ANDREW POLLARD, FOUNDER & CEO OF D/A/R/E³

If I was able to travel back in time a few years and told myself that I would be starting a consulting business focused around Digital Assets and Real Estate I would have looked at myself like I was crazy. Probably mostly because I would be looking at my future self... but mainly because the idea would have sounded absolutely insane. To many people I'm sure it still does, but I know I'm not the only one that sees what WEB3 and Blockchain technology will bring to all aspects of life in the next few years. Including how humanity as a whole will communicate with each other, from interactions to transactions.

When I was in second grade, my parents made the decision to homeschool my younger sister and myself. Which, interestingly enough, gave me a lot of free time. I got to watch cartoons and play video games a lot because my mom would be so distracted with my little sister. However, when my father realized this, he began taking me to work with him on the days I didn't have to do any schoolwork. He owned a construction business framing houses for a living, so when he took me to work, I got to do all the fun stuff. Sweeping up the sawdust, holding the pieces of wood in place while everyone else got to do the cutting and hammering. Oh, and holding the ladders for them if they needed it. That was my first job.😄 Thankfully being homeschooled also allowed me more time to focus on the things I enjoyed... 

I started taking Piano lessons (I played "My Life" by Billy Joel at my High School Graduation). Not long after that I began Drum lessons, and eventually found myself immersed in the world of Martial Arts, studying anything and everything I could find about it. From books my dad gave me on Jeet Kun Do, to taking Tae Kwon Do, American Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Pai Lum Kung Fu and eventually even Tai Chi lessons. I had the pleasure of training with Olympic athletes and competing on the National level for several years, during which time I began having Grand Mal Seizures. After a visit with Dr. Christine Dean, a Neurologist at the Epilepsy Institute of NC, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy around the age of 15. Needless to say, that kind of put a wrench in my life's plan.

My plan was to join the military when I graduated high school, most likely the Navy. Mainly because I wanted the opportunity to become a Jet pilot so I could see what it felt like to hit Mach3... Unfortunately, you aren't able to join the military if you have epilepsy. So, I set a new goal for myself and began to focus more on my music. In my early twenties while I was in college, I decided to change my major from Culinary Arts to Sound Engineering and Recording. As with most young musicians, some friends and I had started several different bands together over the years. The most recognized of which became the Progressive Metal band known as  Hephystus. I played the Piano and Keytar in the band for around 6 years, during which time we were signed to an up-and-coming record label and got to travel all over the country. Rocking out on stage, playing music and windmilling with my Keytar. We even met Pauly Shore during one of our tours.😄 If you're interested in listening to some of the music we wrote, search Hephystus on Amazon Music or Spotify. There may even be a few YouTube videos out there still!

Once I hit 27 my life changed dramatically. My seizures got to the point where I ended up having to have two surgeries due to injuries incurred from the seizures, and I have been on disability ever since. I am currently not even qualified to have a driver's license until I have been seizure free for six months. A disabled, epileptic that studies whatever he thinks is interesting because he has the time, telling you that if you have a goal then go for it. It doesn't matter where you are in life or if you succeed or fail, as long as you are continuing to learn and grow from your experiences. 

Good or bad. 

When I first moved to the beach 8 years ago to help out my mom while she was unable to work, I started playing quite a bit of poker in my spare time. Particularly Tournament Style, No Limit, Texas Hold 'Em. I did pretty well. Won a few tournaments, met my fiancé and placed 6th in the East Coast Regionals in NC. In 2016 I slowly started getting more involved in cryptocurrency. Mostly Bitcoin and mainly because I wanted to play in online poker tournaments that I otherwise would have been unable to participate in without it. So, for me it wasn't much about investing in the beginning, it was just fun to tell people I played poker online with Bitcoin.

After a year or so a family friend and I reconnected, and we began talking about crypto. I was stunned he was as involved as he was. Especially being that he is a retired, well-known and highly respected naval officer. After speaking with him that day, it confirmed my suspicions that I needed to learn as much about blockchain as I could. I started digging deep and, needless to say, found a lot of dead ends until eventually I found what I believe to be those diamonds in the rough... Digital Assets, WEB3 Real Estate, NFTs and the Metaverse. I found out about Propy, reached out and was given a chance to take their course, so I took it. I studied and studied until I believed I was prepared, and on my first attempt I passed the exam to become a fully Licensed Crypto Certified Agent. I am constantly researching new companies incorporating blockchain technology and have found some incredible teams out there doing amazing things.   

The idea for D/A/R/E³ started one night when my fiancé Vanessa and myself were talking on the phone - Quick side note, she is the one who came up with and designed the logo for D/A/R/E³ and helped me make this website. She also has her own YouTube channels and has been an artist her entire life. She has been commissioned for several murals around the city, as well as custom pieces of art for people all around the world. Particularly caricatures of peoples' pets, which has apparently become quite popular. Anyway, we were talking on the phone, being silly, coming up with acronyms for our dog's name, which happens to be DERP. We thought of some pretty funny ones and then it got me thinking... Maybe I should come up with an acronym for my business idea and in that moment I decided. I decided that I couldn't wait anymore. I couldn't let everything I had learned and studied the past few years sit by the wayside and chose right then and there it was time to find out if the world was ready for this idea - and voilà, D/A/R/E³ was born. 

The name and what it represents incorporates several things that I enjoy so it fits perfectly. 

Thanks again for checking us out, and I hope you all have an awesome day!

D/A/R/E³

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