AIN'T NO LEADER LIKE RIDA: From An Unknown Animator To Geez, The BMW ApeCar, And Otherside, BAYC Member Rida Looks Back On His Rise Around The Swamp And ApeChain!
- Kyle
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
From making animations to building on ApeChain and the Otherside, when it comes to Bored Ape Yacht Club member Rida, there’s certainly a lot to Geez about!
Earlier this week on Meet at the Clubhouse, Yuga Labs’ Barron and IllaDaProducer put the spotlight on Rida and everything he’s been doing around the swamp, from launching Geez on ApeChain and creating the 1/1 ApeCar with BMW for the club to literally modeling just about every avatar running around the Otherside.
“We got the Don, Don Rida, the Don of the Apechain,” IllaDaProdcuer said. “oI love having special guest and is this a special guest ne of my favorite people in the space.”
For those who don’t know, Rida’s journey around the swamp began back in August 2023, when he shared an animated video featuring his old Mutant, Dr. Otto.
Back then, no one really knew who Rida was. In fact, people didn’t even know how to pronounce his name.
But that didn’t stop him from creating.
Rida kept filling the timeline with animated shorts, eventually expanding his content to include Kodas and catching the eyes of the club’s founders, Gordon Goner and Garga. That’s when he knew he was on the right track.
Over the next year, Rida kept up the animations, racked up millions of impressions on X, and was ultimately voted on by the BAYC community to create a car with BMW, dubbed the ApeCar that pulled up at ApeFest Portugal in 2024!
“That was one of my greatest accomplishments in life,” Rida said about the car.. “Getting to design not just any wrap, but an official wrap that was rubber stamped by BMW. They also invited me to Munich to do the whole tour and everything. It was amazing!
While unveiling was a highlight of Rida’s journey up to that point, that weekend also marked the beginning of ApeChain and an entirely new chapter for him.
“It was euphoric when it launched in Lisbon,” Rida recalled, “We were all for it and my idea as someone who has always been for UGC (user generated content) was an entry level into the Bored Ape Yacht Club for those who were not able to get in.”
Just a month after the BMW x BAYC ApeCar debuted at ApeFest, Rida went from creating content around the club to building his own community on its new chain, launching GeezOnApe, an NFT collection of 5,555 3D animated Apes living on ApeChain, for just 33 $Ape each!
Since then, Rida has continued showing up for Geez, establishing the project as a major part of ApeChain while making waves across the larger NFT space. At the same time, he’s continued creating around the Bored Ape Yacht Club and building the Otherside alongside Yuga Labs. In fact, his Geez were the first non-Yuga Labs collection to make their way to the swamp, and the work continues today!
“The Rida world is split between Geez, Otherside, and Bored Ape Yacht Club,” he said. “I’m trying to build across all three while at the same time trying to bring value back as an appreciation for all the support you guys have all given me since day one. It’s just giving back for everything the club has done for me.”
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