Paralympians team up with Harrisburg technologist for NFT fundraiser

Ryan Neiswender of South Lebanon Township has traveled the world representing the United States in wheelchair basketball games. Now he and his fellow athletes are trying to raise money for training expenses, as well as a few artists in the process.

Read more: The Lebanon native makes the wheelchair basketball world championship list

Fantokin owner Bryan Speece said he was connected with Neiswender after reading a LebTown article about him, and he spoke with Neiswender’s agent, Ish Tanyeri, about an NFT gathering with Tanyeri’s clients at Dromos Agency.

“It was through conversation with Ish that the Team Dromos collection was born; a first-of-its-kind NFT collection featuring four US Paralympic athletes,” Speece said in an email to LebTown.

Speece said Team Dromos is Fantokin’s first NFT collection or release on the site. Tanyeri said he and Speece had been working on the project for about a year — including a lot of teaching about the NFT space along the way.

NFTs are digital collectibles, closer to buying a vintage record than a song from iTunes. Although the space is full of speculative behavioral adaptation of a Beanie Babies documentary, or worse, many large companies have launched experiments with smart contracts running on blockchains such as Ethereum, Polygon and many more.

Speece said he chose the WAX ​​blockchain for the project because it is an environmentally friendly blockchain that is already being used for large projects, such as Topps’ MLB digital trading cards on that platform.

The NFTs go for $75 each, with 25 available for each athlete — sled hockey player Kyle Zych, wheelchair basketball player David Kiley and wheelchair tennis player Dana Mathewson.

Artists Troy Lindstrom and Rin Vangerhaeghe were brought in through Twitter, and will share in the NFT revenue for the athlete illustrations they created from submitted images.

Tanyeri said Dromos athletes will use the proceeds for training, equipment and travel expenses.

“Unfortunately, we still live in a world where there are not many income opportunities or income streams for people with disabilities,” Tanyeri said. “It can be a huge struggle to make a good living due to lack of accommodation on the job or simply sheer ability.”

“We’re here to change that stigma, because these NFTs were built by artists with disabilities for people with disabilities to offer a recurring income stream for these individuals.

“We didn’t want to focus on a single athlete, like a LeBron or Serena Williams NFT, of which there are many out there in the Metaverse,” Tanyeri said in an email to LebTown. “We wanted this collection to transcend any single name, image or likeness.”

“We decided to focus on the big picture and on the main purpose. How could we send a message of power, strength and unity to the rest of the world? How could we succeed in representing the Paralympic movement’s values ​​and spreading awareness? As an agency owner representing Paralympic athletes in multiple sports, the answer was right in front of me: my athletes.

“I believe that each generation should continue to move the needle forward and educate the public so that we (people with disabilities) can make a huge impact in business, work, everyday life, sports and beyond,” Neiswender said in a press release.

“The purpose of releasing this NFT collection is to further educate people about our movement and give fans an opportunity to support the athletic achievements of these individuals while promoting our movement.”

You can find the entire release here.

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