In early 2020, rock and Black Sabbath veteran, Ozzy Osbourne revealed that he has Parkinson’s disease. Now the 72-year-old rocker has announced his first attempt in the crypto industry with the release of Cryptobatz, a collection of 9,666 non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The collection is an informal “dedication” to the infamous incident with the… bat bite. On January 20, 1982, Ozzie bit the head of a live bat during a concert at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. He later claimed he thought it was a toy thrown at him by one of the audience.
Osborne told Rolling Stone Magazine that he decided to launch his own NFTs after his wife and manager, Sharon, told him not to buy a Bored Ape NFT.
“I’ve been trying to get in on the NFT action for a while, so when I asked Sharon for a Bored Ape for Christmas – after several failed attempts to buy one – and after she said no, I decided to create my own. Cryptobatz is an intellectual project for NFT collectors and fans. The project pays homage to one of my most iconic moments in the scene and is an opportunity to own a rare piece of art history. I love it!”
– Ozzy
NFT With A Twist
Cryptobatz comes with a twist: owners will be able to create new NFTs called “MutantBatz” by exchanging Cryptobatz with other collections.
NFTs are a type of digital asset where ownership is recorded on a digital blockchain. Each NFT is unique and can be seen as a collectible that cannot be replicated, making it unique and potentially valuable. NFTs can represent digital files such as artwork, audio, video, posters, album covers, and other forms of creative work.
Most NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain, meaning they are bought and sold using Ethereum cryptocurrency.
I can’t hide it anymore, I have Parkinson’s Disease
Ozzy revealed in 2020 that he has Parkinson’s disease and admitted that he can no longer hide his pain. Specifically, the Black Sabbath frontman, who was interviewed on the TV show “Good Morning America” and with his wife Sharon by his side, said that his health problems first appeared after a fall from the stage in 2019. In fact, he noted that he had to undergo surgery.
According to Ozzy, doctors are still not sure if the pain and Parkinson’s were caused by the fall or related to the surgery. The reason he went on TV to talk about his health problem was several reports that portrayed him as “dying”. “I want to be honest about my condition and to my fans.”
“It’s been a big challenge for us with everything that has happened to us. I had to have surgery on my neck and I guess that affected all my nerves. I found out that I’m suffering from a mild form…” Unable to continue the sentence, his wife Sharon stepped forward and said: “It’s called Parkin 2, a form of Parkinson’s. There are many different types of this disease.”
“It’s not a death sentence but it affects all the nerves in the body. You have a good day, another good day and then the worst one comes along.”