Wylie Aronow, also known online as Gordon Goner, one of the founders behind Bored Ape, went through a challenging period of health issues for ten years due to an autoimmune ailment before eventually recovering and launching the immensely popular NFT project three years ago during this same week.
After experiencing immense wealth and achievement, with BAYC garnering attention from prominent figures like Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg, Aronow faced a sudden setback when he was diagnosed with a heart condition leading to heart failure in January 2023.
Receiving news about having a condition that claims the lives of half its victims within five years is difficult to grasp. Aronow has relied on his spirituality to cope with the seriousness of the circumstances confronting him.
“It is truly a personal issue, to be completely honest, but I devoted a significant period of my life to Hinduism. I was raised next to an ISKCON temple, which involves Krishna consciousness,” he asserts.
“A profound spiritual aspect has always been a part of me, a facet I seldom discuss; subsequently, I embraced Buddhism.”
“When faced with the possibility of imminent death, mortality naturally becomes a predominant thought. It’s challenging to confront that inevitable instance, a singular experience. Acknowledging that death is inevitable, a reality most individuals don’t contemplate until they are confronted with their own mortality.”
“Dealing with the notion of death occupies the majority of my thoughts. I can’t affirm that I’ve come to terms with it proficiently, but I’m at a better juncture now compared to when I first received this news. This spiritual journey I’m on is uniquely deep, personal, and eccentric, destined to differ for each person.”
On a more optimistic note, he discloses that the treatment for his condition has shown favorable outcomes through an innovative stem cell procedure, even though the recovery process “hasn’t followed a linear trajectory.”
Aronow suggests that the need to confront his own mortality likely inspired his NFT shopping spree in November 2023, which captivated social media attention. Among his acquisitions were a Zombie CryptoPunk for 600 ETH and NFTs from various collections like Cool Cats, Mocaverse, World of Women, Doodles, Meebits, Chromie Squiggles and…
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