You can't manufacture memes. But you can build something meaningful from one. Rektguy started as a joke for people who lost everything in crypto. Now it’s a real beverage brand, retail-tested and web3-powered. Here’s how meme culture can break into the real world 🧵👇

1/ May 2022, @osf_rekt and @rektmando dropped a free mint called Rektguy. It was a vibe: - A skull - Neon energy - No roadmap, just pain and humor It captured what it meant to be down bad in Web3. And people resonated with it.

2/ Rektguy wasn’t some VC-backed PFP startup. - It was personal. Relatable. - Instead of hiding from losses, the NFT leaned into it: “I got rekt and I’m still here.” - From trauma to tribe. A culture of shared losses, turned into loyalty.

3/ The holders weren’t just in for the flips. They stayed through the bear, kept the meme alive, and kept laughing. That kind of energy raw, honest, sticky is rare in crypto. And Rekt’s team built on it.

4/ Next came something unexpected: A drink. A real, physical sparkling water brand called: REKT DRINKS - “Get Rekt Responsibly.” First flavor? Liquidated Lime. First drop? 222,000+ cans sold out in ~48 hours.

5/ This wasn’t just influencer merch. The product was legit caffeine-free, alcohol-free, shipped globally. Distributed to 32 countries in its first drop. Community-driven, crowdfunded, and meme-branded. The irony: a drink called Rekt that’s actually healthy.

6/ The business scaled fast but carefully. - Each drink earns DRANK Points - DRANK Points convert into $REKT tokens (launched later) - Exclusive drops tied to NFTs (e.g. Abstract Apple, Ship Rekt) - Shipments, loyalty, and culture looped together

7/ In 2025, $REKT hit a market cap of $250M+. That same month, Rekt Drinks appeared in select 7-Eleven stores in Southern California. Not a global retail empire but a meaningful step. The meme had moved from digital to physical.

8/ Along the way, some notable wallets picked up Rektguy: - Snoop Dogg - Steve Aoki - Gary Vaynerchuk - Cozomo de Medici Some were organic, some likely social — but the reach was real. No mass-market PR. Just Web3 word-of-mouth.

9/ Rekt also launched a YouTube docu-series: “Get Rekt or Die Trying.” It shows behind-the-scenes community building, experiments, and team dynamics. Part meme. Part startup vlog. Part crypto documentary.

10/ To be clear. This whole ecosystem is still evolving. - Retail rollout is early. - The token is volatile. - NFT demand fluctuates. And the feedback loop (drink → points → token → culture) is still experimental. But it’s one of the most complete experiments we’ve seen.

11/ While many Web3 brands push hype and disappear, Rekt chose to stay consistent. No pivot to AI. No chain-hopping. Just slow, sticky progress rooted in meme culture. It's not perfect. But it’s real.

12/ You can’t fake community. You can’t script memes. But you can build from them. Rektguy was born from bear market pain and built a brand out of it. Whether it lasts or not, it already did something most couldn’t: It shipped.

If you ever got rugged, laughed about it, and kept going. Rekt was made for you. And whatever comes next, it’s worth watching. Get Rekt Responsibly.🍻

Disclaimer: NFA. I do not hold any Rektguy NFTs or $REKT tokens. This thread is the result of independent research, not paid promotion. Just sharing my homework on real builders in Web3 If you found this helpful, a Like & RT would mean a lot