Josh Ong was one of the first people to realise that the Bored Ape Yacht Club represented more than a set of JPEGs. He's held onto his Ape since minting it, has played a key role himself in the community's success, and is known as 'the godfather' amongst the BAYC community.

At the same, Josh is a thoughtful creative who has spent his life at the cutting edge of tech and communities. He speaks to Leo Nasskau about what made BAYC special, why communities need 'inclusive exclusivity' to thrive, and how he helped persuade Yuga Labs to rent a yacht and ultimately create Ape Fest.

Our favourite quote? "We looked at renting a boat and having an actual yacht party. Yuga said 'we'll fund it'; we started planning and it ended up as Ape Fest."