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Greg Norman Jr. And Michael Simkins Of E11EVEN - The Miami NFT Nightclub, Plus: OliveX Fitness NFT Metaverse, Minecraft Challenges NFT Gamers, And More...
There are a lot of advantages of the emerging technology of NFT and cryptocurrency. In this episode, we have Greg Norman Jr. and Michael Simkins of E11EVEN, the NFT nightclub in Miami. They share how they are leveraging cryptocurrency in their business. Using tokens as their gate pass to their exclusive captains’ club and parties is surely the way to go. They believe that crypto and NFT are slowly being adapted and accepted by different institutions. Stay tuned and take a glimpse of the future!
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Listen to the podcast here
Greg Norman Jr. And Michael Simkins Of E11EVEN – The Miami NFT Nightclub, Plus: OliveX Fitness NFT Metaverse, Minecraft Challenges NFT Gamers, And More…
This is Greg Norman Jr.
I’m Michael Simkins from E11EVEN, the world’s first NFT nightclub that’s making Miami dance deeper into crypto.
We are here on the show where you can probably dance too. It’s so great. Keep reading.
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This episode features Greg Norman Jr. and Michael Simkins, the Founders of E11EVEN, the world’s most exciting non-refundable nightlife. Greg Norman Jr. has worked alongside his father, Greg Norman, in the Greg Norman Company leading business development and investment strategy and operations. He founded Shark Wake Park in 2016 with two locations in South Carolina and Florida. He was the CEO of Jupiter Group in 2021 leading the team to $50 billion in NFT sales and exited in December 2021. Since then, he has been the Cofounder and CEO of Europa Labs.
Michael Simpkins is the CEO of E11EVEN crypto. He went to Brooklyn Law School and is the President of the Lion Development Group. He is the Owner of E11EVEN Partners, E11EVEN Residences and E11EVEN Miami Ultra Club. He is also a board member of Endeavor Miami, Refresh Miami and Miami Beach JCC.
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**Welcome to the show. **
Thank you so much. Thanks for having us.
It’s good to be here.
You guys have done a great job with branding E11EVEN. Whenever I go to Miami, there’s something cool going on at E11EVEN, the NFT and crypto scene every single time. We’re excited to have you guys on the show. We’ll have to get you over to LA and Chicago sometime too where the rest of the world hangs out and maybe doesn’t party quite as hard.
We spend time out there and love it out there. E11EVEN is going to be expanding. You never know.
**We want to start always at the beginning and get a little sense of the origin story. You got E11EVEN crushing it down at Miami. We have this idea of the world’s most exciting non-fungible nightlife. What’s the origin story? What drew you to the world of NFTs? How did you get to where you are? **
My partners, Marc Roberts, Dennis DeGori and I are big crypto enthusiasts and NFT collectors. We’ve been doing it for some time. The nightclub, E11EVEN, was the first major club to start accepting Bitcoin in the United States. We’ve developed two hotel-condominium properties across the street and those were the first pre-development projects to accept crypto. We did a partnership with FTX so we accept any crypto on their platform. We’ve done over 70 deals with buyers utilizing crypto, representing over $60 million of transactions. Three of those were bought with ApeCoin also.
We were indirect crypto participants through these things. As we saw NFTs evolving from PFP collections to more utility access membership, we said, “We could do something special here with E11EVEN.” On Friday and Saturday night, there’s a 2 to 3-hour line. A membership there has a lot of utility and value. We made a conscious decision to become direct participants in the NFT crypto space to start 11 Captain’s Club. At that point, we knew we had to bring in great Web 3.0 partners. We brought in Horizen Labs, Greg Norman Jr. and a bunch of other folks also.
**That’s so cool. The idea of memberships, what they can be and become and how they can be traded and managed over time has changed so drastically with the advent of NFTs. It’s just the beginning because NFT is the first step to bridge the future. It’s not the last step. We know that. That’s a great use case. **
I’m sure you guys were thinking about ApeCoin and what else to do with this magical crypto money. At this point, I wouldn’t want to guess how many establishments will accept ApeCoin by the end of 2022.
I’m going to the lake parks. It’s good.
I don’t know if anyone would want to use it. It keeps going up so fast. It’s like everyone will hold it.
That merch is very expensive.
**My favorite part about ApeCoin was talking to someone who didn’t know much about NFTs when I told them we hosted NFT LA. I was in a shop outside of LA in Topanga Canyon and this woman said, “I got some crypto.” I was like, “What did you get? Is it Ethereum or Bitcoin?” She said, “I got ApeCoin.” I was like, “That’s interesting. How did you hear about that?” She said, “Oprah.” I still haven’t figured out where exactly Oprah is showing ApeCoin but that’s fascinating. **
**If that’s not mainstream adoption, I don’t know what it is. Speaking of which, you guys got this great mainstream club and doing all sorts of things to build bridges. For our audience, can you walk us through the details of what E11EVEN is? **
E11EVEN is an ultra club. It was founded in 2014 in Downtown Miami. It is typically open 24 hours a day. We are still ramping back up after COVID so we close about 10:00 AM or 11:00 AM but typically, it stays open. It’s a sensory overload, fun location. You could be watching Drake, Travis Scott or Post Malone There are theatrics and Cirque du Soleil things going on. There are amazing lights, beautiful people and great food including our famous chicken tenders over there. It’s a special place. It has become the most profitable and highest-grossing club in the world per square foot.
We talked about high grossing clubs, ApeCoin and Bored Ape Yacht Club, which I don’t know if that’s considered a club and how much they’re going to gross. That leads me to ask you about Captain’s Club. There are some interesting overlaps in themes here. Can you tell me about the 11 Captain’s Club and what makes that unique?
At 11 Captain’s Club, there are going to be 1,111 unique NFTs. Each one will have a different rarity and combinations from 4 to 7 different traits. The utility is standard across the collection. There’s incredible real-life utility at the club and in our ecosystem, we have our hotel that’s being built, condominiums and future clubs in real life. We have a Web 3.0 utility also with a private Discord server. This is going to be an amazing group of individuals that make up the community. We’re excited to expand our community, listen and learn from the community and try to be as authentic and respectful to Web 3.0 as we can.
Where I see the advent of NFT technology going is these access tokens or membership tokens. The first foray of people doing a $69 million sale with digital art and then PFP projects were at the forefront of 2021 but then in 2022, we’ll be able to see the next iterations of the technology to be able to expand out to businesses and where businesses are going to be able to take them. It’s very exciting doing this with Michael and the E11EVEN team because this is at the forefront of this technology way.
I was a founding member of LinksDAO, which is the sale of the NFTs for the push and the eventual purchase of a golf course but that’s down the road. That’s not happening. This is going to be happening here immediately after the sale of the NFT. There’s the world’s greatest ultra-club with the E11EVEN club, E11EVEN hotel and E11EVEN ecosystem coming along with it. I’m excited and honored to be part of this.
**I’ve seen the mayor doing his DJ thing in Miami. I’m sure he wants to be a member of this club. I assume he’s very crypto and NFT friendly. **
There’s going to be an amazing group. It will be a combination between celebrities, musicians and athletes. There will also be Web 3.0 enthusiasts and business titans. It’s a great mix of people that we could each enjoy being around and learning from each other.
I come from South Florida and spent a lot of time in Miami. I was an undergrad at the University of Miami. Michael has been there his entire life but to see how Miami has grown so much, adopted and embraced crypto and Web 3.0, it is already, in my opinion, the hub of this. To have the political spectrum and the folks around there adopting it, the energy down there is amazing.
It is continuing. There’s no letup in sight. What we’ve imported in 2021 is human capital. We’ve got amazing people that are not at the tail end of their career or retired but in the prime of their career looking to build businesses, hire people, work hard, play hard and enjoy their life. The big lesson over the last couple of years is that people have to enjoy themselves also.
There are not too many better places than Miami to work hard and play hard so we’re doing our piece at E11EVEN to help people obtain those goals. We’ll continue. It is exciting what’s happening in Miami led by a great mayor and amazing stakeholders. It has probably been years in the making of encouraging technology companies to go there, non-profits and all these things that have been in the works. It was so great to see it explode over the last couple of years.
Piggybacking off of community, it’s the centerpiece of so many successful projects. When we think about that, there are the people that are the holders of the NFT, the participants in it and those that are on the other side of it as well. You mentioned a lot of folks that are at the club, whether it’s actors, politicians or so on. What kind of exclusive access will this NFT provide to its holders either to those people or the particular experiences? What’s on the roadmap for that particular piece of the NFT?
Very shortly after mint, E11EVEN is doing a takeover of Resorts World in Las Vegas. Our first 11 Captain’s Club official event is not going to be in Miami. It’s going to be in Las Vegas at a pop-up event where there is exclusive access. It’s going to be a party where there’ll be amazing talent and beautiful people. We’re still figuring out the details. It will be a super-exclusive area within a larger party that will be the Captain’s Club but on a basis, once we get our technology set up and Greg’s company, Europa Labs, is assisting with token-gated access to get into the club, the physical redeemable tokens that could be redeemed for either a ticket, merchandise, vodka are all coming but it’s not going to be in day one. It will be shortly after as we get the technology rolled out over there.
Our real-life community is strong. We built 2 condo towers that sold out in record time for close to $1 billion. It has 900 units almost and it sold out in a matter of months. People resonate with the E11EVEN brand. It’s a way of being and living your best life. It has the, “I won’t judge you so don’t judge me. Let’s have a good time,” vibes.
I was doing a little Googling. I love the number eleven but I’m like, “Why do I love this number?” It has some deep roots in terms of being inspirational, artistic and spiritual. Is that some of what went into the DNA of the brand?
Eleven is an extremely powerful number. It’s located on 11th street in Downtown Miami but the reason why we carry that name forward is a lot of those reasons with the strong spiritual connections. It’s also more people’s favorite number than any other number according to an article I read one time. We are happy to embrace and incorporate it.
Was it a no-brainer to do the drop with 1,111 NFTs or did you consider some other deviation?
It wasn’t a no-brainer. There was a lot of debate and conversation around tokenomics and the number that we did. At one time, we thought we’d do a larger collection in the 10,000 range but figured out that for our community and first project, it was better to have a smaller, tighter group so that we can curate experiences better and deliver more value. That’s what we’re hyper-focused on. We have arrived at 1,111 so it feels so right and good but it wasn’t an easy process to get that.
Making those decisions are always tough. We were thinking about how big we wanted the first NFT LA to be because we wanted to deliver a quality experience. It sounds like that’s what you guys are all about as well. How can our audience join and participate in the club? What are the deets?
We want to deliver a quality experience. The 11 Captain’s Club is not about us. It’s about our community and making sure everyone gets the greatest experience they can. We welcome your audience to check out @11CaptainsClub on Twitter. Join our Twitter. We have a list out there that can help them get access to our NFT. We’re excited.
I’ve been wanting to ask this because clearly, you’re a Miami guy that knows a ton of cool stuff about Miami. We like to treat our audience well. Give us some alpha about Miami. Are there any secret spots that you know about that you don’t share with many people? Are there things that people should do or check out in Miami that are little-known and awesome?
There are so many amazing places in Miami and I love it. I’m born and raised here. I went to college at California Law School and New York but then I went right back to Miami. It’s amazing. I live in Miami Beach but the city of Miami is so exciting. There is all the emergence of these different neighborhoods that are popping up. I enjoy a lot of the cultural destinations. In Calle Ocho and Little Havana, you get this sense of the Cuban culture. If you go to Overtown, you get a sense of Black Florida culture. If you go to Arthur Godfrey on Miami Beach, you get a Jewish culture. All these locations are great entertainment spots but there are these cultural destinations within Miami that sometimes get overlooked that are also cool.
NFT Nightclub: Eleven is an extremely powerful number. The reason why we carry that name forward is a lot of those reasons with strong spiritual kind of connections.
With all the culture comes the food. They have amazing food down there.
Also, boating is the greatest in Miami. Greg could tell you about the wakeboarding down here in South Florida but boating is world-class here as well.
I want to know what’s next in your guys’ roadmap before we end this segment with the next couple of questions. What’s next on your roadmap that you can share that you might not have said yet?
What we’re working hard on is partnerships, working with other Miami institutions, broadening our reach and getting our community more access to some of these other in-demand locations. Our focus at the moment is expanding partnerships but we’re working with Horizen Labs, the firm that helped Hugo with their ApeCoin and the metaverse. There are a lot of other things being discussed. We have exciting ideas. There is nothing concrete but we are ready to roll up our sleeves and work for the next years on this and do some amazing things.
That and Animoca’s team is something special. They’re investors in our company as well. They’re big inspirations to us. Speaking of inspirations, where else are you guys drawing inspiration for your ideas and the next steps in this amazing venture?
We are looking into a lot of it in real-life success. Greg alluded to LinksDAO and a lot of stuff Gary Vee is doing with Flyfish Club. He has set the high watermark and been an inspiration. We’re observing the way he’s navigating Web 3.0. We’re looking at exciting communities and projects and are hyper-focused on delivering value to our community.
To add to that, without a doubt, Gary Vee with Flyfish Club has set the bar high. We try to hit that with LinksDAO but then there are also other companies and organizations like JPEG Morgan and PROOF Collective and what they’re doing. These tight-knit communities focus on what the possibilities of NFTs are. There’s also Punk #6529, what he’s doing with his OM metaverse and how it will be an open metaverse. These communities are pioneering what’s possible with NFTs.
We’re thinking about every different use case possible out there and then playing around with those use cases with our legal teams to see what is possible and how we can navigate this because it’s uncharted territory. Every day, we’re all learning from each other. We’re iterating, growing, evolving together and sharing ideas, which in my previous life, everything was a walled garden. Here, it’s open communication across the board because we are so new. We all are helping each other out to grow this entire industry.
Is there anything else inspirational for you guys before we cut to the next section?
Miami is inspiring as it is by seeing the growth and the cultural institutions. In Web 3.0, it’s moving so fast. MoonPay is doing an amazing job. They’re of the biggest crypto companies based in Miami that started years ago. They’re inspiring in a lot of ways as well.
We’re about to hit our Edge Quick Hitter segment. That should be fun to get to know you guys a little better.
As a reminder, Edge Quick Hitters is a fun and quick way to get to know you a little better. There are ten questions. We’re looking for a short, single word or fewer responses but feel free to expand if you get the urge.
For the first question, we’ll start with Michael. What is the first thing you remember ever purchasing in your life?
It would be hotcakes and sausage from McDonald’s.
Greg, what about you?
I don’t remember so I’ll give you another answer for NFTs. I purchased a Space Bored Ape, which is a derivative of Bored Ape. A month after they minted, I should have bought the Bored Ape.
Greg, why don’t you take this one? What is the first thing you remember ever selling in your life? You can’t say you don’t remember.
For my first job, I worked in retail. I remember selling my first shirt.
What was it? Was it a polo shirt?
I worked in Hollister. Yellow Card still plays in my head all the time.
What about you, Michael?
I remember selling gift wrapping paper that they used to give you in elementary school and sending you out door-to-door. You would win a prize if you were one of the highest-selling people.
Did you crush it?
I was amazing at it. I did $179 in sales.
That’s a lot of wrapping paper. We learn a lot about the entrepreneurial blood in our guests with that question. It’s a fun one.
**For the next question, I’ll go back to you, Michael. What is the most recent thing that you purchased? **
The most recent thing that I purchased was a Bored Ape.
Congratulations.
They took a little dip so that might not have been a bad decision, especially with this land sale coming up.
Greg, what about you? What’s the most recent thing you purchased?
Peanut butter and banana smoothie.
Back to Michael, what’s the most recent thing you’ve sold?
I sold a boat. I had a boat that I had to sell. It was a good boat. I had it for five years but I’m moving on. It’s amazing that boat prices with inflation and so much demand, I got almost as much as I paid for it.
That is such a rarity in the world of boats.
It’s crazy. It’s an indication.
Boats have fun names. What was the boat’s name?
NFT Nightclub: Every day we’re all learning from each other, iterating, growing, and evolving together and sharing ideas.
That one was called Triple Threat. I have three kids. When I was looking at them, we gave them the triple threat.
Greg, what’s the most recent thing you’ve sold?
It’s my guest room bed. My wife sold it because she is remodeling the guest room.
Let’s go a little bit deeper, Greg. What is your most prized possession?
**What about you, Michael? **
How about you, Michael?
Can you say anything about that at all?
What about you, Greg?
Visit our website, 11CaptainsClub.io. Our Twitter is @11CaptainsClub. Come on in.
I’m growing my followers.
It’s @MiamiMikey11.
It’s my Bored Ape with the E11EVEN hats on him.
Important Links
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@11CaptainsClub – Twitter
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Living Tree NFT – Twitter
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@MiamiMikey11 – Twitter
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iTunes – Edge of NFT Podcast
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Spotify – Edge of NFT Podcast