At the start of this interview, I find it hard to address 2Stupid2Win with his nickname – it feels mean in my mouth. Funnily enough he says some people shorten it to 2Stupid alone which seems even meaner, so I decided to call him 2Win which doesn’t mean a whole lot either way but it’s not mean.
The name predates Upland. 2Stupid2Win was involved in fantasy football and kept on losing so he changed his username to 2Stupid2Win in an ironic gesture. Turns out he finished 3rd in the next season but the name and the irony stuck.
2Stupid2Win is a dedicated man. Husband and father to four children, he works full time in the Energy sector and the only way he can find time to do things for himself is to get up earlier than the family – much earlier. In fact, most mornings 2Stupid2Win is up and at it by 4am in the morning, now that’s dedication.
“I find at the end of the working day, when the kids are gone to bed, I’m not as sharp as I want to be. So, the solution for me was to get up before everyone else.”
After school, 2Stupid2Win had no clue about what he wanted to do, so he joined the navy and spent the next nine years serving, where he visited 23 different countries, before moving to the energy industry. His navy experience helps him now with the discipline of getting up early.
Regarding Upland, he stumbled across the platform in late December 2020. He had seen many ads on Facebook and Twitter and was intrigued and decided to check it out. It was not totally out of his wheelhouse as he had spent his youth playing on Atari, Nintendo, and Playstation but he would have described himself as a casual gamer.
“I also understood cryptocurrency and so when I saw Upland it made sense to me. You can’t cheat in this game when it’s all recorded on the blockchain. I understood it like Monopoly but on the blockchain.”
2Stupid2Win began playing on January 5, 2021.
“I could initially see that people might view it as an investment initially but ultimately, it’s a game. When crypto was going through its bull run, there was an influx of people into Upland. At that time, everything was a bit crazy and people could make 10x, 100x, even 1000x on random crypto coins. These individuals had the same expectations for their Upland returns. When these returns didn’t materialize these individuals turned their anger towards the game and its founders. There were a lot of crypto millionaires, but as the year went on, the bull market receded and people and things got a bit more normal.”
2Stupid2Win credits Upland with its success through its simple approach.
“There was no need for wallets, for seed phrases, for moving money from fiat to crypto on an exchange. Upland was very easy. And it was mobile – all that was needed was to download the game, create an account and play.”
There are many strategies to being successful in the Upland game. 2Stupid2Win started out as a long term property owner and holder.
“I don’t call it an investment per se as it is a game but there are very good returns given to property holders. For example, if you bought a property worth 10,000 UPX (or ten USD) you would earn 14.7% on that over the year – or $1.47 if you wanted to cash it in. You just don’t get those kinds of returns anywhere else.
“It’s a great way of compounding interest and with your returns, you can go and buy another property.”
2Stupid2Win admits his strategy is to hold long term, but smiles wryly at the new features and tools which are designed to remove returns back to the platform.
“There are some very nice Block Explorers, map assets and cars – all from the game and designed to part you from your UPX. Having said that, my podcast partner (Thankmelater) and I often give away UPX on our show and we also sponsor a racing league. It’s good to be part of the game and not just holding property.”
As the numbers grow, 2Stupid2Win enjoys the ease with which communities can grow. He argues it’s much easier to fit in than in the real world.
“You can check out a community, see if you like it, buy a property and hang out there. Finding your tribe was never easier.”
2Stupid2Win points out that unless you are a public figure, and by default of his podcast with Thankmelater, he has become one in Upland but people can be whoever they want to be.
“Of course, every so often you can find a bad actor, but they tend to be found out sooner rather than later and are weeded out. But it’s very liberating for a lot of people to be free and not be judged by others.”
2Stupid2Win takes the Upland game seriously. He tracks his property and earnings in a spreadsheet and explains that he has earned more than 30 million UPX over the past three years not just from the property earnings, but also the send fees when people send their block explorers to his properties. That equates to some $30,000 plus.
Like other Upland gamers he points out that to earn at these levels he did have to put money in but if he cashed out today he’d be in positive returns – plus some. 2Stupid2Win has acquired some higher priced properties costing millions of UPX but he has also balanced his portfolio with properties at the other end of the scale, costing between 5 thousand and 10 thousand UPX ($5 and $10). He does not feel now is the right time to sell with the crypto markets being down overall.
“In addition, I am busy building neighborhoods and encouraging others to stake their Spark so we can build attractive neighborhoods.”
2Stupid2Win’s podcast, The Upland Property Xperts Podcast @TheUPXPodcast, was created after the first Genesis Week in Upland. When he began there was just San Francisco but since then Upland has exploded with new users and cities now there are 28 cities – that’s a lot of activity.
“Our listeners are great – and keep us informed about all the different neighborhoods.”
2Stupid2Win is a big fan of Genesis week and has attended the last two years.
“It’s great to meet people in real life. I’m hoping to host a local meet up too. It’s a testimony to the sense of real community.”
If 2Stupid2Win could change anything it would be the speed of change. He admires the team but really would welcome some new features coming sooner and faster. He cites a slow approval for metaventure projects in the game. It took over a year for metaventures to launch in the game. Then new applications were backlogged along with slow approvals for map asset designs. There is a huge amount of interest for the community to build businesses on Upland, so it’s no wonder it takes a while to get them approved by the team.
“But I am excited about the new map assets and see them as a great way to build the Upland economy. I see the people that are able to adapt to new change as being the most successful and I fit into that model.
“I want to be at the groundbreaking edge – but also to help others.”
When asked what Upland means to him, 2Stupid2Win pauses for a bit.
“Upland is the future. It’s a great opportunity to open yourself up to new technology and to meet people that you normally wouldn’t meet every day.”
