Once upon a time, people who spent all day on their computers or playing video games were told that they were wasting their time and would not amount to much. These days, gaming has become a big industry with worldwide championships and conferences dedicated to the genre. With the advent of streaming content, gamer streams have risen in popularity thus, it is not uncommon to see gamers. Even casual ones that use a split-screen format to interact with their audience, amass large followings on platforms like Twitch or YouTube.
One such personality is Darren Watkins Jr., popularly known as IShowSpeed or Speed, is an American YouTuber and social media personality, an internet sensation that beyond gaming, has also built a reputation as a rapper. He has been an active influencer since 2017 and has even earned a Streamy Award. So, how much is IShowSpeed worth?
IShowSpeed’s Early Life
Unsurprisingly, IShowSpeed wasn’t always named that. Before adopting the handle, he was born Darren Jason Watkins Jr, in Ohio in 2005. Not much is known about his childhood before he joined YouTube. Although he initially began uploading gameplay videos as early as 2016, it would not be until 2020 that his profile became more visible and he began racking up subscribers. By April 2021, he had 1,000,000 subscribers and by August of 2023, that number would jump to an astonishing 27 plus million subscribers.
IShowSpeed Becomes A Gaming Influencer
IShowSpeed owes his career to the gaming culture that took the world by storm in the mid to late 2010s. Although he initially started with minimal viewership, he eventually became a fixture in the gamer streaming community.
A Controversial Influencer
While IShowSpeed has a large following of loyal viewers, it is impossible to ignore that part of what might have helped him draw eyes to his videos are his outbursts and controversies. In particular, he is often been banned from various platforms and video games because of abusive language he uses towards other gamers that includes sexual harassment and rape threats. As a result, he was banned from Twitch in December 2021, and from the game Valorant as well as other Riot Games titles in April 2022.
Meanwhile, other questionable behaviors like nearly burning his home down, getting swatted on a live stream and live streaming Minecraft characters engaged in sexual activities are also some notable reasons why he ultimately received a strike from YouTube, which in turn led to IShowSpeed eventually leaving the platform.
Streamy Awards
While IShowSpeed is a controversial figure, his influence cannot be ignored. In 2022 and 2023, he was nominated for the Streamer of the Year Award at the Streamy Awards. Although he did not win those nominations, he did win Breakout Streamer in 2022 and Variety Streamer in 2023.
IShowSpeed’s Music Career
As with most influencers, IShowSpeed recognized early on that pivoting into other career avenues would build his net worth and longevity as an internet personality. He released his first single in August 2023 titled “Dooty Booty” on his YouTube channel. It became a viral sensation on both YouTube and TikTok.
He followed that up with the release of “Shake” the following November, a song that featured samples from “Ready or Not” by the Fugees and “Hit The Road Jack” by Ray Charles. The music video for “Shake” earned over 160 million views on YouTube. Nearly a year later, he would release the song “Ronaldo (Sewey)” as an ode to his sports idol, Cristiano Ronaldo. This was followed by the track “World Cup” in November 2022 in support of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
IShowSpeed’s Current Net Worth
IShowSpeed is still fairly young and a newer player in the influencer space. Recent Estimates suggest that he’s currently worth between $10 and $12 million as of the time of publication of this article (July 2024). While concrete figures are not available, much of this value is attributed to sponsorship and endorsement deals, as well as streaming agreements. This includes a non-exclusive deal with Rumble, which is where he co-hosts streams with fellow influencer Kai Cenat.
