On this episode of Progress Over Perfection, we’re joined by Sean Wotherspoon, Nick Adler, and Brennan Russo, the co-founders of MNTGE.

Using blockchain technology, state-of-the-art camera systems and world-renowned graphic designers, MNTGE is a digital wearables brand that brings the real-world heritage of vintage apparel to the virtual world.

We admit, we're not even sure what we just wrote, so here's how it essentially works. Sean Wotherspoon–owner of secondhand retailer Round Two, frequent adidas collaborator and fashion designer–is a collector of rare and iconic vintage clothing. He has an archive in California filled with over 4,000 pieces, each with their own unique story to tell, many of which no one will ever see, let alone wear. 

Now, imagine if you could own one of those items, but a digitized version, complete with the same wear and tear, stains and frays, discoloration and texture as the one that lives in the physical world. That’s MNTGE. 

“There is gonna be a future just like we see in the movies where there is a parallel universe, we're all living in a digital form, we might have secondary jobs...And you're going to need cool clothes to wear. We're just simply solving that problem way ahead of time.”

Alongside physical offerings and a full access membership program, MNTGE is bringing the best parts of vintage clothing to the virtual world, encouraging people to become more conscious, community-driven consumers by buying secondhand.

“Our only way to meet what is going to be the future of customer demand is putting it through this digital program. We're going to be able to catalog hundreds of thousands of styles on a phone.”

“We're looking at this as a cohesive community project, where we want to entertain you, we want to teach you, and we want you to onboard and feel like you are part of a product.”

We had the pleasure of sitting down with these three innovators, to talk about their journey, how MNTGE came about, what MNTGE is exactly, and what I can be. 

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MycoWorks is a biotechnology company that specializes in the creation of mycelium-based materials. 

If you’ve visited the digital pages of FUTUREVVORD at all over the past two years, you’ve likely read about a mushroom leather product–a coat, a bag, or a pair of sneakers. “Mushroom leather,” however, is a bit of an oversimplification; it’s more accurately a mycelium-based material. 

Mycelium is the underground, root-like structure of mushrooms that lives and feeds off of other organic matter. Under the right, lab-controlled conditions, mycelium can be grown into sheets that can mimic the look, feel and durability of animal-derived leather. 

For MycoWorks, this creation is called Reishi. 

MycoWorks, soon to turn 10 years old, has grown alongside its flagship material. In the time we’ve launched FUTUREVVORLD nearly two years ago, we’ve seen MycoWorks collaborate with the likes of luxury fashion house Hermès, designer Heron Preston, milliner Nick Fouquet, and most recently automaker General Motors, where the two are exploring the possibilities of using mycelium leather in our cars. 

In our interview with Philip we talk about how MycoWorks found its beginning in the art world, particularly sculpture by Mr. Ross himself, how Reishi is changing industries, the power of collaboration and storytelling in changing those aforesaid industries, what’s next for MycoWorks, and so much more. 

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Luke Haverhals came to the latest episode of Progress Over Perfection donned in items made with his own brand’s materials: a Ralph Lauren tee and Allbirds kicks. Clearly, he’s a man on a mission. And his mission is to get humans off the petrochemical supply chain and back onto the natural one.

Haverhals is the CEO and Founder of NFW (Natural Fiber Welding), known for its revolutionary plant-based materials MIRUM® and CLARUS®, and used by the likes of Camper and Pangaia. At NFW, if it ain’t 100 percent it ain’t good enough. If you take a look at the materials that it produces, you won’t find a drop of petrol or toxic chemicals anywhere. Whereas some companies may mix plastic-based materials with plant-based ones, NFW is 100 percent plastic free.

We sat down with Haverhals for a very interesting chat that moved from the efficiencies of engineered materials (a roll of MIRUM is much more efficient than an irregular shaped cow hide) to the hard economic truths of next-gen material production, and how to be “compatible with the Earth.”

Haverhals and Daniel Navetta, FVV’s Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, also talked about what real transparency and traceability looks like. Humanity is “destined to end in tragedy [if we’re not] truthful and holistic about how we measure and discuss our impact,” says Haverhals. “And that’s something that’s not happening well in our world right now.”

The big issue of scalability was also tackled. “If you want to change the world, you've got to get thousands of brands, including the biggest brands in the world, to show up to your place of business,” says Haverhals. You’ve got to go all in. And if the problem you’re facing is as destructive as the climate crisis, your solutions better be moonshot in ambition.

“When you look at the 2050, 2030 climate goals, human rights goals, those things will not happen with people who simply do incremental tinkering on the current system. It requires radical vision and disruption of the current system. Not every part of the system, but certain parts cannot stay the same and should not be recognizable by 2050.”

Plenty more fascinating subjects are addressed, including why we should think about materials as nutrients for the Earth. It’s tasty stuff.

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