IShowSpeed's online journey explored: Personal life, controversies, career, and more

Within just 18 months, the YouTube streamer Darren "IShowSpeed" has rapidly risen to prominence and achieved remarkable growth, making him one of the platform's most popular and rapidly expanding streamers. What makes it unique is that despite not receiving any support from an organization such as FaZe Clan or achieving viral status on other platforms like Twitch or TikTok, this Ohio-born YouTuber has attained extraordinary fame.

To put his rapid growth into perspective, he increased his subscriber count from 300,000 to 1 million within a week (between June 22 and June 29, 2021). This article will focus on this YouTube superstar's incredible online journey.

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How did IShowSpeed become famous?

Like many other W/L streamers, Darren's streams featured popular games such as NBA 2K, GTA V RP, and Fortnite. For those unfamiliar, W/L streamers are typically known for their lively personalities, playing loud music during their streams, and sometimes, but not always, being associated with rappers.

IShowSpeed shared similarities with W/L streamers, as his exaggerated reactions and outbursts often made their way into short-form content, such as YouTube shorts and TikTok, which helped him gain more attention over time.

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What controversies did IShowSpeed fall into?

He was a frequent collaborator on Adin Ross's Twitch streams. However, his appearances on Twitch ended abruptly following a significant controversy, which resulted in his permanent ban from the platform.

He found himself at the center of a controversy in December 2021 when he participated in Adin Ross's Twitch e-dating stream. During the stream, Speed commented regarding Ash Kaash, a model that many people considered problematic. During the stream, he said this to the model

"Say we are the last two people on and we had to reproduce to make the world continue, would you reproduce with me?"

Ash replied:

"No. Because that means our kids would have to intertwine and their kids have... no."

Darren proceeded to say:

"who gon stop me? If we the last two people on earth, who gon stop me?"

The YouTuber faced significant backlash for his reckless conduct, ultimately leading to his permanent ban from Twitch.

IShowSpeed was involved in another controversy in November 2022 when he unintentionally promoted a cryptocurrency project called Paradox Metaverse during one of his streams.

Coffeezilla, a popular YouTuber who identifies as an internet detective, created a video on his channel exposing Paradox Metaverse as a fraudulent project. After the fact, IShowSpeed apologized for the stream, vehemently denying any ill intentions and emphasizing that he was not a scammer.

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His constant chicaneries

IShowSpeed's reckless behavior has played a significant role in his popularity. For instance, during a stream on July 4, 2022, he decided to light a Pikachu-shaped firework in his bedroom, which resulted in predictable consequences.

This stunt garnered widespread criticism from the online community and even his mother, who was present during the incident. Fortunately, no damage was caused, but the incident clip went viral.

In September 2022, IShowSpeed took on another "lip challenge." This involved using a suction cup to remove air from the cup, creating a vacuum that makes the lips appear fuller. He kept the cup on for an extended period, causing his lips to swell up significantly and alarmingly.

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His growing interest in football

Despite not being a football (soccer) fan, in the middle of 2022, IShowSpeed began to take an increasing interest in the sport. This newfound interest was attributed to his admiration for the Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo.

His admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo led him to travel to Manchester to watch him play. Unfortunately, Ronaldo was not in the squad at the time. However, he did get a chance to watch Ronaldo play during the World Cup when he visited Qatar for the tournament in 2022.

His popularity has not gone unnoticed by some new-generation footballers, and he has become quite popular among them. He has even had the opportunity to FaceTime with Alphonso Davies and Jesse Lingard. During the last international break in 2023, IShowSpeed could stream in person with Rafael Leao and Joao Felix.

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He has over 16.6 million subscribers on his main YouTube channel and still streams regularly. While it's hard to predict his next move, he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.