Trophies Interview - Founder of Omega Tau Psi

Spirit Week for the Greeks! The event that brings together all Greeks from across the IMVU platform! Which Greek organization is responsible for making this happen and who is the genius leading them? Verve X Magazine takes a seat with Omega Tau Psi founder, Trophies, to find out more about his organization, his values, Spirit Week and his secret to running a successful fraternity.

Welcome,Trophies! We appreciate you taking time out to join us today during this busy week for you! Can you please briefly introduce yourself with your name and the Fraternity you founded.

My name is Trophies a.k.a. Cj a.k.a. Sr Brother Imperial and I am the founder of Omega Tau Psi Fraternity.

When was Omega Tau Psi (OTP) founded?

July 13th 2014

Have you ever been in any other fraternities?

No. OTP is my first and only.

What inspired you to found OTP?

I had been looking into real frats back when I was getting ready to go to college. I studied up on them a lot and gained a lot of knowledge about them, but I was never able to join one in RL. When I first seen them come to IMVU, I really wasn’t a people’s person so I never did join one. I took a break from IMVU for a couple of years, and when I came back I saw they were still going, but I still never joined because all the ones I found myself even close to being interested in, failed. So I decided to start one of my own.

Did you start it alone or did you have some help?

When OTP was founded, we were 3 founders, but now I’m holding the founder position on my own.

What have you done to keep OTP thriving?

By staying active. From the foot up I started doing everything from creating, pledge process and events - when I’m down for something, I won’t stop doing what I gotta do to get it done and keep things afloat. The brothers who have come through took on those responsibilities to the point where I don’t have to do it all anymore and I’m thankful for that. And at the end of the day, if OTP fails then I fail, and I refuse to let that happen. That determination keeps us thriving.

Aye! I like that. Are many of your members loyal and long lasting? What is the turnover rate for members like?

Over 80% of our members have been here for over a year so we do have a lot of loyal and long lasting members, but give or take in any organisation there will be people who drop, but that is where our motto comes in. “Quality Over Quantity.”

Short, sweet and to the point.

Exactly, so simple but it has a lot of meaning. That’s what keeps us so tight and together. I tell them all the time that I’d rather have two loyal brothers than a million I can’t put trust in. Your output is what makes u big, not your numbers.

I agree, the fraternity doesn’t make you a brother. The brothers make the fraternity.

Exactly

Now we hear you have an event going on now. Spirit Week. Have you always held this?

Yeah, OTP and our sister sorority, Delta Tau Psi. We had Spirit Week on all through last year which involved us only, to bond. Then we decided to bring the IMVU community together and do it all as one, so in August we did one involving 7 other organizations and it went real well. This year

“we decided to pull in all of the Greeks and we got confirmation from 18 organizations.”

That’s impressive. Which organizations are taking part?

SNX, XOX, RIP, TPX, LUX, GOD, DSTGN, ATX, of course OTP and DTP, LTX. There’s a lot. Now we are finally here and the participation is on fleek right now. Hopefully down the road it becomes an event ran across the Greek Community - not just an OTP/DTP ran event. An event where all of us come together and do it as one.

You seem really driven and motivated.

Yeah, I’m not a negative person. I like to stay motivated and keep things positive - that leaks onto others and it makes them want to push for better. I just stay driven - if i say I’m going to do something, you bet it’s going to be done.

What made you start Spirit Week in the first place with your sister sorority? and what made you reach out to the Greek Community altogether?

Well, before it was just us. Set it up, dress up and stream. Small events here and there but then we look around, and it’s only us. So we had the idea of getting more people involved giving us a chance to bond more and work with other Greeks more. When that happened, it was way more fun and positive.

What sort of events go on during Spirit Week?

We had small events planned in the previous ones but now, events are coming in the spur of the moment. On Sunday, we had the big Valentine’s Day room with dance spots and poses. We all just had fun. Today was Purge Day. I had to work during the beginning but I could look on stream and people was out there just making rooms and killing it. Why have a specific event for the day when all people are being cohesive with each other all day? The whole day is an event.

What are the other events being held?

Tuesday is Twins Day. We have Wednesday Rep Day, Throwback Thursday, Black Out for Black History, and Suits and Skirts. The plan is for each Greek organization to have a room open so people can come in and out to meet Greeks, to mingle, and get to know each other. Reiterating, the whole day of each theme is an event within itself. We be in the rooms chilling like we known each other for years when I’ve only just met half of them.

What do you get out of Spirit Week?

Greeks get to show out for the Greek work, show togetherness and put away all the myths of certain organizations not messing with others. We just get to have fun through it all and hopefully, this will inspire more Greeks to do things together.

What is your favorite event from those and why?

The one I’m looking forward to is the Black Out for Black History because we get to do something geared towards the month we are in - Black History Month. With everything going on in the world right now, we get a chance to show our support. It’s more for a cause rather than just putting on clothes for the day.

How can you improve future Spirit Weeks?

I won’t know much until the end of the week but I do know for Phase 2 of Spirit Week in August, we will be having more input from other organizations on days and themes - slowly turning it into a Greek Community thing and not just an OTP/DTP thing.

How do you plan on getting such input?

By continuing to reach out and not just for Spirit Week only. I don’t want it to be like ‘OK, I’ll see y’all in August for the next one.’ We need to keep a hold of that communication and continue supporting each other consistently.

How do you plan to keep the connection and communication flowing over the next six months?

Steady support for others - when you show others love, they show it back. As long as we keep doing that people will know they can count on us and will always be down. Six months feels like a long time away but time goes by fast. We can’t let ourselves get lazy. We gotta keep motivated and driven

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Just want to give a shout out to my Omega Tau Psi Brothers and Delta Tau Psi Sisters, the #PantherNation! Shout out to JoJo RIP Chani. Shout out to the whole Greek Community and to Verve X for this interview. It’s a pleasure.