iShowSpeed might be the hottest streamer in the world. He did, after all, win streamer of the year.
Real name Darren Watkins Jr., the 21-year-old creator pulls off stunts around the globe, racking up more than 50 million YouTube subscribers along the way. Better known as Speed, he makes videos that typically put his athletic abilities to the test. He's often competing with pros and doing an admirable job keeping up. But he's also known to travel the world, filming as he draws massive crowds and noticeably shaping perceptions of places through his massive audience. He's so big that the Associated Press wrote a piece examining the impact of his African tour.
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Speed is a household name, no doubt, and will almost certainly further break into the mainstream. How that looks will be interesting.
Speed's whole persona is outsized, brash, and loud — perfect for an online audience. How his content and personality shift with more time and popularity will be interesting to track.