Benoit Pagotto, who based RTFKT (later acquired by Nike), died out of the blue at 41, leaving an indelible mark on digital trend and NFTs.
Benoît Pagotto, a co-founder of Nike-owned NFT and digital trend chief RTFKT, has handed away unexpectedly on the age of 41.
Philippe Rodriguez, a accomplice and co-founder of Avolta Companions, was the primary to share this information publicly, calling the demise of Pagotto very surprising and commending his inventive instincts and modesty.
Co-founder Steven Vasilev verified the information with a touching submit on X, noting that the imaginative and prescient and inspiration of Pagotto would endure.
Supply X
Digital Style Pioneer’s Sudden Exit Shocks Web3 Group
In early 2020, Pagotto co-founded RTFKT with Steven Vasilev and Chris Le.The corporate emerged as one of many main Web3 studios that focuses on modern NFTs, digital sneakers, and different creative partnerships.
The Clone X x Takashi Murakami assortment ranks amongst their most profitable undertakings and stands as one of the worthwhile NFT collections.
As a trend and blockchain know-how integration firm, beneath Pagotto, RTFKT established a brand new normal of creativity within the metaverse and remodeled digital collectibles.
In December 2021, Nike bought RTFKT to reinforce its presence within the metaverse and digital innovation.
In late 2024, nonetheless, Nike acknowledged its intention to close down RTFKT, with the corporate reevaluating priorities. However, Pagotto remained at Nike because the Senior Director of Model and Partnerships, engaged on the digital transformation of the model.
Remembering a Visionary Innovator Past Digital Sneakers
Co-workers bear in mind Pagotto not solely as a person of genius in enterprise, but in addition as a person of inspiration and modesty.
Former RTFKT CTO Samuel Cardillo recalled Pagotto’s enigmatic nature, unlikely present, and type coronary heart when others proposed him for the CTO function.
By the surprising demise of the co-founder, we’re confronted with a major hole throughout the nexus of blockchain, gaming, and trend innovation.
Benoit Pagotto’s work continues to have an effect within the discipline of digital collectibles and the tradition of Web3.
His legacy lives on by way of the inventive neighborhood that he helped set up and the groundbreaking work at RTFKT that propelled NFTs into the mainstream of digital trend.