job?
Stubby: No, not really. The forecasting is right in my wheelhouse, but it’s sometimes frustrating. Basically held on to the job for the health benefits.
JL: What kind of job do you want?
Stubby: Honestly, I’m not sure. Something that I feel like I’m learning and growing. Would love something web3, but it’s just too risky for my fam right now.
JL: How would you describe web3 culture to someone who isn’t a crypto native?
Stubby: I don’t even know where to start there…. It’s some odd amalgamation of tech, finance, trading, and memes.
JL: How would you describe Cool cat culture to someone that is crypto native?
Stubby: Cool Cat Culture is much more niche. I think this community has a foundation of people that really love the artwork and rally around the cats. They buy into the story of Clon and the Bluecat and the possibilities that digital collectables unlock for artists and creators. This community is a bit of a mix of cartoon fans, nerds, artists, and general supporters who rally around the cats! There’s honestly nothing better than connecting with people from all different parts of the globe, different ages, backgrounds, etc., that love Cool Cats.
JL: Would you ever sell your cat?
Stubby: Only if I absolutely needed to or the right person had the right offer. I’ve listed it once ever, and it was for 2500eth.
JL: Where did the name Stubby come from?
Stubby: I bought an Xbox back in college, and I didn’t know what my ‘Gamertag’ should be… so I shouted at my roommate across the hall: “HEY! WHAT SHOULD MY XBOX NAME BE?!” And I’m not exaggerating, but before my question was done echoing across the hallway, he shouted back, decisively, with “STUBBYMCBIGBALLS!” I died. There was no prior context to that name, really. He just pulled it out of his messed-up head in 0.001 seconds. So that became my Gamertag and subsequently a nickname ever since. It’s essentially been my online name now for almost 15 years. So when I created a web3 persona, I kept the “Stubby”.
JL: Why not call yourself Mc big balls?
Stubby: CryptoBroMcBigBalls
JL: I’d date him. No, no, I wouldn’t.
Stubby: Sounds very undateable.
JL: Like on purpose. Do you consider yourself a 'crypto bro'?
Stubby: I do not identify as a crypto bro, no.
JL: How did you discover NFTs/crypto?
Stubby: I slowly grew to like the idea of BTC as a store of value and started buying little bits of it in late 2020. But my Twitter addiction led to my discovery of DOGE, and I decided to buy $50 worth bc I saw some fermenting chatter on Twitter. That turned into $500 worth in 12hrs, and it blew my mind. (I got so lucky on timing) I saw value in memes, hype, and social media trends. Then I started learning about all crypto and the tech behind it as well. Meanwhile, a friend of mine explained how he wanted to start buying these digital horses (ZedRun), and it all clicked in my head…. The application for the technology made complete sense. Why own a digital horse to race if it wasn’t on the blockchain?! Why own/buy anything digitally without the proof of ownership that the chain provides?! Then I was down the rabbit hole. Started buying TopShot moments…. Bought my first ETH with our stimulus checks in early 2021, minted my horse, and started learning more and more.
JL: How did you discover Cool Cats?
Stubby: Stumbled upon the cats via a Plungefather stream. He used to do streams for TopShot and other NFTs and give away NFTs to viewers. Clon and Elu were guests on the stream to talk about their project, and they passed the vibe check. They weren’t scammy, they were chill. They were experimenting and trying to get Clon’s fun art into the ether. I decided not to mint (there were like 4 cat projects minting, and I had little $$) Couple of days later, I was listening to a twitter space, and everyone was talking about how much they loved the cats. It was all the confirmation I needed to snag one. So I did. For like .2eth. They were at like a .6eth floor the next day. I was blown away. Spent all my eth on my pfp, been rocking it ever since.
JL: Do you ever feel FOMO?
Stubby: Oh god, yes. If I had had to capitalize. But I’m ultimately super grateful and lucky, so I don’t suffer from too much FOMO. I would rather be consumed by FOMO than be overextended and overinvested.
JL: How’s family life? What’s the biggest change you’ve noticed in yourself after becoming a dad?
Stubby: Family life is good! Stressful but good. Basically, parenthood was much like a magnifying glass weaponizing rays on my mental health. Just insane amounts of anxiety that we really struggled with. My poor wife had very poor postpartum mental health, and I wasn’t much help bc I’m the angsty mess, to begin with. We had a couple of traumatic events with our daughter, too, that was tough, but her health has been great otherwise. I do everything for my girls tho. The goal is to have a lucrative career to allow my wife to either quit teaching or have the $$ to dive in further and get her doctorate. I’m super happy tho, and grateful for this life we live.
JL: Can you cook?
Stubby: I actually have a restaurant management bachelor’s degree and have a bit of culinary background! But never dug my heels in and stuck with it. I appreciate others’ “art” in the culinary scene about as much as anything in the world.
JL: Do you play sports? Are you competitive?
Stubby: Yea, I’ve always played sports, but I was never the biggest or fastest… so, competitiveness was where I made up ground. This is why I enjoy video games so much. I can learn/grow/compete and not be tied to size/speed or whatever.
JL: How much time do you think you have spent playing video games? Over your lifetime? Ballpark?
Stubby: Oh no.
JL: Oh yes.
Stubby: Months of my life, probably. It’s such a therapeutic outlet for me. I play for maybe an hour a day. After everyone in the house is asleep and work is wrapped up, I (semi-)check out of discord. I jump into a game with some friends. We whine about our days and then escape reality a bit.
JL: Love that. That sounds healthy. I would be keen to paint your portrait, Stubby. I think it will be funny and fun… and endearing.
Stubby: I giggled at the endearing part. I would be keen to see your imagination.
JL: Do you have a beard? Or glasses? Can I know your race?
Stubby: I can count the number of hairs I can grow on my face…. No facial hair. No glasses. I’m white.
JL: What celebrity do you get told you look like? Or wish you got told you look like.
Stubby: Been told I look like Jerry Lewis when he was young.
JL: Bet your grandmother is the one that told you that.
Stubby: Nailed it. Also been told I look like Adam Devine.
JL: Do you feel confident in your appearance?
Stubby: Being a smaller-sized male just doesn’t bring about a lot of confidence. Especially when you’re competitive and constantly comparing yourself to others. But I don’t put myself down, either. Just consistently… humbled.
JL: What kind of music have you been listening to lately?
Stubby: I’m a self-proclaimed John Mayer - Maxi and love listening to him play Bluesy stuff.
JL: Isn’t St. Louis known for blues?
Stubby: It is! I used to go to a blues bar 1-2 nights a week to see a local legend named Kim Massie sing her fucking lungs out. She passed away a few years ago, the bar closed down, and it broke my heart.
JL: She’s great! I love John Mayer too. Such a great guitar player. Have you ever seen him play live? It was the first concert I ever went to. I saw him in Houston. Counting crows opened for them. It was great.
Stubby: Yessss - I’ve seen him live several times! I think 6 or 7 times, maybe? He’s basically the one artist I try to see anytime they are in town or nearby.
JL: Do you play any instruments?
Stubby: I do not.
JL: How about guitar hero?
Stubby: I was insanely good at guitar hero.
JL: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Stubby: When I was really young, I told my parents I wanted to be a pizza delivery man, but I grew to really like the weather, so I ended up wanting to be a research meteorologist. started as a meteorology major in college but felt it would be way too much school for way too little pay and pivoted.
JL: Haha, now you are a pizza researcher. Okay, I think I got it. What do you think?
Stubby: OMG. It’s Amazing.
JL: I added the ‘GM’, you know, for the culture.
