Symbiote underground treasure
PICS: Damian de Canha has officially opened the Symbiote's The Underground premium collector's club recently, bringing a taste of extravagance to everyday collectors.
The world of geek culture is changing, taking on and completely remaking the way we view popular culture. Everywhere you turn, superhero movies, games and merchandise have become the norm.
Here in South Africa, geek entertainment is quickly and boldly making the leap from the screen into many people’s daily lives as everything comic book and gaming related becomes more accessible to the masses.
Four years ago, the gifting of a small Hulk superhero statue from a friend awoken something in Damian de Canha and sparked to life an obsession for everything comic book and gaming statue related. His collection soon grew too large for the two rooms he had reserved for it in his home and he considered expanding.
With his years of experience in the liquor retail space while managing the Monument Liquor Warehouse, Damian realised he had the unique opportunity to bring something new to South Africa. Statue collecting had seen some popularity already under collectors in SA, but items were difficult to come by and far too expensive to import on a small scale.
It wasn’t long before Damian acquired the sole rights in the whole of Africa to distribute some of the top high-end collectible brands in the world, and started shipping in containers, building a community among local collectors.
The prices of these collectible statues range from anywhere between R10 000 to R700 000 – of which he has one in his collection. Because of their limited runs, the statues usually only go up in value over time, making collecting not only a pastime but also a well-accepted investment opportunity for some.
But, more than anything, Damian wanted to create what he calls a ‘premium experience’ – a high-class culture among collectors who have a love for expensive toys. He stated very clearly that he wanted to put these premium collectibles within most people’s reach and by being given the option to pay off the statue over a number of months, interest-free.
To shape that premium culture, Damian created The Symbiote Collectors club and, on Saturday, November 27 he hosted a massive party at his new clubhouse named The Underground.
Invited guests, those who were with Damian on his journey and helped him get to this point socialised in the elegantly designed bar area, enjoyed rounds of delectable appetisers and had the opportunity to descend into The Underground.
Walking through the hefty double wooden doors visitors’ eyes adjusted to the luxurious and clean design of the entrance hall, then going down the stairs to find a large open space with rows and rows of meticulously crafted and hand-painted statues of all shapes, sizes and kinds.
To become a member of this exclusive club, those interested only need buy something from the growing collection. Collectors fall into various tiers, depending on their involvement. In the Red tier (R10 000 to R300 000 bought at any time during one’s life) members are invited to all future showcase events with various other benefits.
At the Gold tier (R300 000 to R2,5 million) members have access to The Underground at any time where they also have access to the open bar and more. Thereafter follow the Platinum (R2,5 to R8 million) and Diamond tiers (R8 million and more) with a few exceptional additional features each.
“The Archive will be the third phase coming in 2022. It’s going to be an ultra-modern steam punk look and feel. It will accommodate a lot of very high-end investment-grade collectibles as well as a cigar lounge.
Members can come in, have coffee, go to the private cellar, pick a good bottle of whiskey or wine, grab a cigar and head to the lounge. The vibe that I’m creating is along the lines of something that belongs in Monte Carlo,” Damian noted.
“I’m trying to distribute for super high-end companies, but all those are in a different kind of line. XM Studios is your comic-grade items. PureArts is all your gaming-related stuff. Royal Selangor is all your pewter. ModuCase is all the display cases we provide. It’s just an attempt to bring something different to the game. Make something unaffordable, affordable, that’s my number-one priority. 99% of people will say ‘what’s the point? I can never have it’, but we say you can! We make it affordable.”
Right now The Underground is only open to club members but Damian is looking toward expanding and also opening a storefront that will be accessible for the general public.
