What began as a small, community-driven adventure built on pixel art and deep lore has grown into a globally recognized brand making waves both onchain and off. Over the last two years, Chimpers has organically become one of the most followed web3-native brands with over 1.7 million followers across all social platforms. 

Chimpers' collaboration with Final Bosu launched last Friday, June 13th, via the Chimpers Card App. The launch kicked off a free pack claim for holders of Chimpers, Final Bosu, Pudgy Penguins, and Lil Pudgys, with a limit of 1 per wallet, with 2000+ redeemed in the first day. The claim ended Tuesday, June 17th, with the public sale following directly after. The team tells us that inside select packs are redeemable reward cards for Chimpers NFTs, Final Bosu NFTs, and special physical merch, including limited edition T-shirts and a special 1/1 Pudgy figurine.

We sat down with Jacob Timperley, one half of the founding twin duo behind Chimpers, to talk about how this world came to life from its roots in early pixel art to its breakout success on TikTok, and how they’re thinking about the future of collectibles, storytelling, and web3 community-building.

OpenSea: What drew you to leave a more traditional career path and jump into NFTs and community building?

Jacob Timperley: My story’s kind of boring—I basically tagged along with my twin brother, Timpers, who’s a pixel artist. He joined the space early in 2021, just as we were graduating from university. He’d been creating pixel art tutorials on YouTube, designing stream packages for people like Pokimane and Tfue. He found out about NFTs on Twitter in 2021, began creating art, and suddenly people were collecting his work on Foundation.

Before that, he’d been doing commissions and freelance work, but NFTs gave him the freedom to just create. Meanwhile, I was job-hunting as an English graduate, but I was fascinated watching him get into this space. I started a Twitter account and a Substack newsletter where I interviewed creators and founders.

Timpers was joining early communities like Bored Apes, where he really connected. He made one of the first derivative series: a pixel art adventure featuring apes, which he minted on OpenSea before smart contracts came into play. That project was embraced by the community, and he asked me to help with community building, which I’ve always been passionate about. That’s really how it started. After that series ended, people wanted to see what he’d build next that was truly his own.

OpenSea: Wow, that’s so interesting. How did you two start collaborating more deeply?

Jacob Timperley: It was all very grassroots. We didn’t expect it to grow the way it did. The early series had a small but dedicated community—about 100 ape holders—and it felt natural to evolve from derivative work to creating our own IP. That’s how Chimpers was born. The name came from it rhyming with Timpers, plus the connection to apes.

We both love East Asian anime and kawaii culture, and that really influenced the style: quirky, adventurous characters that feel like they’re part of a game but are also relatable. At first, I focused on community and building out the lore. Over time, it just kept growing beyond anything we expected.

OpenSea: It’s amazing how projects evolve. How do you balance lore-driven storytelling with the visual and gamified elements?

Jacob Timperley: From the start, we aimed for Chimpers to be a multimedia brand: games, storytelling, collectibles, lifestyle. The first year was all about building the world and involving the community in that journey. We leaned into story, created mini-games, a novel, and deep lore.

Now we’re shifting toward brand growth and mainstream reach. It’s a balance—sometimes we lean into lore, sometimes we focus on scaling the brand. Today, it’s about extending Chimpers to a wider audience while keeping that foundation intact.

OpenSea: Can you talk about the dojo and its role in the narrative?

Jacob Timperley: The dojo came out of that anime-inspired world. When we minted the collection, Timpers picked a PFP that resonated—an old kung fu master style chimp—which became Sensei Master Chimpo. He became the heart of the dojo, with students training, going on quests, and getting into mischief. The dojo really set the stage for the world we’ve built, from games to collectible cards.

OpenSea: How did you cultivate such a strong community from the start?

Jacob Timperley: It started back with Boring Ape Chronicles, where we were constantly engaging with holders, co-creating the story. That taught us a lot. When Chimpers launched, we focused on collaboration and connection: getting to know holders, building bonds, giving back with rewards and events. We’ve always been part of the community—not separate from it—and I think that’s been key.

OpenSea: Chimpers has expanded so much. What made it such a strong candidate for IP and brand growth?

Jacob Timperley: Timpers designed it to be unique from day one—adventurous, quirky, and approachable for a wide range of audiences. It started with pixel art and evolved into illustrations, cards, and more. In 2023, we realized to be truly global we needed to meet audiences where they are: Instagram, TikTok, etc. We launched Chimpi & Frens, younger chimps on fun quests, aiming to make people smile. That content has helped us grow the IP beyond web3. They’re a cast of original characters derived from the Chimpers universe, created to bring the core themes of our world - adventure, mischief, and fun into relatable short-form content.

OpenSea: Have you seen different reactions from web2 and web3 audiences?

Jacob Timperley: In web3, people love the lore. On social, people connect first with the characters and the fun, smile-inducing content. It’s been rewarding to see both sides resonate. Like other brands—Pudgy Penguins, Claynosaurz, Doodles—we’re focused on entertainment first, as the gateway to web3.

OpenSea: What’s next for Chimpers, and for you and your brother?

Jacob Timperley: We’re seeing big growth: we’re the #1 TikTok web3 IP, with 869,000 followers. We’re building more touchpoints—plushies, our Minecraft world, brand licensing, trade shows. We just did a collab with Kung Fu Boba that outperformed some of their campaigns with big IPs like Lord of the Rings.

The Chimpers Card App is helping us bridge new audiences across chains via gamified collecting and reward experiences. Collaborations like this Final Bosu drop on Abstract showcase how Chimpers helps connect ecosystems and communities, something that has always been a strength of ours. Similarly, we were one of the first web3 IPs to launch on TON, Telegram’s blockchain, via our Sticker Pack drop, which sold out all 555 packs in under 30 seconds — one of the fastest sticker packs to sell out.

While our online growth is accelerating, we’re also pushing into offline discovery. We’re preparing to launch our first online store, featuring NFC-powered physical merchandise tied to our digital collector world. Expect to see Chimpers in physical retail stores, pop culture hotspots, and growing presences across Asia. We’re also lining up character collaborations with lifestyle and pop culture brands to continue positioning Chimpers as a beloved global IP. Our goal is to become the most loved chimp universe in pop culture.

OpenSea: That’s incredible. Huge congrats on all of it. It was a pleasure, Jacob.

Jacob Timperley: Likewise!