Trevor McFedries

Trevor McFedries is a baller. A DJ, entrepreneur, and aspiring basketball star, the 36-year-old Los Angeles native is also the CEO of Dapper Collectives, a role he assumed when the NFT startup Dapper Labs acquired his artificial intelligence–focused media company Brud. As one of its founders, McFedries gave life to Lil’ Miquela, the uncannily cool virtual influencer who served as patient zero for his philosophy of community-based storytelling (Brud plans to put Miquela’s fate in the hands of her followers). Now, as the internet moves towards a decentralized future—Web 3.0—McFedries sits firmly on its bleeding edge. In 2020, he launched Friends With Benefits (FWB), a private online community for blockchain enthusiasts and artists, where membership fees come in the form of digital tokens, and networking takes place on Discord channels. The goal? To create a digital utopia whose denizens can own—and monetize—their creative output. To help us make sense of his vision, the artist Jordan Wolfson, who knows a thing or two about creation in the age of the internet, spoke to McFedries about what the World Wide Web might look like when it’s for everyone, by everyone.