Shred Spots and NEAR Foundation: Kick-Flipping Into the Future of Social NFTs
NEAR FOUNDATION
July 12, 2023
Action sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding are gaining momentum, especially among Gen Z, and are quickly outpacing traditional sports. Today, Gen Z is one of the biggest growth populations in skateboarding, highlighting the relevance of action sports and their surrounding community to the TikTok generation.

This is where NEAR Foundation’s newest partner, Shred Spots, steps in. Shred Spots is a unique social platform specifically designed for active participants and community members in the street sports realm. Despite impressive growth, a dedicated, verticalized social platform that caters to these Gen Z skaters has been noticeably absent – until now. 

In a convergence of skating and the open web, Shred Spots has partnered with NEAR Foundation to create a unique, interactive experience for street sports enthusiasts. This fusion will empower skaters to create, compete, and immortalize their achievements via innovative NFT technology within the action sports metaverse.

Shred Spots: grinding in popularity among the open web generation
Shred Spots has established itself as a go-to app for street skaters and has formed partnerships with significant street sports brands like Red Bull, GoPro, and XGames. It’s a community-driven digital platform that allows its users to track their achievements, compete with their peers, and express themselves creatively.

A unique feature of Shred Spots is its live map, updated by the community, where users can find and add sports locations. They can search based on the type of obstacle, difficulty level, or even the likelihood of getting “busted.” These attributes have led Wired to proclaim Shred Spots as “the only app street skaters will ever need.”

In a recent interview, Shred Spots founder, Lev Filimonov, also emphasized the app’s unique ability to combine skaters’ experience with AR and NFTs, fostering a dynamic interaction with the history and culture of skate spots worldwide while allowing users to monetize their art and achievements.

Shred Spots’ popularity is a testament to its success. With its growth primarily driven by word-of-mouth within the street sports community, it has rapidly emerged as an essential tool for skaters worldwide. This organic growth underscores the platform’s ability to resonate with its audience and fulfill a clear need with Web3 and NEAR.

Making every trick memorable with Shred Spots x NEAR
The partnership between NEAR and Shred Spots brings an innovative twist to the realm of action sports, introducing the transformative potential of Web3 technologies to this vibrant community. Shred Spots plan to leverage NEAR’s blockchain to generate unique, collectible NFTs from skating highlights, enriching the overall user experience.

In this exciting new chapter, every trick recorded and uploaded onto Shred Spots could be minted into an NFT within the street art metaverse. This integration not only adds a rewarding layer to the platform but also deepens the connection between skaters and the fascinating world of blockchain.

Growth within the Shred Spots community has been largely organic, a testament to its widespread acceptance within the skating community. This partnership with NEAR amplifies the platform’s user experience through the integration of NFT technology, extending the reach of Web3 into the action sports world.

The alignment of Shred Spots and NEAR’s vision aids in democratizing access to Web3 technologies, introducing an entirely new user base to the possibilities of blockchain. This marks a pivotal step in broadening the horizons of the street sports community, linking their passions with the power of Web3 and digital ownership.

The collaboration between NEAR and Shred Spots epitomizes how the open web can enrich user experiences in growing niche communities like skateboarding and action sports. It also illustrates the future confluence of the open web, sports, and real-world achievements. And it’s bringing the blockchain to a whole new generation of action sports enthusiasts.