From living paycheck to paycheck until 2021, to earning over thousands of dollars through NFTs, the life of 36-year-old Brittany Pierre has turned around in past nine months or so.
She has reportedly made over $109,000 by selling NFTs of her photography, and also by flipping other NFTs she bought for a profit.
Before this NFT turnaround, Pierre, who currently lives in Chicago, used to struggle to even pay rent on her Chicago apartment or afford day to day groceries and bus fare, as per what she told CNBC.
Pierre said her financial situation was very ¡®touch and go¡¯ and she ¡®got pretty depressed.¡¯
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In March 2021, 36YO Pierre got to learn about NFTs, with her friend, who had just sold an NFT of her work for over $17,600, being an inspiration for Pierre to try and do the same. So she started deep diving into the concept on YouTube and Google for a couple of days.
And then one month later, Pierre started selling her first NFTs and was soon selling pieces for about a few hundred dollars each, much more than what her physical art reportedly earned her.
But this wasn't as easy as it sounds. Initially, Pierre faced a few barriers to entry, as for most of the top platforms, creators needed to either apply or be invited to list their artwork. Once that happens, creators have to pay gas fees to mint their NFTs, which at times can seem to be difficult to afford for many.
So, with the help of a few friends who connected her, Pierre was invited to NFT marketplace Foundation in March 2021 by photographer Zak Krevitt. Also, another artist raised funds to pay Pierre¡¯s gas fees for her first couple of pieces so she could mint her work, according to Pierre.
Pierre says that at the time she probably had like 10 bucks in bank account, and the fees were about $250.
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Pierre says, through her street style and portraiture photography, ¡°It¡¯s mostly Black women and men that I try to uplift. When you look up ¡®beautiful person¡¯ on Google, you normally see a white person. So I wanted to put Black people on the blockchain so we can solidify that. I want to highlight the Black experience.¡±
Here's one of her many tweets surrounding her black and white theme for NFTs.
36YO Pierre¡¯s first sales occurred after a notable NFT collector known as Weesh saw her art on Twitter. Although Pierre had found another day job for income, she decided to quit and pursue NFTs full-time.
And as she began earning more through NFTs, Pierre was able to not just pay her bills and live more comfortably, but even donate to organizations and invest in other artists¡¯ NFTs, some of which she managed to flip for returns.
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As the NFT sales picked up, Pierre¡¯s life began changing, for the good.?
From paying her rent on time, buying more film photography equipment and splurging on Nike, to now saving to buy a Tesla and a place of her own, Pierre¡¯s life has turned around drastically.
To give back to the NFT community that has given her so much and changed her life, Pierre prioritizes onboarding other women, inviting them to Foundation and paying their gas fees. She sees cryptocurrency and NFTs as a way to build generational wealth since they allow her to invest as well as earn money without dealing with traditional financial systems.
She also stated that ¡°I do truly believe that crypto and NFTs can be the path of real financial freedom and freedom from racist systems in government and banks.¡±
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