The Chimpers team discuss bringing their popular NFT brand into consumer products

Hi Jacob, it’s great to connect. To kick us off, talk us through the origins of Chimpers – how did this all begin?
My twin brother Oliver – known as Timpers online – has been creating ever since he was a young teen, from Twitch streaming art commissions to building a YouTube channel with over 40,000 subscribers where he taught viewers how to use Photoshop. He was always designing. This led him to working on commissions for top streamers and creators in the e-sports scene, before finally stumbling across the concept of NFTs.

And when would this have been?
He joined the Web3 world in early 2021 after hearing some of his Twitter circle discuss NFTs. He initially began dabbling with the new technology by creating 1/1 artworks on Foundation, a very popular Web3 art marketplace.

He knew that he wanted to build and contribute to something, but first he wanted to get his art out there and in front of the space. From creating art – to actually trading and collecting for the first time – he first fell in love with the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of 10,000 Ape characters.

He felt the power of the community and this encouraged him to create an artwork that featured Bored Apes. It was never meant to become a collection or series; just an artwork that paid homage to the collection he loved.

“We would love to channel across to the physical world through toys, comics, books, trading cards and so much more!”

With Timpers having established a strong presence as an artist early on, there was a lot of anticipation and excitement surrounding his artwork drop featuring bored apes. When the public sale of 100 editions launched in July 2021, it sold out within seconds!

At that moment, Timpers realised that there was way too much excitement and love for this to be a standalone piece like his other artworks. He felt this could form the first episode of a brand-new series, The Boring Ape Chronicles.

This was your brother reimagining the bored apes in his own style – it looked great. And were you involved in putting The Boring Ape Chronicles together too?
At the time I was working in a restaurant. Having just graduated with a degree in English Language, I was writing substack articles in my spare time and interviewing some of my favourite creators and founders in the Web3 space.

“Chimpers is a retro-style collection made up of 5,555 anime-inspired characters with a vibrant pixel art feel.”

I was fascinated by everything my brother was doing in this new and rapidly growing environment and I wanted to get involved. I was lucky enough to catch the early wave of support in the Web3 world and had some great success growing my account. With my involvement in the space coinciding with Timpers’ new artwork series, he asked me to join him in helping to build the story – and community!

We didn’t know it at that moment in time, but we started something that would go on to be much bigger than we could have ever imagined.

So how did The Boring Ape Chronicles lead to Chimpers?
Well, over the course of 12 months, we released six artworks, a 60 page e-book detailing the lore of the series, an animated production and an assortment of experiences for our community. Everyone wanted to know, where would the apes head next? So, in the final episode of the series, they venture through a portal which takes them to a new world. One that would allow us to create our own universe – and one that we would call Chimpers.

In May 2022, we launched a collection of 5,555 characters that would form our brand-new Chimpers collection.

For anyone new to Chimpers, how would you describe the brand and its style?
Chimpers is a retro style collection made up of 5,555 anime inspired characters with a vibrant and nostalgic pixel art feel. We have a passion for storytelling and have created a unique experience for our holders within the ‘Dojo’, allowing them to play arcade games, train, battle versus one another and explore the lore of our world!

You recently embarked on a Chimpers collaboration with Paramount for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. How did that come about?
We announced our partnership in November with TMNT and Paramount after a friend and collector of our project introduced us earlier in the year as their Web3 advisor. With Chimpers having storytelling and art at its core, it aligned with what Paramount was also trying to achieve. Subsequently, we will be launching something in the near future that sees both worlds collide!

We’ll keep our eyes peeled for that. Looking at Chimpers in brand terms, do you see Chimpers having a life in consumer products?
Absolutely, with Chimpers and the art that Timpers has created, the opportunities around where the IP could go are limitless.

Which categories are of interest?
Our goal is to become a multimedia brand. We have successfully developed our world and community in the Web3 space so far, with over 2,600 members in our community – but we recognise the importance of growing outside of our niche.

We focus on storytelling, art and digital experiences, but we would love to channel across to the physical world through toys, comics, books, trading cards and so much more!

On the toy front, why do you think Chimpers could be a good fit in this space?
Chimpers has a retro look and nostalgic appeal to the older demographic, while also having a cute and wholesome appeal to younger audiences. With our current Web3 demographic being older, there are times we release new games or experiences that they share with their children! So we have a great visual mix between the two and this is key to the DNA of Chimpers. One thing for certain is that they will catch your eye!

Jacob, thanks again for this. For anyone reading that might be interested in partnering with you guys on Chimpers, what’s the best means of reaching out?
Thank you for the opportunity to share our story and vision about Chimpers! We would love to connect with anyone that is interested in our project. The best way to reach out would be our email at [email protected].