YGG Play Summit: Meet the Stars of Metaverse Filipino Worker

At the YGG Play Summit, Metaverse Filipino Worker writer and director Leah Callon-Butler was joined by stars Disi, JB, and Spraky to share their biggest learnings from the last crypto cycle.

For decades, millions of Filipino breadwinners have had to make the heartbreaking decision to leave their families behind to seek decent job opportunities abroad as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). With Web3, Filipinos have uncovered new ways to provide for their families from the comfort of their own homes. This alternative career path was the focus of Metaverse Filipino Worker, a miniseries that saw its red-carpet premiere during the YGG Play Summit.

Written and directed by “Play-to-Earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippines” creator and Emfarsis Director Leah Callon-Butler, the series also served as a broader update on the lives of some of those who got in during the earliest days of the Axie Infinity craze in late 2020. At the Summit, Leah spoke with three of these OGs — YGG Pilipinas Community Manager Spraky, YGG Esports Captain Disi, and NFT X-Street founder JB — about what it means to them to be Metaverse Filipino Workers and their advice for those looking to follow in their footsteps.

Below is an excerpt from their conversation, where JB, Disi, and Spraky share how they found strength in their respective communities to power through the bear market. Watch the full recording on YouTube.

YGG Play Summit: Introducing Our Metaverse Filipino Workers

Leah (5:20:16): I want to hear from you guys. What did you experience? Let's start with you, JB. What are some of the things that you learned or experienced over the last crypto cycle, and where do you think we're at today?

JB (5:20:30): There's actually two to three years of this crypto journey. We started in 2020, playing Axie, and I think that was my first bull run. So this is my first cycle, actually. So bull run, bear, and then going to bull.

Leah (5:20:53): Probably first cycle for all of you, right?

JB (5:20:57): In terms of community, we experienced a lot of struggling. There was a point that our community was really dying. I mean, after Axie, there was no daily income. But we did try to give opportunities to our community, like beta testing and pilot testing other Web3 projects. It wasn’t sustainable for the community, and I think we struggled for more than a year. But sooner or later, we found our niche game and grew our community.

From there, we learned a lot from being a strong community and giving them opportunities and upskilling them, so in times when there's no profit in gaming, they can upskill, and they can use their skills in other forms of profitable activities in Web3, like being an admin in Discord, a community mod, and a virtual assistant for other projects. So that is what I learned in this industry, that you don't stick your eggs in one basket. You need to diversify.

Leah (5:22:29): It’s interesting what you say there, because I think that the term play-to-earn really took on a different meaning because the terminology was heavily scrutinized when people were just grinding in-game for tokens. But later, people saw that they could actually play games, learn skills, become part of a community that had quite high demand for people who understood this space. Then people were able to find these earning opportunities that actually looked more like real jobs, but really fun jobs, in a community that you actually want to be part of. Disi, what was it like for you over the past few years?

Disi (5:23:07): I think what I could share to everyone is what happened with us, at least in the esports scene. The esports scene was a very tough space even before, and we were fortunate enough that we started in the esports scene in the bull market. The challenge for us was when the bear market hit, because honestly, you wouldn't see much players competing anymore. Most players before were looking forward to how much they could earn from competing and stuff, not just for the esports scene.

What I've learned in the past few years was how to actually find opportunities in the space, as JB has said. One thing that I also learned in the past few years is creating opportunities for yourself. And by that, I mean figuring out what particular skills might be needed in a certain space or community that you can be a part of. I think the community members that we have right now, these people here, can actually try to figure out for themselves what they can also do in the space and create their own story, as we did.

Leah (5:24:37): How about you, Spraky? You already touched on this, but I'm interested to know what made you stick around. Because in the series, you say in your episode that as soon as you discovered Axie Infinity, you were like, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” But your enthusiasm for the game and for the industry was really tested throughout the bear market. So what allowed you to keep that vision and stay on the path to be where you are today?

Spraky (5:25:04): It's really about the people in the community. I love hanging out with the boys. I have JB and Disi here as well. I just want to go back to your question. What I learned during this cycle is how to be humble, because during the peak of the Axie days, money was really flowing out there in the crypto space. And then the bear market happens. As I said, we got, like, 5,000 scholars and all of our assets are down in value and all. So the lesson there is, it's not always rainbows and butterflies, right?

There will come a time that you are in your peak condition, in whatever thing you do, might be esports, might be in terms of financial or emotional, and whatever thing you do. Just remember, everything is a cycle. And if you have wins, don't forget to be humble and remember the people that stayed with you during these hard times.

You can watch the full recording on YouTube.

Follow Spraky, Disi, and JB for a closer look into the life of a Metaverse Filipino Worker.

Follow Leah for high-level insights into the growth of the global Web3 community.

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