Yuga Labs and the BAYC community have been making some noise in recent days. They launched an interactive gaming experience Dookey Dash and the Sewer Pass NFTs to access it earlier in January. Alongside, the web3 gurus have recently strengthened their metaverse gaming branch by appointing Daniel Allegre as a CEO. Yuga’s Otherside metaverse project is regularly updated, and the community is growing exponentially. But the latest news is not that optimistic, as Yuga Labs and BAYC’s co-founder, Wylie Aronow, better known under the pseudonym Gordon Goner, is taking a leave of absence because of health problems.
The sad announcement was made by Gordon Goner himself in a tweet, where he said he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure by his doctor. “Symptoms started last year out of the blue and I put off seeking help (like an idiot) so I could keep working. But after testing, my doctor called and asked me to radically change my life,” he wrote.
According to the Yuga Labs’ mastermind, unfortunately, the disease is progressing rapidly. Aronow stated that he lost most of his twenties to a chronic illness, and the time and efforts he devoted to Yuga Labs made things worse: “I worked 12 hours a day, nearly every day. I should have taken the advice from everyone around me and sought balance. My goals now are to get the best medical treatment I can and heal.”
The company reacted to Goner’s announcement with a tweet of support from the whole of the Yuga family, wishing him to ‘get back to health’. However, Wylie Aronow's leave is not overwhelming and all-encompassing. Thus, he will still be participating in the company’s life as a Board Member and Strategic Advisor.
Recalling the prominent rise of Yuga Labs, which started back in early 2021, with the launch of the legendary Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection in April of the same year — all this wouldn’t go without Wylie Aronow. It was he and other core team members, including Greg Solano, Zeshan, and Kerem, who created the most powerful web3 community from scratch, with top NFT collectors, investors, enthusiasts, actors, and brands on board.
Currently, the only thing we can do is join the entire NFT community in our wishes for a speedy recovery for Gordon Goner.
