What is IShowSpeed’s net worth?
Net Worth | $4 Million |
Source of Wealth | YouTube, Social Media Personality |
Date of Birth | January 21, 2005 |
Nationality | American |
Height | 1.75 m (5’9”) |
Place of Birth | Cincinnati, Ohio, USA |
Star Sign | Aquarius |
Religion | Christianity or Islam |
Partner | Unknown |
The Usual Intro
Darren Watkins, famously known online as IShowSpeed or Speed, is an American YouTuber and social media personality known for his unusually aggressive behavior and comedic videos. While his jokes may be offensive, he is loved by Generation Z that make up most of his fanbase.
Darren rose to fame by making videos about Talking Ben from the Talking Tom and Friends franchise. He asked him objectionable questions about sensitive topics like the LGBTQ+ community and the BLM movement. People started posting clips of his streams on TikTok and other platforms, which instantly became popular.
Before the Spotlight
Darren Watkins was born on January 21, 2005, in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. There is no information about his family as he keeps his personal life private. Watkins started uploading videos in 2016 while still in grade school. He began streaming games like Fortnite and NBA 2K shortly after. However, he did not receive any viewership and took a breakfrom streaming to focus on school and playing football.
Before starting YouTube, he worked in nursing home as a delivery boy. In 2020, he began streaming due to the persuasion of his friends. His channel grew steadily, and he started averaging around ten viewers on his streams with almost 150 new subscribers in a week.
The Journey to Success
Since he returned to YouTube, Watkins started seeing a rise in popularity at a rate of 1000 subscribers per week. Once he introduced new ideas like the Talking Ben streams, he became a viral meme. His fanbase loved his extremely dark humor and his channel blew up after they started sharing videos on social media.
Darren started playing other VR games and even made skits referencing the lore of his videos. In 2021, his channel surpassed 100,000 subscribers. A few months later, it hit the 1 million subscriber mark. Soon after, Darren began collaborating with other prominent YouTubers and streamers like Adin Ross.
Over the course of two years, Darren has released five songs under his debut album, “IShowSpeed.” They were known for their comedic lyrics and music videos. He made videos of him pranking random people on Omegle.
Darren is also surrounded with controversies; he was accused of going on a sexist rant on Adin Ross’ dating stream and a second time while playing Valorant after a girl joined his team. Watkins now has over 10 million subscribers on his main channel. He has made two separate channels for highlights and clips.
The Best Moments
- Created his YouTube account (2016)
- Returning to YouTube (2020)
- Surpassing 100K subscribers (April 2021)
- Surpassing 1 million subcribers (June 2021)
- Surpassing 10 million subscribers (2022)
The Private Side
Watkins’ family does not approve of him doing YouTube. His sister, brother, and mother often appear on the stream which embarrasses him. He was particularly displeased after his mother had a rather bland reaction to him hitting 100,000 subscribers on YouTube.
In 2021, Watkins tweeted about how his girlfriend of the time cheated on him. He was recently involved with Ermory Renee and Ava Barbie. However, it is unconfirmed whether he is currently dating either of them.
When Watkins hit 10 million subscribers, he received a strike from YouTube for going against community guidelines. He showed a sexual modifier for Minecraft on stream. During a stream, some policemen came into Watkins’s room and arrested him for an unknown charge. A bystander went live and showed Watkins in handcuffs. He was released the same day.
IShowSpeed‘s Related YouTube Video
Famous Quotes of IShowSpeed
Among his numerous offensive and humorous catchphrases, these are some of his iconic quotes:
- “My name is IShowSpeed and I made history, they call me Speed for a reason, bro.”
- “ROAR, NEXT LEVEL, I’M A LION NOW, LET’S F**KING GO!”
- “I JUST want to be friends, That’s all I wanna be! I wanna be friends.”
The Social World
Here are the social media statistics of Darren Watkins Jr:
- Instagram: 3.6 million followers
- Twitter: 33.4K followers
- YouTube: 10.8 million subscribers
- TikTok: 7.6 million followers
Lessons for Entrepreneurs
Although a controversial figure, there is much to learn from Watkins’s sudden boom of success. His life as an internet celebrity provides many lessons:
- Be strongly opinionated. Watkins never lets anyone else tell him what he should be doing. His content may be controversial, but he still makes videos that are up to his standards.
- Don’t give up. Watkins received little to no recognition at first. However, instead of stopping, he changed his strategy and uploaded new content. The response was almost explosive as he gained a million subscribers over a few months.
- Overcome challenges. Watkins has faced immense public scrutiny, getting banned from YouTube and being swatted by the police. Despite all that, he did not falter in providing content with the same dedication.
- Responsibility. Watkins manages to focus on his YouTube career while handling his duties as a student. It is essential to understand your priorities and address them accordingly.
The Unusual Stuff
Here are some shocking fun facts about Darren Watkins:
- In 2018, Watkins only had around 2 viewers on average watching his streams.
- IShowSpeed has a Talking Ben tattoo on the side of one of his arms.
- His song “Shake” has over 126 million views on YouTube.
- Watkins lit fireworks inside his room, almost burning down his house on the 4th of July.
Answering Frequent Questions
Where does IShowSpeed live?
He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, in his SPEED UTV headquarters.
How much does IShowSpeed make?
His channel earns him over $147,000 a month. He makes over one million dollars annually.
Is IShowSpeed banned from YouTube?
When he showed an inappropriate Minecraft mod on stream, his channel was suspended. However, it was reinstated soon.
The Closing Remarks
Watkins may be a peculiar and eccentric YouTuber, but that only adds to his appeal. Even if you’re not actively watching his streams, it is likely you’ll find clips of his videos on most social media platforms.