At the heart of the Trippy Toadz NFT ethos is the idea of propagating a more inclusive narrative around the use of psychedelics. The project’s co-founder @TrippyMayne69, along with his partners from Good Trip Studios (@GoodTripStudios), Mike Rosenstein and Donick Cary, have spoken openly about their goal of using the Trippy Toadz IP in order to undo the stigmas that modern society has regarding the use of psychoactive substances. Specifically, the founders have chosen to focus on the conservation of Bufo Alvarius, a toad found in the Sonoran Desert that contains the psychedelic alkaloid 5-MeO-DMT.

About Bufo Alvarius

Also known as the Colorado River toad, Bufo Alvarius is known for its distinctive appearance: warty skin with a grey or olive-colored tone. This species of toad is native to the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States, as well as parts of northwestern Mexico. As one of the largest species of North American toads, Bufo Alvarius adults can grow up to 7 inches in length.

During the monsoon season, Bufo Alvarius emerges from its burrow in order to sing its mating call so that it can attract a female to breed with. The tadpoles hatch from eggs and grow quite rapidly, maturing into adults within weeks of birth. The species plays an important part in the desert ecosystem, being both a predator and prey within its respective food chain.

Yet, despite being a protected species, Bufo Alvarius populations are suffering declines due to human poaching, habitat destruction, pollution, and road mortality. Moreover, the toad species is now suffering from an increased human desire to acquire its psychoactive toxin, which is primarily composed of what is referred to as the ‘God particle’, 5-MeO-DMT. When the toad feels threatened, it excretes the milky-white psychedelic alkaloid from the parotoid gland under its jaw. As such, the species has become coveted among those seeking to cultivate the substance.

Conservation

Recently, wildlife experts have been calling on the public to refrain from milking the toads in order to avoid eliminating their populations. However, these efforts have proven insufficient, given that the toad species is now considered ‘endangered’ in California and ‘threatened’ in New Mexico.

While the current outlook for the Sonoran toads may seem bleak, there is still hope. In fact, 5-MeO-DMT can be produced in labs synthetically, thus reducing the need for having to milk the toads. Yet, there is no denying the therapeutic value of the psychedelic experience granted by the consumption of 5-MeO-DMT. As such, by spreading awareness of both the dangers posed to the toads as well as the healthy alternatives to producing the coveted psychedelic medicine, we can help ensure that the Sonoran Desert toad is able to proliferate sufficiently enough to return to healthy population numbers in the future.

Storytelling as Conservation Effort

The Trippy Toadz NFT community and its founders have taken on the task of creating a unique and fun way of spreading awareness of the current threat to the Bufo Alvarius species. To execute their vision, the founders of the Trippy Toadz have partnered with Good Trip Studios, a production company founded by renowned Hollywood producers Mike Rosenstein and Donick Cary. Both of the producers have dived deep into web 3, collaborating directly with the Trippy Toadz team and the community of holders in bringing to life an animated pilot, which will directly cast Trippy Toadz NFTs as characters. The preview pilot has been described by the team as an animated short that will feature a family of Sonoran Desert toads living together in an imaginary town called Bufo. Through the many hijinks that the family of toads will find itself put in by the writers, the Trippy Toadz will be able to inform the general public both about the benefits of the toad medicine as well as the imminent danger that over-milking the toads can have on their dwindling populations.

Furthermore, Donick Cary, who is currently working on the writing for the pilot, has expressed his mission to use storytelling as a means to spread conservation awareness, a first in the storytelling NFT space. The importance of such an effort cannot be stressed enough. While relatively new to the scene, the storytelling NFT format has yet to be explored in such an impactful way. The far-reaching effects granted to the message the Trippy Toadz are aiming to spread through the blockchain has already allowed for a global reach. What’s more, this will not be the first time that both Mike and Donick have used the power of media in order to spread awareness about psychedelic medicine causes. Back in 2020, the duo released a Netflix documentary titled Have a Good Trip, which featured the stories about psychedelic experiences and their value by a star-studded Hollywood cast. Among those are:

• Carrie Fisher

• Sting

• Nick Offerman

• Ben Stiller

• Anthony Bourdain

• Nick Kroll

• Angela Trimbur

• Reggie Watts

• Sarah Silverman

• Deepak Chopra

• Maya Erskine

• Shepard Fairey

• A$AP Rocky

• Adam DeVine

• Paul Scheer

• Bill Kreutzmann (~):}

• & many more

In addition to the animated preview pilot, which the team expects to have ready in about 6-12 months, the Trippy Toadz NFT community has the release of Have a Good Trip 2 to look forward to. News of upcoming film’s release was leaked by Mike and Donick in a community-led Twitter Spaces on 2/25/23. The details of the film have yet to be announced, but the Good Trip Studios team has confirmed that interviews for the film begin next week.

Decentralized Lore & Burn Mechanism

The Trippy Toadz team and their partners have taken an avant-garde approach to storytelling with their NFTs, namely through the incorporation of community-driven lore building. A few weeks ago, the Trippy Toadz team provided its holders with a website where they could submit personally written lore for any of their Trippy Toadz NFTs. Thus, they have executed one of-if not, the-first decentralized casting calls in the history of blockchain media and animated series production. While the final castings have yet to be announced, the community is soon to find out if their NFTs made the final cut to be featured in the preview pilot.

Additionally, the Trippy Toadz founders have been adding their own creative touch to the Trippy Toadz lore through the creation of unique token burning events, which they hosted throughout the month of October back in 2022. The token burns were a social commentary on the physical threat that the Bufo Alvarius species is currently facing; an idea masterminded by the Trippy Toadz founders team, with Trippy Mayne at the wheel. Each week of that month, the team announced 3 Trippy Toadz NFTs that they chose from their community wallet as candidates for the burn. The community of holders was allowed one vote per Trippy Toadz NFT that they held in their wallets at the time of the event. By casting their votes, the community members could elect to save certain Trippy Toadz. At the end of the event, the NFT with the least amount of votes was sent to the burn address. Therefore, as the show progresses, the population of Trippy Toadz NFTs will be gradually reduced, thus making the collection deflationary. In fact, the team released a banner on their official website that reflects the current population of the toad NFTs post-burn, and which will be updated in real-time as the population decreases (they have also hinted at the sign being part of the opening credits of the animated pilot).

What the Future Holds for the Trippy Toadz

With the preview pilot in the works and due in the latter part of the year, the team has also mentioned upcoming IRL programming featuring the Trippy Toadz at South by Southwest Festival this March. Both Mike and Donick will be speaking in a panel discussion about psychedelic medicines alongside representatives from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), comedian Eric Andre, as well as journalist and research scientist Hamilton Morris, whom has also previously advocated for the conservation of the Sonoran Desert toad in his series Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia. The team has confirmed that the event will be featuring the Trippy Toadz, so the community can expect for the Toadz to be represented center-stage at the SXSW panel. Keep an eye on this blog for a complete recap of the event once the festival has finished. In the meantime, I will continue to periodically post about the developments that the project releases in an effort to continue leveraging Web 3 media for systematic good, and to ensure that the community stays aware of the exciting news surrounding the Trippy Toadz NFT project.

The Long Strange Trip of the Trippy Toadz is only getting started! (~):}

With Love,

Doc Hopmann