NorCal and Shill
A podcast where NFT artists tell stories, hosted by NorCal Guy. https://twitter.com/GuyNorcal
https://twitter.com/norcalandshill
NorCal and Shill
Shutter by Shutter: The Accidental Photographer
What happens when life's darkest moments lead to unexpected creative awakening? In this engaging conversation with Juicy Julio (JJ), we explore how a simple family trip to Morocco planted the seeds for a passionate journey into photography that would later become his salvation during the isolation of COVID lockdowns.
JJ shares the deeply personal story of how photography emerged as his emotional lifeline after losing family members during the pandemic. Unable to attend funerals or say proper goodbyes, he discovered that his camera became the channel through which he could transform grief and negativity into creative expression. This accidental photographer, who is also a chemical engineer by profession, draws fascinating parallels between his scientific work and his artistic pursuits.
The conversation takes us through JJ's varied experiences - from flipping burgers at a local restaurant (mainly for the free food!) to his current work in chemistry. His thoughtful approach to Web3 reveals a commitment to security (maintaining two separate hardware wallets) and community building that extends to his creative practice. Despite being relatively new to the NFT space, JJ offers valuable insights for artists entering the ecosystem: take time to understand the technology, build genuine connections beyond simple transactions, and remember the humans behind the profile pictures.
What makes this episode special is the vulnerability and authenticity JJ brings to the table. His father's advice - "don't make emotional decisions" - has shaped his approach to both art and investment. Looking ahead, JJ shares his plans for giving back to supporters through special drops and a carefully curated standalone collection, embodying the community-first ethos that makes Web3 a unique space for creators.
Whether you're an aspiring photographer, NFT enthusiast, or simply someone looking for inspiration on turning personal challenges into creative opportunities, JJ's journey offers valuable lessons on patience, intentionality, and finding light in unexpected places. Subscribe now and follow along as we continue to spotlight the stories of creators redefining their creative paths through Web3.
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Speaker 2:Shill Podcast what the shill, what the shill. Hey everyone, welcome to the next episode of NorCal and Shill. Today we have Juicy Julio. Jj is an accidental photographer based in Germany that didn't realize photography would be a new passion that he really enjoys. 26 years later, he is a musician, an engineer and now a two-year-old photographer. His vision is to share his journey into the unexplored creative side of his mind, hoping that it will empower new artists. For starters, he's exploring landscape travel and minimalism photography, learning one shutter at a time and documenting it with the power of Web3. Everybody, please welcome Juicy Julio.
Speaker 1:Hey JJ.
Speaker 3:Welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today? Jj LeBleu 1.0. Hey guy, thanks so much for having me. I'm doing fine. It's like 11pm right now where I am so kind of late, but super tired, very stoked to be here, so it's an honor, thanks yeah, no, I'm glad we could do this.
Speaker 1:Oh, you know, it's been fun ever since I guess ever since you joined the discord. Yeah, that's where I first met you, I think yeah, I think so.
Speaker 3:That wasn't like like three months ago, february? Yeah, right, so like in the click rate discord. Yeah, no, that was cool. Uh, it's a vibe in there. Yeah, definitely love it.
Speaker 1:For sure, for sure, yeah, it's a good time and we had a great time in New York. For sure.
Speaker 3:Oh, those biscuits, oh damn, those were good. I mean speaking of biscuits, actually, I kid you not, I had two biscuits before this podcast, right now. So just to like okay, you know, snack up and get some energy before, before this. So yeah, good, good times and good memories, for sure, awesome.
Speaker 1:All right, cool, cool Good, we're ready to go, we're ready to go.
Speaker 3:We're ready to roll.
Speaker 3:So the question do you have and use a hardware wallet? You know this question should be illegal at this point in time, like considering how long or how much we've, you know, been through in this space. But yes, I indeed do have not only one but two hardware wallets, because I'm a psychopath and I'm paranoid and I'm super ocd, so I have to keep everything like in place and categorize them. So, um, yeah, I have like a super cold vault which I've never, ever connected um any online, um the the app at all. So I just like you know, if I collect anything, I will just directly transfer it there and done, that's it.
Speaker 3:And so, actually, my first one was the ledger, I don't know, nano X, so this was this Bluetooth function thing, cause I thought I could use it with my phone. But I was like no, I don't want to use, like you know, web tweet stuff on my phone, like considering all the security and all the malware and all that stuff. So I was like, well, I got it now. So like whatever, so I just use that for, you know, like the discord verification for the roles and all that stuff, and you know it's kind of like my lukewarm wallet.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, yeah, so I have definitely have to. At first I was like what the hell is the hardware wallet? You know, it looks like a usb stick and I thought you actually like stick it into your computer or something. But I just didn't get it. And, uh, I looked at Ledger and learned about them. They look so cool so I have to have one. It costs like $80 or so. That's huge. Compared to other stuff that we collect, it's way worth it. If you just get one, you're good to go. You don't need to worry, you can sleep right.
Speaker 1:So, that's a good. That's a plus, For sure, for sure. It's definitely worth the investment for the extra security.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, people like underestimate that. But I think now a lot of people that I've talked to or met at least have a hardware wallet, so that's a good sign for us, right For sure.
Speaker 1:What were your first thoughts when you heard about the crypto art space?
Speaker 3:the crypto art space. To be honest, like I don't know how to react because I I I saw this word nft, uh, and you know the whole people sale thing and I don't even know how I got that across. I think I was just like on on the internet and I just saw the news, like somebody just sold a jpeg for that amount of money and I was like what on earth is going on, like I mean, like what is going on?
Speaker 3:so I was like super curious and um, started digging this word nft and googled it, obviously, and like everybody else did, and still didn't get it. What the hell is a non-fungible token? So like what's fungible? You know that's like fungi, like food or something Like it's such a weird word, right? So I just got super intrigued into it and started digging about it, learning about it. Into it and start digging about it, uh, learning about it. And then somehow I ended up in this black hole of jacob regland's um nft thing, like course he was promoting okay.
Speaker 3:So I looked at it I was like okay okay, um, so I told myself, like I'm just gonna try something that I've never done before, no knowledge of, and just freaking ape into this. So, um, I mean, like before this, like I, I heard about crypto, right. So, back in I don't know when, was this like 20, I don't know, 12, or maybe even earlier, I don't know, but I completely ignored it and, right and looking at it right now, it's like damn, I could have, like you know, made some nice profits here and there. Um, and I was okay. Well, then I told myself, this time something popped up. I'm just gonna dive into it and not miss this chance and take a risk. So, yeah, and then I started this, this course, with jacob, and then everything just went, everything was his history. So, uh, it was amazing. Yeah, I, I'm not regretting it at all. So, yeah, super, got, I found, found this, uh, this whole little community that we have on the internet.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, for sure this is nice, that's a nice group of people, for sure 100. So why did you choose art? What brought you to photography?
Speaker 3:this is very yeah cliche. I mean a lot of people say, yeah, art chose me.
Speaker 3:All the photography came to me but it did like it actually did like I don't know. It's it's freaking cliche, um, but it just happened to me. I think I mentioned this in in the type of ones podcast as well. Um, it was during like I'm not gonna go through all the details, but, like summary, like you know, I went traveling with my brothers and I didn't have a camera back then, right so because I didn't know I would want to go into photography, so I had to document this whole trip with my brothers.
Speaker 3:It's like our first like solo brother script, like three of us, and we were in morocco, so, and it's such a cool country, and we were like you know, we have to document this. You know, send it to our parents just to be, you know, let them see that we're having fun and we're not like getting kidnapped or anything or falling off a cliff or whatever, just like sharing those moments with them. So I just started taking pictures of the whole trip and then it just happened Like after the trip, um, I just, you know, I didn't look back, I just shared the photos with my parents and my friends and that was it. But a lot of them have been saying like, yeah, you have the eye for it.
Speaker 3:And I was like my for what, like they said, photography, I was like, okay, cool, I completely ignored that. It was kind of like foolish of me to just like ignore that, I think, because I mean I was working oh, I am still working. But at that time I was super like really, really busy. And only after two years that trip I realized like, okay, this is, this is the moment, because, you know, during the whole covid lockdown, um, you know, shit got got carried away and it's like really it was a tough time for a lot of people and I had losses of family members as well during those time and I couldn't even say goodbye or my, my last words, or even you know why I didn't do a funeral because of all the lockdown. So I was like in a very very, very dark quicksand, I would say.
Speaker 3:So I was buried, but I couldn't see the light. I was, I wouldn't say, depressed. I tried to, like, keep myself positive, but I didn't feel myself at all and it really affected me. So photography was the only way I could channel my negativity into creativity. So that was one of the eye-opening moments for me, when I first looked back at the pictures of what I took in Morocco and then I was like, okay, there is something, let's try to find out what this is. So since then, like 2019, I just, yeah, discovered my unfounded passion for photography. So it just all came along unplanned and spontaneously.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, and since then I fell in love with it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good. Yeah, good to fall back in love with it. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3:So what jobs have you done along the way, you know, with all the summer holidays and all that, I was actually working in a burger restaurant, so flipping burgers and um assembling them so I I love cooking a lot, so and this burger restaurant is like one of the best around my area.
Speaker 3:So I applied, uh, and they accepted me like immediately. So I was like, yes, I get to eat free burgers. That was the whole point, like. I mean, like money wise it's good, it's fine, like I get the, the minimum wage and all that, but I just want free burgers, free food. They do this so nice burger, really, really nice ones. They have one called the Elvis Burger, which is with PB and jam.
Speaker 3:I mean, it sounds weird but it's nice, it works. The salty and the sweetness. I worked in a burger restaurant waiting as a waiter flipping burgers From the front end to the back end. I've done restaurant stuff. So, yeah, I definitely enjoyed it a lot Nice, solid one.
Speaker 1:What are you doing for work now?
Speaker 3:right now I am a chemical engineer, so kind of like cooking, so in the lab, like breaking bad. I'm not always sending like the, the gif or the gif, I don't know, we'll let the audience decide. I always send this gif of Walter White cooking, pouring with the glass and all that. So yeah, and today we cook. So yeah, kind of related. So cooking chemistry, yeah, that's me.
Speaker 1:Perfect.
Speaker 3:All right, that's cool, that's cool.
Speaker 1:If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
Speaker 3:God, I love this question. Oh man, you know what this question? Like my brother and I, we used to give people their animal type based on how they look as a kid. So it's like it's so mean, it's like we're so judgy and we would just ask each other hey, what would you think that person would be, and why? So exactly this question. It was so funny and it brings me so many childhood memories. It's amazing. I exactly this question. It was so funny and it brings me so many childhood memories. It's amazing. I love this question, but I would say a unicorn, but I want something that exists in the world. So not a mythical creature, but fun fact, a unicorn is a symbol of the UK. Did you know that? I don't think so uk did?
Speaker 1:you know that I don't think so.
Speaker 3:I did not know that. Yeah, so I mean, it appears um, in the full royal coat of arms of the uk. So it's it's on the passport as well, like if you just google like the uk passport, you will see the freaking unicorn, which is like insane. That's I find it super cool. So I love unicorns for whatever reason. But like something non-mythical, um, I would say a narwhal. Have you heard about that? Oh yeah yep, yep, yeah, so kind of like a unicorn, but not really.
Speaker 3:It's like the underwater unicorn, um I have no idea why like when I looked at this question, it, that animal just came right at me. Um, no idea, but I'm super obsessed with it, I mean ever since I got my first encyclopedia from my parents, uh, back in the day when I was a kid and I I just love flipping through through those and I saw, like you know, the whole underwater world section and I love the ocean a lot, so I got fascinated about this creature and I was like what the hell is this? It's like a freaking unicorn but it swims and I just find it super interesting. And, yeah, I don't know I would be them, because they're just cool, right, right. Yeah, I don't know, I mean their tooth.
Speaker 3:Actually that sticks out from what the tusk sticks up from their um, actually from their, not even from their head, actually like close to the lip or something. It's actually their tooth and it's funny because they have so many nervous system, like nerve, in the whole tusk and they use that to sense or like it tells them the temperature of water, even the saltiness as well, I think, if I'm not wrong. It's crazy. It's like a whole machine in this little well, not little, but this long tusk they have. So that's super cool that's so crazy.
Speaker 1:It is a crazy animal. I want to see them in real life one day. Oh yeah, that'd be cool, yeah do you have?
Speaker 3:a favorite food yep, this is a very tough question. I mean, I do love burgers, but it's such a difficult question because I love food a lot. I'm a huge foodie. But I would say, having traveled to a couple of countries, I found what I really love and I think it's your favorite food, actually Mexican. Oh yeah, yeah I love mexican food it's so, it's so good, like when I was in mexico, I think 20, was it 20 or 2019?
Speaker 1:I I I just got like I got mind blown.
Speaker 3:Like the flavors and like the types of, you know, not your typical tex-mex food, but like the real, authentic Mexican food. Oh, I cannot get enough of them, like the tamales or the asados and the tacos and like oh my god, like don't even get me started.
Speaker 3:I'm like hungry right now at 11, 30 in the night, but it's so. I just love Mexican food so much, but like I mean it's so. I just love Mexican food so much, but like I mean it's so hard to just nail it down to one. But in terms of like savory, I would say Mexican food, but for sweet, because I'm a huge sweet tooth as well, I love pastries. So Okay, and with your biscuits you just freaking converted me Because they're like pastries to me, because they have layers, right, so I love love love them.
Speaker 3:So pastries are the way to go. All right, that's good stuff. Good stuff, it's too good.
Speaker 1:What's the best piece of advice you've been given?
Speaker 3:so many, so many advice like oh, this is tough as well, I would say. I mean, I'm a very emotional person, as you know. Um, you guys probably know by now. Um, but a lot of my decisions have been made based on how I feel and I've made a lot of mistakes, and so this, this quote, or like this, this advice, will always stick to my head, like it's for my dad and he's like don't make emotional decisions. Don't make emotional decisions. Like that will never, ever leave my head, because I'm like my mom if she's probably listening to this she'll be like oh my god, here we go again. But, um, yeah, so I, me and my mom, we're like so emotional we make, like you know, if we're like happy or angry, we'll just, like you know, decide like straight there and then, but my dad, he's super chill, very zen, and he would think about it and then make the decision. He's always telling us just don't make emotional decisions, because this applies to almost everything in life.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Be it in Web3 or buying something that you don't really need.
Speaker 1:Do you have advice for artists joining the NFT space?
Speaker 3:Yeah, for people I I mean, I don't know like I'm, I'm like a fetus, I would say to a lot of people in this space, because I'm, I don't know, it's like my eighth month right now in this space. So, like, really, really like young, okay, but, um, yeah, I've heard a lot of people say this you know, take your time, like be patient. It's easy, easier said than done, right, but just take your time and learn about the blockchain, like the technology behind it, before even like minting anything or you know, just have a feel how things work and just understand the foundation of this whole platform that we're leveraging for the future to come. And so be very intentional and be patient because, yeah, it's not easy. I know a lot of people have been just wanting to sell their work and all that, but I mean, sure, who doesn't want to have a seller right of their piece? But to me, patient and really connecting with people instead of just shilling and GM, like sure, the GM's a culture, but maybe a bit more than that would be nice. So really like get the connection going and we are humans, after all, behind that PFP, so, and that's just like super important.
Speaker 3:I would say yeah, and also to not hesitate to reach out to people for questions, because I certainly felt that in the, I think, like the first two months or so, but then when I heard people like yeah, just like hit me up if you have any questions, I was like okay, cool. Then I and I did and it felt like a normal conversation that we're having. It's like you know, it doesn't matter if that person has, I don't know, 50 000 followers and you have zero or like 10 or something. We are still humans. So I would say people are super kind in this space actually. So just reach out.
Speaker 3:But if you do reach out, have the courtesy to say GM good morning or hello, or how are you GM good morning or hello, or how are you, instead of just like giving you know, just chilling your work and like can you please help me? Or like I have this question, like at least start with something, right? I mean it only takes two seconds to say how are you? I mean, sometimes I get put off by people, just you know, sending me their work without saying anything like a greeting and just like what do you think, right? I've never spoken to you ever before, apart from the gms on the timeline and now you just like come at me like this um, I would love to help you, but if you were come like approach the other way, I would definitely help you out more. So so, yeah, sometimes I get these kind of DMs I'm like nah, yeah, nah, it's a pass, right yeah.
Speaker 1:So if you could live or move anywhere, where would you live and why?
Speaker 3:This is also very tough. Um, I like all your questions like super tough. Um, I love the waters and I need to be near a body of water. So anywhere near the ocean or a sea not a pond, a lake could be cool, like a big enough lake that feels like an ocean. Maybe that feels like it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like you know, I don't know whatever lake.
Speaker 3:Like I don't know the Ozark lakes. They're huge as well, like, for example, like I need a huge lake or a body of water that I can, you know, just see the horizon, and so, yeah, I love the salty breeze ocean, but I also want mountains and desert, so I'm very demanding on myself right now, but this sort of like yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 3:California kind of hits the spot with all these because like there's the desert, there are the mountains, ocean is next door, like forest as well, so like everything is just like really cool. So I don't know like.
Speaker 3:California maybe I'm not sure, true, yeah, I. It's a tough question to pinpoint down to one spot and there's just so much more to explore. I was like thinking as well in namibia, because like literally the desert meets the ocean at one point and that's like super cool. But I don't know, I've never been there, so it's tough to say yeah, but somewhere with water nature, so California kind of hits the spot.
Speaker 1:True, true. So do you have any questions for me?
Speaker 3:Oh boy, yes, where can I start? So I won't ask the Web3, typical NFC stuff, because I think a lot of people have already asked them um. But I would just go something a bit more fun, let's say so um. First question what kind of genre of music do you listen to and which is your favorite artist?
Speaker 1:uh, so this is like. Uh, it varies a lot like right right now I've been listening to spotify. What is the name? It's a station I was just looking for like something kind of like I guess, from back when growing up. Basically it's called throw throwback jams oh, yeah, okay is it um, so that's been good like all these.
Speaker 1:It's like kind of like, uh like 2000s, 90s hip-hop okay, yeah so there's that, and then also, like some alternative, I'll listen to or rock awesome, nice. As far as a favorite band man that has really hard, I don't know. I feel it'd be like I don't know. It's hard because it always depends on the mood, right?
Speaker 3:yeah no, I totally feel that it's the same for me as well, right right now.
Speaker 1:I don't know if I'd say like arctic monkeys or like queens of the stone age yeah, something like that nice, okay, very cool.
Speaker 3:That's like kind of like yeah, what I'm gravitating towards now actually it really depends on the mood. But yeah, indie rock, alternative and all that that's kind of my jam as well. Nice, Very cool.
Speaker 1:Next question what is the only one thing you would save when there's an apocalypse? If all my humans in my life were already safe, then I would. I'll just say that's a given. Yeah, I don't know. I feel like it'd be, like it's so weird to say like probably a computer, it's like, with all the pictures on it safer ledger or something like with all my well, all my family pictures I should say right, right um okay, okay but you know, if there's an apocalypse, are you even gonna have electricity to run the computer.
Speaker 1:You're like oh yeah I saved this computer, but I can't turn it on, you can't charge it at all.
Speaker 3:There's no electricity, okay.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, fair point, I mean I don't know, that's a hard one, like yeah, grab, uh, because I don't know how many actual photo albums we have. We have, like a wedding photo album, but no other photo albums.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, so I don't know that's a hard one. Yeah, no, it's I. I don't even know what I would answer. So, yeah, just thought like it was a random question that popped in my head. So I was like, okay, let's just ask that all right all right, um yeah, last question, um simple one favorite meal of the day and why?
Speaker 1:I don't know. I feel like lunch is that meal okay because it's pretty, it's? I don't know, it could be low-key, chill. It's not as much pressure on that meal, I guess not like dinner for some, like I don't know, yeah, like I think lunch is like the perfect meal.
Speaker 3:I would say it's like you know, you're not groggy, you're not. You know, after the morning you're not tired for dinner, you're just like at the peak, right? So, yeah, okay, I'll take lunch for sure nice.
Speaker 1:Well, do you have any shout outs or do you have any upcoming projects you'd like to talk about?
Speaker 3:um, shout outs, it's tough. I don't want to mention a handful of people there's so many people that I really really love that's fair, that's fair, um so like shout out to everybody that supported me throughout this whole journey so far.
Speaker 3:So like I'm very, very thankful and grateful for all the support. It's. It's been an a pleasure, um, just like writing with everybody on on the twitter timeline and, you know, just supporting each other. So I I absolutely enjoy it. So, yeah, shout out to to those and maybe a special shout out to click create. I don't know they're like. Click create has been, I don't know like the highlight of my days so far. Like discord is vibing. Um, I just love being there. People are super funny. Perp the moderator as well. Like he's like also just just amazing. So I mean, the whole click create discord is fucking amazing.
Speaker 3:I love it yeah um, awesome, yeah, but like any upcoming projects, uh, yeah, I mean I have like a couple in mind. I'm working on um one thing like back to the community. You know, I I've never expected this at all the support that I got from so many people. So I want to give back to people that have supported me in my art. So I'm really thinking now kind of like, yeah, like a fun thing to do. Um, yeah, I don't know, maybe an alpha additions, maybe for for certain people.
Speaker 2:Um, I'm not sure how I'm gonna do it yet but it's gonna be like a couple of drops probably.
Speaker 3:So I'm still working on it, on trying to give back um to, to the supporters of my artwork and um. So that's that. That's like the first thing on my mind when it popped up. The second thing is I haven't actually launched any collection, so it's not going to be like a full 60 piece collection. It's going to be probably just four very specially curated ones and it's going to be a standalone collection. It's not going to be related to any of the dunes or anything like that. So I still kind of like try to find a storyboard for those pieces and try to like, yeah, create something that would inspire people. So that will be sometime I have no idea when, probably second half of this year. No idea where the space is going to take us, but we'll see how that goes.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, we'll see how that goes. So, yeah, nice, awesome. Well, jj, thank you so much for this time your interview. Thank you, and uh hope you have a great evening thank you so much, guy.
Speaker 3:It was an absolute pleasure and thanks for having me. So this is like another wet three achievement for me and I'm super honored and grateful.
Speaker 1:Oh man well, you take care, yeah, norcalguy.