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Darren Watkins Jr. is the real face behind the IShowSpeed YouTube channel. He started posting videos on games and some elements of his personal life during the pandemic, without knowing that his channel would get millions of views and subscribers. Darren is an American teenage boy from Ohio, born on January 21, 2005. He spent his entire childhood in his hometown and has two little siblings.
Darren had a passion for gaming since his childhood, and the first video by him on YouTube was in 2018 during his school days, when he uploaded a clip of NBA 2K18. He had a slow start in his initial days as a YouTuber, however, as of now, there are over 21 million subscribers on his channel.
In his videos, Watkins often shared his views on going to school and considered that school drains a lot of time. Because of this reason, he is even dropping out of school to focus full-time on his now-successful YouTube channel. Darren is famous on other social media platforms as well, like Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok and more. He has 14 million followers on Instagram and 23 million followers on TikTok. Watkins is renowned for his live streams, and he has collaborated with many other famous Twitch streamers such as Adin Ross, which has led to controversy.
Name | Darren Watkins Jr. |
Profile Name | IShowSpeed or Speed |
Date of Birth (Age) | January 21, 2005 (18 years) |
Date of Joining (YouTube) | March 22, 2016 |
Schedule/Status | Twice a week/Active |
Net Worth | $10 - $12 Million |
Nationality | American |
Residence | Los Angeles, California, US |
Platform | Followers/Subscribers |
22 Million Subscribers | |
| 7.7 Million Subscribers | |
| 1.5 Million Subscribers | |
23 Million Followers | |
14 Million Followers |
Back in 2016, when Darren launched his YouTube channel, he did not upload any videos and was not considering a career out of it. In 2018, he uploaded the clip on NBA 2K18 which did not do well at that time, and he was disheartened by this. However, Darren was sure about his studies. He focused on football and also considered trade school. Before taking live-streaming as a career option, Darren was working with a nursing home where he used to deliver food to elderly people.
It was his friend who motivated him to upload content on YouTube, about what he loves. Darren got the chance during the pandemic to start his journey on YouTube. In April 2020, he uploaded videos related to NBA 2K20 and 2k21 that helped him gain a good amount of viewership. To stay in the YouTube business, he did live streams and played Fortnite, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and more. By mid-2020, Darren got over 100k subscribers and as time went by, he turned into an internet sensation.
Darren also launched his album by the name ‘What Else IShowSpeed’ to gain more attention from the viewers. His song, Shake, got controversial because of inappropriate song lyrics. Another controversy that Darren faced was at the time when he collaborated with Adin on a live stream. During the live stream, he targeted Ash Kaash and made sexist remarks. Consequently, he got banned from Twitch because of the violation of rules and policies.
His focus is on building his YouTube channel and curating music so that he gains more love and support from the viewers. In just two years, Darren got millions of subscribers because of his entertaining content and live streams. He is also advertising different styles of clothes and selling them at affordable rates so that people can buy them easily.
The main source of income for Darren is through his YouTube ad revenue, which is very impressive, and from Twitch views and donations. The estimated net worth of IShowSpeed as of January 2023 is $10 - $12 million. The other sources of income for Darren are paid promotions, TikTok, and merchandising. Through his album and through brand collaborations, he has gained wealth as well.
Darren Watkins Jr. was born on January 21, 2005, in Cincinnati, Ohio. All information about Darren’s family has been kept under wraps as he has not revealed anything about them. It was hard for Darren to make his parents understand what he as a YouTuber would do, and when he got 100k subscribers on YouTube, his mother gave him a cold reaction that made him upset. As per sources, Darren is single but there were rumors of him dating Ermony Renee. However, recently, he posted a video on his channel where he explained how his girlfriend ditched him and had an affair with someone else.
In this video, IShowSpeed takes revenge on Talking Ben, and it is one of the most viewed videos on his channel Live Speedy. The video has over 220k likes and well over five million views.
His official music video, which was controversial as well, got a significant amount of viewership. The video is available on his YouTube channel IShowSpeed, and it has 3 million likes on it.
This video is available on his third YouTube channel, Speedy Boykins, and it is one of his most viewed videos as he gets a $100,000 donation. He gets excited in this video and a PC falls on him because of this.
In this video, Darren’s new dog barks at him, and he asks the audience whether he should keep its name Ben. This video is available on his channel Live Speedy.
When he was active on Twitch before getting banned, he had over 170k followers.
The friend who persuaded Darren to start creating content on YouTube, has left the platform. However, Darren still aims at gaining more love and support on the platform.
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