Sneaker Culture Stands Against Gun Violence in New NFT Project Transforming Illegal Firearms Into Non-Lethal Commodities for Peace

From illegal firearms to sneakers with social impact: Humanium Metal launches into the NFT space on Nifty Gateway with 501 Alchemist by Tuan Le & Maverick Create.

Sweden & New York, NY, (April 13, 2022), NFTs for social good expands into sneaker & hype culture with the 501 Alchemist NFT. The project transforms illegal firearms gathered from regions affected by armed violence into commodities for peace with each NFT, all while rewarding collectors with the rarest meta-sneakers on Earth. In partnership with Nifty Gateway, income generated from the project will be reinvested into communities affected by gun violence, aiming to break the vicious cycle of violence and poverty. The 501 Alchemist aims to foster a movement through the NFT community while creating the world’s most unique metaverse sneaker.

Humanium Metal, created by the Swedish NGO IM, is an innovation designed to end the global crisis of gun violence. Given 60% of all global violent deaths annually are due to firearms, IM has set forth a bold vision: to transform illegal firearms into commercial products and reinvest the proceeds into the most impacted communities. Thus far, 12,000 weapons in El Salvador, US and Zambia have been transformed into Humanium Metal.

IM has partnered with innovation house, Maverick Create, to create the 501 Alchemist sneaker project in collaboration with the Zen Master of Sneakers, Tuan Le. Best known for the Reebok Freestyle and Alien Stomper (for Aliens movie) AND1 Tai Chi, Mizuno Wave Rider among others, Le has experienced first-hand the ravaging effects of gun violence, growing up in Vietnam during the war. The gun violence continued upon moving to the United States, where he was also impacted by the ongoing mindless shootings taking so many innocent lives. Le felt compelled to leverage his design genius to get involved in a project turning weapons into sneakers.

The 501 Alchemist sneakers are artfully created, drawing inspiration from the ancient process of Alchemy, of transformation. The bespoke, ultra-rare collectible drop is broken into three tiers and each tier is a mixed bundle of unique 501 Alchemist collectibles supporting the cause. Every holder will receive digitally wearable versions of their respective meta-sneakers that can be styled on their metaverse avatars. These meta-sneakers are a powerful, positive flex that lets collectors look good and do good at the same time. Committed to creating real impact, 50% of the drop and half of all secondary sale royalties will go directly to Humanium Metal, in perpetuity. IM will reinvest this into communities affected by gun violence, making every collector an advocate.

The 501 Alchemist sneaker drop will be available exclusively in partnership with Nifty Gateway on April 13th, 2022. Please visit www.501alchemist.com for more details.

ABOUT IM
IM is a Swedish value-based member organisation with no party, political or religious affiliation. IM’s vision is a fair and humane world with the mission to fight and expose poverty and exclusion. IM empowers civil society, catalysing profound societal change towards equality and democracy as a feminist and anti-racist change agent.

ABOUT MAVERICK CREATE
Maverick collectively has over 100 years of creative audiovisual experience in fashion, art, music, visual effects and innovation. The collective firmly believes that the world’s biggest problems will not be solved by politics, but by art and creativity.

PRESS CONTACTS:
Simon Marke Gran, +46 73 58 4 13 38, simon.markegran@imsweden.org
Akbar Hamid, akbar@5cventures.io