OSF, born Ovie Faruq, is a digital artist and Web3 community figure who grew up in Cambridge, England.,He spent nearly a decade as a trader at Barclays before leaving finance for the NFT space full time in early 2022.,In May 2022, he launched Rektguy, a CC0 PFP collection built around a character of his own creation that personifies being financially wiped out, or 'rekt.'
During the Bored Ape Yacht Club launch in May 2021, Faruq minted 150 apes, an early sign of his shift from trading into full-time involvement with NFTs. That summer, he co-founded the collection Degenz with business partner Mike Anderson.He released his first NFT artwork in October 2021, developing a body of work centered on decrepit cityscapes and the exteriors of buildings.,
Rektguy carries no rights reserved under a CC0 license and offers no roadmap or utility, functioning instead as a meme and a symbol of unity within OSF's community.In May 2023, he co-curated the exhibition “Beyond the Screen” at HOFA Gallery in London, alongside artists including XCOPY, DeeKay and Alpha Centauri Kid.His own contribution, Superfan, depicts a lone character surrounded by market charts and Pepe the Frog paraphernalia, a piece he drew months before the exhibition that inadvertently anticipated the PEPE memecoin frenzy.,
Rektguy began as an NFT art collection with no roadmap in 2022, and did not sell out on its initial free mint. Starting in the summer of 2023, Faruq expanded the character into the wider brand Rekt, which he co-founded as Rekt Brands and grew to include the flavored sparkling water line Rekt Drinks.
