Try GOLD - Free

BORED APE GOES HOLLYWOOD

GQ India

|

June - July 2022

It's already the world's most coveted NFT collection, but the BORED APE YACHT CLUB is becoming something else: highly lucrative I.P. With buyers racing to make their apes the stars of movies and books and albums and shows, GQ goes inside the quest to cash in on a decentralized version of Disney.

- WILL STEPHENSON

BORED APE GOES HOLLYWOOD

Sonny Q, who would prefer I not use his last name, was telling me about the exorcism he had received as a younger man in Boston, in which he lay in a bathtub while a priest covered him with eggs. "I had a weird spirit on me, he said. "I was struggling, doing bad things and having constant failures. Bad things happening in my life over and over and over again." Stoutly built and bearded, he shook his head sombrely as he recalled the demon possession that had nearly ruined him.

It was early spring, we were on the crowded deck of a private club in Hollywood, on Sunset Boulevard, and he was sharing this story by way of illustrating why he particularly valued a passage from the Gospel of Mark-the one in which Jesus casts the demons out of a man into a herd of pigs, which proceeds to rush off a cliff and drown. Sonny lit a joint; the DJ started spinning B.T. Express's "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)". "I like to think that happened to me," Sonny said. Now, his demons are long gone, and with them his propensity for failure. He is born again, in a manner of speaking. "I have a personal brand," he said. "I want to, like, fuck bitches and live a player life."

MORE STORIES FROM GQ India

GQ India

GQ India

The Count of Kochi

India's leading performance artist and curator Nikhil Chopra reimagines the upcoming edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale as something evolving and responsive—rather than a finished spectacle.

time to read

10 mins

August - September 2025

GQ India

GQ India

Game of Jawns

A DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE UNPRECEDENTED UPHEAVAL IN THE FASHION WORLD'S GREAT HOUSES.

time to read

1 min

August - September 2025

GQ India

GQ India

How to Build the Next Great Watch Brand

Sylvain Berneron's debut timepiece made him the most exciting watchmaker in the industry. His second watch is even better.

time to read

2 mins

August - September 2025

GQ India

GQ India

SUPER STRIKER SHREYAS

Shreyas lyer is one of world cricket's biggest stars. Is the national team finally ready to embrace his supreme talents?

time to read

8 mins

August - September 2025

GQ India

GQ India

String Theory

Internet's favourite sitarist Rishab Rikhiram Sharma speaks on learning under the late Pandit Ravi Shankar, making Indian classical music more accessible to modern audiences, and his plans for Sitar for Mental Health.

time to read

7 mins

August - September 2025

GQ India

GQ India

4 Ways to Embrace Maximalism as a Minimalist

Trust us: You've got enough solid V-neck sweaters and straightleg chinos already. Now it's time to stock up on the swerves that swing for the fences.

time to read

1 min

August - September 2025

GQ India

GQ India

VIRGIL ABLOH ARCHIEVE

INSIDE THE TOP SECRET

time to read

3 mins

August - September 2025

GQ India

GQ India

The Sonic Stylist

With a viral mixtape and music video, hip-hop OG Kr$na has finally hit the big time.

time to read

11 mins

August - September 2025

GQ India

GQ India

Opening Doors

MUMBAI’S NIGHTLIFE was surging in the mid-2000s, with over 300 bars and clubs throbbing from the southern tip of Colaba to the louche fringes near the Dahisar plaza.

time to read

4 mins

August - September 2025

GQ India

GQ India

Tracing the Line

From silk atelier to classrooms, Hermès reveals the artistry, precision and play behind its yearlong celebration of craft.

time to read

3 mins

August - September 2025

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size