NeoPod hosted its second community AMA on July 4, featuring Aziz, a Neo grassroots builder and long-time ecosystem participant. Aziz is a German metal fabrication business owner with Turkish roots who, nearly a decade ago, took notice of a blockchain that was named after his favorite film. Topics of discussion in this AMA focused on the NeoRedPill and NeoUltimateShop projects, the current strengths and opportunities within the Neo ecosystem, building a Turkey-based community, goals for the NeoVision community, and much more.

When Aziz first encountered Neo in 2017, the name alone gave him pause.

“I’ve always been a big fan of The Matrix, and the name ‘Neo’ immediately stood out to me,” he said during NeoPod’s AMA. “But beyond the name, I found a blockchain that was focused on long-term development, real technology and a community that was genuinely welcoming.”

That combination – a name that resonated and a community that stuck – turned a curious investor into a builder who has persisted through the good and the bad cycles of the crypto industry.

Aziz, 36, lives in Germany and runs his own metal fabrication business by day. In the evenings and on weekends, he manages a growing portfolio of community projects within the Neo ecosystem, coordinates a small international team across multiple countries, and moderates Neo Turkey’s official channels. None of it pays his bills. All of it, he says, is worth doing anyway.

Taking the Red Pill

In early 2025, Aziz and his co-founder, Micha, launched NeoRedPill, a memecoin on the Neo N3 blockchain with a concept firmly rooted in the franchise that first drew Aziz to the ecosystem.

In Matrix mythology, the red pill represents the choice to see a deeper reality rather than remain in comfortable ignorance. For NeoRedPill, that metaphor maps directly onto the project’s stated purpose: serving as a community and education gateway into the Neo ecosystem for people who haven’t yet found it.

“We don’t create projects simply to create projects,” Aziz explained. “Whenever we see an opportunity to strengthen the Neo ecosystem, bring people together or help the community grow, we try to build something that adds value.”

The token, trading under the ticker NRP, received support from GrantShares after its launch with funding that enabled the team to expand into NeoUltimateShop, a web store selling Neo-branded physical merchandise. That side of the operation is led by Micha, a professional graphic designer who also runs a printing business. Micha is also responsible for handling creative direction and branding across all of the team’s projects.

The next milestone for NRP is the recent listing on BiFinance, the project’s first major exchange listing. But Aziz is careful to frame it as a beginning rather than an achievement in itself.

“For us, this listing is about much more than just NRP,” he said. “Because NRP is built on the Neo blockchain, every new exchange that supports Neo-based assets also helps strengthen the ecosystem… Every successful integration makes it a little easier for future Neo projects to follow.”

The team is already in conversations about additional exchange opportunities, with a broader goal of improving accessibility for Neo-based tokens generally. BiFinance, Aziz made clear, is the start of that road, not the destination.

A team that works evenings and weekends

Behind NeoRedPill is a small but structured team of four, plus additional contributors.

Aziz handles community management, partnerships, strategy, and coordination. Micha covers design, branding, and merchandise. Two other core members (both unnamed in the AMA) contribute to technical development and business and strategic planning, respectively. Around seven extended contributors from multiple countries support moderation, marketing, translation, testing, events, and user support.

Nobody works on these projects full-time. The entire operation runs on time carved out after work hours and across weekends.

“We’re not here because we have to be,” Aziz said. “We’re here because we truly believe in what we’re building.”

Keeping the lights on at NeoVision

NeoRedPill is only one part of Aziz’s suite of products within the Neo ecosystem. NeoVision is an active Discord community hub that Aziz positions not as a replacement for what came before but as a continuation of the same idea: a home for Neo’s global community.

Near-term goals for NeoVision include growing the server to 1,000 Discord members, hosting reward events with real-world prizes such as gaming consoles and physical goods, organizing AMAs with Neo ecosystem projects, and running community campaigns that blend on-chain participation with offline engagement.

Long-term, Aziz wants NeoVision to host connections between international Neo communities and to continually bring new projects into the hub.

“Our vision is simple,” he said. “We want NeoVision to become the home of the Neo community, while NeoRedPill becomes one of the gateways that helps new people discover and experience the Neo ecosystem.”

Growing a crypto community in Turkey

Alongside his other roles, Aziz serves as an official moderator for Neo Turkey. Since joining, the community’s Telegram has grown from roughly 390 to over 460 members, and its X following has climbed from around 2,900 to approximately 3,100.

“Our approach is not to convince people with promises,” he said. “We want to convince them with action.”

A live, in-person event in Istanbul is in the planning stages, bringing together collaborators Aziz describes as spanning Bangladesh, Australia, Spain, Germany, and Turkey.

Bear markets are for building

Aziz first encountered crypto in 2014, but he did not make any purchases or begin building any products. By the time he found Neo in 2017, he had recalibrated his relationship with the space. Today, he describes crypto less as an investment vehicle and more as a context for building and connection. He said:

For me, crypto is no longer just about investing. It has become a way to meet incredible people, build meaningful projects and contribute to an ecosystem that I truly believe in.

That perspective shapes how he talks about Neo’s core team, which he regards with visible respect. He cites Neo X and SpoonOS as examples of development that continued through bear-market conditions, and points to the unusual closeness between Neo’s developers and its community as rare in the industry.

“Anyone can be active when prices are going up,” he said, “but real commitment is shown when people continue building even when the spotlight is gone.”

What’s coming next?

Beyond the BiFinance listing, the team has a development roadmap that includes a gaming application for the Neo ecosystem, currently in development, which would incorporate NRP, NEO, and GAS as in-game assets and rewards. A staking system for NRP holders is also being explored. A regular NRP X Spaces series is currently being planned, and NeoUltimateShop will continue to expand.

Additionally, Aziz and the team are planning to host their first team meetup in Istanbul, an event Aziz intends to be the first of several.

The full AMA can be found at the link below:
https://discord.gg/Qg8UPaNr35

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