Everything to Know About Sneaks of Nature, Artist Jeff Cole's Upcoming NFT Project

Sneaks of Nature is the first franchise developed around sneaker culture. The story is based on 23 characters inspired by sneakers and pop culture.

The franchise is launching as an interactive story experience with 3,333 NFTs that allow holders to engage with the story, unlock future utility, and own upside in the franchise.

The project mints on August 31.

Jeff Cole is creator of Sneaks Of Nature. He is a renowned digital artist and Co-Founder of IKONICK. His art focuses primarily on pop culture and nostalgia. Jeff made a major shift in sneaker culture back in 2014 when he found an opening in creating unique sneaker art that has attracted the attention of the biggest brands in the world.

IKONICK was co-founded by Jeff Cole and Mark Mastrandrea in 2016. Since then, the company has grown into one of the largest canvas art brands in the world, ultimately garnering an investment from Gary Vaynerchuk in 2019. To date, the company has obtained licenses from notable brands such as the NBA, Monopoly, Peanuts, Muhammad Ali, Upper Deck (Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Lebron James) and many others.

Sneaks Of Nature is a sci-fi drama set in the present day. It's a coming-of-age story of a sneaker-obsessed father and son. An unexplained dream connected to his father's disappearance leads him to discover a mysterious shoebox of childhood “Origin Journals” called “Sneaks Of Nature”. 

You can watch a teaser here:

Most of the story stems from 2 sources of inspiration: 

1.Jeff’s real past and his relationship with his dad, and his journey as an artist. Jeff’s themes inside the origin journals also come through in the fictional story.

2. Steven Spielberg's childhood, which represents most of the character development and themes.

The "Origin Journals'' are the key and foundation to the story. These are the son's childhood drawings done by him and his father. The father left them for the son to discover when he turned 33 years old. These journals are guiding him to solve his dad's disappearance, like a treasure hunt. His mission is being challenged by his dad's old employer, the G.C.A. The GCA is the company the father worked at.

To the public, GCA is a private data corporation. Simply put, they are the leader in data collection for the population. The father was recruited to work on a top secret program at the GCA that pushed the boundaries of analytic engineering. 

Sneaks Of Nature will launch as a 3,333 2D animated NFTs. All the NFT’s are based around the 23 characters inspired by the most iconic sneakers in the world. 

The 6 Forms

(#1 is most common, #6 is most rare. Each Sneak is “Amorphic”, meaning it can change appearances )

1. Sneak: (Sneaks Primary Host) Characters humans use to communicate with (emojis)
2. Cone:  (Sneaks Camouflage) inspired by Jeff’s iconic sneaker cones  
3. Grails: (Rare Sneaks inspired by sneaker terminology) Including a failed “Friends & Family” Form, and an approved “Sample” form. 
4. Box: (Sneaks Shell): We’re not quite sure what’s in the box.
5. Black Matter: (The Sneaks battle rival) Aggressive mysterious version of the Sneaks. 
6. Origins: (The childhood drawings) 23 units of the Rarest NFTs.

The 6 States

(States represent the Sneaks emotion and animation style.  Each Sneaks state is inspired by sneaker terminology. )

1. Toddle (Toddler size sneaker) Personality is tired and sleepy
2. Used (Used sneaker) Personality is happy and energetic
3. Beater ( beat-up sneakers you always wear ) Personality is defensive and scared
4. Heater ( A sneaker that is rare and cool ) - Personality is aggressive and angry 
5. Charging - Focused and hypnotized
6. Dancing (cones don’t dance) - Carefree & expressive

1. Name: (Nickname inspired by Sneaks pop culture identity)
2. Status: (Captured or Free)
3. Form: (6 amorphic physical stages)
4. State: (6 emotional personalities)
5. Box: (Specific captured or free background inspired by sneaker culture)

Every Sneak NFT comes inside a captured or free box. 

• The captured Sneaks are inside containment chambers, where they are being tested on.
• The free Sneaks come inside sneaker boxes, where they are safe. 

The Sneaks mission is to find their "final form." This will play out as the franchise develops.

Jeff’s mission is to find out how the Sneaks drawings are connected to his dad's disappearance. On the back of each drawing there are clues written by his Dad. The clues are also the titles of the origin journals, which are untold stories written by Jeff about his life lessons as an entrepreneur and creative. 

Sneaks, while powered by IKONICK, is a franchise dreamed up and ultimately created by Jeff Cole.

"IKONICK is in a position to support the development of Sneaks, but the franchise will grow well beyond the confines of what we’re building at IKONICK," said co-founder Mark Mastrandrea.

These characters will be household names. Seen throughout food, toys, apparel, events, television and one day the big screen. The grand vision is to provide our holders with legitimate ownership and equity upside in the franchise.

To stay updated on the upcoming project, stay tuned for Sneaks of Nature's Twitter Spaces with ONE37pm and follow the project on Twitter and Discord.