Why I Started a Blog as My Pudgy Penguin (And Not as Me)

Why I Started a Blog as My Pudgy Penguin (And Not as Me)

I’ve actually been down this path before as a blogger back in the day while many of you were still in elementary school or diapers. I blogged every Tuesday for three years and had a loyal following of thousands of readers. While parts of me wishes I would have stuck with it and see the natural growth that would have followed into podcasting and becoming a media company, everything has a beginning and an end and that blog (on personal development) had run its course. There are traces of it in the way back machine for those clever enough to track it down in the archives of the internet. As with any project, there were ups and downs, good times, stress, and the occasional surprise. I’m hoping to leverage the lessons from my previous blogging experience this time around.

When I looked inside myself this time around, thought about what to blog on, weighed my philosophies, my commitment level, my bandwidth, my business experience, along with what I could share with the world, something dawned on me. Despite my personal and professional accomplishments, the countless lessons I’ve learned along the way, companies I’ve been a part of from an early stage that are now worth billions, a company I helped grow and sell for tens of millions, and all the wonderful guidance and mentorship I received along the way, as far as my personal brand goes, aside from LinkedIn and a few article mentioned here and there, I’m a virtual unknown online.

Essentially the opposite of the Pudgy Penguins.

The Pudgy Penguins are an NFT collection of 8,888 characters, released on July 22, 2021 on the Ethereum Blockchain. Since launch, the Pudgy Penguin IP has exploded (and that’s not hyperbole) as it expanded across the globe. At the time of writing this the Pudgy IP has been seen over 100 billion times (yes, billion with a B), driven by the meme like factory of images and stickers through channels like GIPHY and Tenor that can be shared across platforms like social media, texts, and messaging apps.

The Pudgy Penguin GIFs alone have over 44 billion views (click to see). 

My Pudgy Penguin X account (@LovingNFTs) has about 5,000 followers on X at the time of writing this first post. So when I weighed the pros and cons of creating a blog as myself or as my Pudgy Penguin, it was clear writing as my Penguin was the best path forward to leverage the community and audience that are far more interested in my thoughts as a Pudgy, than my (lack of) audience as a personal brand.

So starting this blog as my Pudgy Penguin, I’m instantly connecting with thousands of others who feel a deep sense of belonging and connection to the Pudgy Penguins. Odds are good that includes you or someone you know. Given the recent launch of the memecoin $pengu, which has surpassed 800k holders, there’s almost 1m people out there holding digital assets in the Pudgy Penguin ecosystem.

And it’s not just those in the crypto trenches who feel a connection to the cute digital penguins. Pudgy Penguins (through their parent company Igloo Co) launched a line of toys carried by Walmart, Target, and other retailers across the globe, blurring the lines between the native web 3 IP brand and retail. With over $10m in sales to date, the next generation is finding these cute loveable toys on the shelves of their favorite stores and begging mom and dad for a cute stuffed penguin. It’s only a matter of time until they find their way deeper into the Pudgy ecosystem.

In 2025, the Pudgy Penguin team launched Abstract Chain to create a bridge to onboard a billion people into web 3. Think of it as the upgrade from dial-up to wifi. No more complicated clunky signups that feel like you’re doing something illegal on the dark web. Instead you’ve got a digital playground you can access in a few simple clicks. One day blockchain and crypto will be so blended into life we won’t even know it’s there. We’re not there yet but the movement is underway and these cute digital penguins will carve out their own chapter in the story of web 3, digital assets, NFTs, and crypto, and I’m grateful to have this opportunity to share my thoughts, ideas, and musings with you.

If you’re reading this, thank you for coming on this journey with me!