Scottie and Tasha

“Enjin is King!”

In the Enjin ecosystem, this frequent battlecry from longtime member Scottie is better than “GM!”.

Meet Scottie Dishner and his beloved wife Tasha Dishner, proud natives of southwestern Virginia. Their roots run deep in this charming region, where they were both born and raised. They embody your everyday couple - deeply in love, with a beautiful daughter in tow, working in honest careers, and going about their hobbies.

“...I indulge in reading, travel, and quality moments with our family.” Scottie said.

Yet, their story is anything but ordinary.

Scottie and Tasha (fondly known as ScottieTash online) are legends within Enjin - as creators of the Bad Bears NFT collection and co-managers of Enjin NFTs, a Facebook community-driven group with close to 6,000 members.

In Scottie’s words, “...This is my #EnjinNFT origin story. How Enjin gave an ordinary guy superpowers! Enjin is KING!”

The one click that started it all

What motivates someone who has never touched art, collectibles or community building to fully embrace these aspects? In the Web3 industry, many of us start our journeys from scratch and the duo were no exception to this narrative.

“Well, I was that guy almost 2 years ago, just an ordinary guy scrolling through Facebook, until I stumbled upon an ad that would forever change my journey.” Scottie reminisced on X. “It was an ad about collecting a free NFT from Enjin. At that point, I had heard about NFTs, but they were still a mystery to me. Funny thing was, I didn't even have a Twitter account back then!”

Scottie followed Enjin’s Facebook page. In those days, the notion of receiving free NFTs bundled with cryptocurrency was nothing short of innovative. Art and finance had found an interesting intersection and Scottie jumped at this chance.

Having cryptocurrency inside each NFT meant that the latter could be melted (Enjin’s process for “destroying the NFT”) and converted to a cryptocurrency equivalent. He relentlessly tracked down each and every Enjin beam campaign he could find in a mad drive to collect them all.

As he embarked on this digital treasure hunt, Scottie forged connections with kindred spirits. These virtual dialogues led him to begin a Twitter (now X) account (where majority of today’s crypto and NFT discourse take place). Despite all the chatter happening online, a strange sentiment took hold of his heart.

“I saw a gap in the Enjin community on Facebook - a lack of dedicated groups for like-minded collectors of these NFT drops. That's when I decided to create the Enjin NFTs Facebook group. A space for enthusiasts to come together, share their experiences, and embrace the thrill of collecting,” Scottie said on X.

Soon enough, Scottie convinced his wife to join the cause.

Scottie acted as the front facing ambassador - regularly engaging and replying to members. Meanwhile, Tasha worked on the creative and administrative end of their expanding digital community.

“Tasha, my wife, maintains a minimal online presence, focusing her efforts primarily on coordinating NFT giveaways and contributing creative ideas for the development of our Bad Bears. She also administers our Enjin Facebook Group, purging spam and overseeing group interactions,” Scottie said over Telegram.

It’s the human connections that anchor us in Web3. Throughout their journey Scottie and Tasha have been inspired and encouraged by members of the Enjin Community.

“While immersing myself in the Enjin universe on Crypto Twitter, I had the privilege of crossing paths with two Enjin legends - NFT_Enterprise and souzfusion. Their commitment to building unique Enjin communities resonated deeply with me. It planted a seed in my mind - the idea that I could create something special too.”

The creation of Bad Bears community

Transitioning to the next chapter of their Enjin journey, Scottie and Tasha evolved from administrators of a Facebook group to creators of an NFT community. The husband and wife duo recruited a close friend and dubbed themselves “Hillbilly NFTs,” a name inspired from their hometown origins.

“Our journey began with the minting of Bears on the Enjin Jumpnet (an Enjin Ethereum sidechain that preceded Enjin Blockchain)...,” Scottie said.

In March 2022, the team released its first set of NFTs - The Bad Bears Collection. In their Jumpnet page, Scottie and Tasha described the artwork as, “a collection of hand drawn badass bears.”

Beyond NFTs, Scottie and Tasha wanted to forge connections and leave their footprints on the Enjin ecosystem. The duo had become a constant presence on Twitter - orchestrating giveaways, sharing project updates, and actively engaging in tweets.

In the early days of the project, the couple dedicated their energy towards building a vibrant community with the distribution of Bears taking place - one Bear at a time. Before anyone realized, once-distant community members turned into cherished friends. This beautiful transformation presented its own challenges. The task of singling out standout fans to receive the bears became more complex.

But it’s a challenge that most projects and communities would love to have.

“The Bad Bears community serves as my driving force to keep birthing new Bears. I relish engaging with the community and materializing their Bear request. Bad Bears has thrived as a community collaborative project.”

Today, the Bad Bears NFT boasts over 74,000 assets and 21,000 transfers, a remarkable feat.

Throughout this creator journey, the Enjin platform not only provided an encouraging community but also supplied a comprehensive suite of tools.

“Enjin Jumpnet became my primary minting platform, its user-friendly tools eased my transition into the realm of NFTs despite my lack of expertise. We were also blessed to use Enjin Beam a few times during its testing phase to send out our Bears,” Scottie mentioned.

Since the inception of the initial Bad Bears mint, Scottie and Tasha’s creative endeavors have seen a remarkable evolution. “Witnessing the passion of the Bad Bears community as they amass my creations has proven profoundly fulfilling. Crafting Bad Bears has become a family endeavor, with my daughter developing an affection for the Bears.”

Their collection now includes expansions of the original Bad Bears series: Verb Bears, Bad Bears Remastered, with the latest set called Bad Bears Comic Book Collection. Amidst this growth, their dedication to caretaking the community remains unwavering.

These days, the couple harnesses the power of NFT.io (the new NFT marketplace for Enjin Blockchain) as a platform to mint their newest collections.

Moreover, the marketplace doubles as the central wallet for their Enjin NFTs, streamlining both their creations and their holdings. Scottie and Tasha have one of the most impressive Enjin NFT collections, particularly the old Enjin Multiverse collection, which they consider a key part of blockchain gaming history.

Diving beyond the Enjin Ecosystem

As true fans of digital collectibles, Scottie and Tasha’s love for NFTs extend outside the Enjin ecosystem. Among Scottie’s prized acquisitions is the Stoics NFT collection by Gabe Weis, an ensemble celebrating the ancient philosophy of Stoicism which encourages a calm attitude through life's highs and lows. His dedication to the project even inspired the launch of his own derivative collection: My Stoic Adventures.

Scottie’s active participation brought him the community award of Stoic Olympian. Other collections that caught his attention include the Plague NFT, Brawler Bears, and Chompie NFT.

Scottie also remains passionate about the newest technological trends. Through his social platform, he’s created threads and posts warning the public about a hot, social application called friend.tech. “...It raises serious security concerns, lacking a privacy policy and an app, thereby bypassing app store regulations,” he alerted in his interview.

All in all, the couple’s journey has been nothing short of spectacular. From browsing on Facebook, to clicking that first Enjin beam advertisement, and finally creating their own NFT communities.

“Looking back, I'm humbled by how far this journey has taken me. From that initial Facebook ad to now, it's been a ride of growth, learning, and building relationships. I can't wait to see what the future holds for the #BadBears community and the incredible Enjin world that brought us all together.”

...and watch out for this king bear if you read to the end. Enjin is King!