IShowSpeed Height, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Real name	Darren Jason Watkins Jr.
Nickname(s)	• Speedy • Speed
Profession(s)	• YouTuber • Game Streamer • Rapper
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	5' 8" (173 cm)
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black (Braids)
Career
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• Won the Breakout Streamer Award and nominated for the Streamer of the Year Award at the 2022 Streamy Awards • Won the Variety Streamer Award and nominated for the Streamer of the Year Award at the 2023 Streamy Awards
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Source 1: 21 January 2003 (Tuesday) Source 2: 21 January 2005 (Friday)
Age (as of 2024)	Source 1: 21 Years Source 2: 19 Years
Birthplace	Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Zodiac sign	Aquarius
Signature
Nationality	American
Ethnicity	Portuguese
Hometown	Cincinnati
School	Purcell Marian High School
College/University	• Northstar campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison • Ohio Digital Learning School
Religion/Religious Views	Source 1: Christianity Source 2: Islam Note: He was seen going inside a mosque in Qatar. He was also discussing Islam with another YouTuber Chunkz and said that he would fast during Ramadan. A few people alleged that he did not fast during Ramadan to which he replied that he fasted during that month.
Food Habit	Non-Vegetarian
Hobbies	• Playing video games, soccer • Travelling
Tattoo(s)	• 'Messi' & number '10' on his right-hand wrist • Face of Cristiano Ronaldo on his left arm • Speed Gang inked on his right elbow • On his left elbow Note: He got the Messi and number 10 tattoo during a live stream in November 2022 in a blindfolded state. He asked the artist to make the tattoo which his fans, whom he refers to as Speed Gang or Chat, tells him to make. He got the Ronaldo tattoo in January 2023 which his fans disregarded by saying that the tattoo is very less similar to Ronaldo's face.
Piercing	In both ears
Controversies	Accused of rape threats [1]The Economic Times IShowSpeed appeared in an e-dating live stream show, hosted by Adin Ross, on the social platform Twitch with a girl named Ashaley 'Ash Kaashh.' IShowSpeed asked her on the shows if she would have intercourse with him to regenerate the earth if they were the last living people. She said that she would not do that as their children have to have intercourse within the family to further populate the earth. Her response angered IShowSpeed who retorted by saying that who would stop him in that case, which was perceived as a rape threat by many people. He was then removed from the show; however, he later joined the show and started threatening her again with sexist slurs, which forced Adin Ross to remove him from the call. Many people criticized him for using such language, and Adin Ross for waiting for many seconds before removing him from the call. A day after the show, on 14 December 2021, IShowSpeed tweeted a screenshot of Twitch's email which read that he had been permanently banned from Twitch due to the violation of Sexual Coercion or Intimidation policy. His ban was revoked by Twitch on 10 October 2023. Gendered remarks against a woman player He often posted videos of him playing Riot Games Inc. video game Valorant. In April 2022, a video went viral making misogynist remarks against a woman player and said, "Get off the fucking game and do your husband's dishes." He was later banned for 30 days from playing the game. YouTuber and eSports news reporter Jake Lucky tweeted a video of saying those words on 7 April 2022 after which an employee of Riot Games Inc., Sara Dadafshar, tweeted that they have permanently banned IShowSpeed from playing any Riot Games Inc. games. IShowSpeed later regretted saying those words and said that the other players were racially joking with them due to which he said those words in anger. Jake was criticized by many people including the American YouTuber Keemstar who accused him of racially targeting IShowSpeed; Jake also received death threats from many fans of IShowSpeed. After a few months, in November 2022, his clip resurfaced after which the British sports channel Sky Sports removed IShowSpeed's videos from their channel. [2]Daily Mirror Cracker celebration in bedroom [3]YouTube - Live Speedy On 4 July 2022, on the occasion of American Independence Day, IShowSpeed did a live stream in which he filled a Pikachu toy with some crackers and lit them inside his bedroom. He thought that those crackers were noisemakers; however, the crackers started shooting inside the room and many parts of his room caught fire after which his house alarm started ringing and firefighters rescued him and his family from the house. After this incident, he was ridiculed by his fans and various sections of media as the incident could have ended with his death. He later appeared in a livestream and said that he was out of danger and received a few small burns and also cautioned his fans to not try this at home. Obscene game modifier On 21 July 2022, while playing the video game Minecraft, he did a live stream in which he used a vulgar game modifier named Jenny Mod. He had to censor his screen in that mod; however, he revealed a vulgar scene in the stream. He ended the stream after he realised his mistake. A few eSports reporters tweeted the incident after he received his first YouTube Community Guidelines Strike. Swatted & Arrested [4]YouTube - Law&Crime Network On 8 August 2022, he was swatted by a Cincinnati Police Department team at his house while live streaming. One of his friends kept on live streaming before ending the stream upon the instructions of the police team. IShowSpeed was made to sit in the police team when his mother came and started talking to the police officials. Allegedly, one of his fans did a prank on him by calling the police team about a homicide. IshowSpeed's friends and mother showed IShowSpeed's live-streaming videos to the police officials who then realised that someone had tricked them after which they released him from the handcuffs. Later, IShowSpeed said that he was arrested and bailed by his friend and American YouTuber, Adin Ross. Promoting crypto scam company [5]YouTube - Live Speedy [6]YouTube - Coffeezilla On 16 November 2022, he did a livestream with a Cristiano Ronaldo lookalike and another person who was promoting a giveaway of PlayStation 5 (PS5) consoles. Later, it was shown that he was promoting an alleged video game cryptocurrency fraud company named Paradox Crypto. His fans also criticized him for promoting a scammer company after which he stopped the camera and muted his headphones; however, unknown to him, his fans were able to hear him arguing with the other two persons about the fraud company. He also tendered an apology to his fans, which many of them refused to believe. Racial jokes with an Asian man [7]YouTube - xQc On 6 December 2022, during the match against Portugal vs Switzerland match in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, IShowSpeed was present in the stadium and started live streaming the match. He saw an Asian man wearing an Argentina jersey in the audience and greeted the person with the Japanese greeting Konnichiwa and kept on repeating such racial slurs when the person told him that he was Chinese. Many fans accused him of discriminating against the person on the basis of race following which he apologized to his fans on Twitter and wrote that it happened due to the heat of the moment and genuinely thought that the man was Chinese. Alleging copyright violations On 5 February 2023, American YouTuber Jabroney caused a controversy about IShowSpeed when he tweeted that his videos that mentioned Speed's channel or had Speed's face in the thumbnails were receiving strikes or copyright claims from a company under different names such as Thumb Media, Aegis TM, or Cardigan. IShowSpeed later responded by saying that he was an affiliate of the company following which many people ridiculed him and said that despite being a big YouTuber himself, he was targeting other YouTubers for attention. IShowMeat On 16 August 2023, he was playing the video game Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach on a live stream, and when he saw the animated character Glamrock Chica, he started doing sexual acts and saying sexual words. While playing the game, he got scared with one of the moves of the character and jumped in his seat and accidentally flashed his genitals. [8]WION He later deleted the stream, and many people complained about his acts. YouTube did not take action against him citing the reason that he had deleted the stream. Similar to his name IShowSpeed, his fans started tweeting out funny thoughts about this incident with the hashtag IShowMeat. On several instances, he got angry with such tweets and urged his fans to not use IShowMeat or the meat emoji in the tweets. On 29 September 2023, his father released a song titled 'I Show The Meat' on his YouTube channel Daddyspeed as the incident became very popular. Elephant Toothpaste Experiment On 10 October 2023, he attempted the Elephant Toothpaste Experiment on a live stream which requires 2 tablespoons of warm water, 1 teaspoon of yeast, 1/2 cup of 6% hydrogen peroxide, 4-5 drops of food colouring, and a few drops of liquid dish soap. He mixed the chemicals in a pop bottle in the necessary order and stepped back. The reaction was so reactive that almost half of his bedroom got filled with foam and smoke. Many of his fans got worried about his health following which he said that he was out of danger. Some fans also criticised him for performing such a dangerous experiment which could have harmed him or his family. [9]NDTV
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Unmarried
Affairs/Girlfriends	• Ava Villain aka Ava Barbie (Barbie) (Transgender) (Rumoured; in 2021) • Ermony Renee (Dream) (Rumoured; in 2021) • Aaliyah (Rumoured; in 2023) • Ninon (Rented in Japan; in 2023)
Family
Parents	Father- Darren J. Watkins (Musician)
Siblings	Brother- 1 • Dian/Jerome (Younger) Sister- 1 (Younger)
Favourites
Basketball player	De'Aaron Fox
Cricketer	Virat Kohli
Style Quotient
Car Collection	• Porsche 911 Carrera S (992) worth $150,000 • Lamborghini Urus worth $300,000
Money Factor
Income (approx.)	$ 1 million from YouTube streams and $15k per TikTok post. Note: This income is for the year 2022.
Net Worth (approx.)	$ 5 to 10 million Note: This net worth is for the year 2023.

Some Lesser Known Facts About IShowSpeed

• Although he was born and lived in the USA his whole life and has American citizenship, he has said in many streams that he basically belongs to Portugal.
  

  A childhood picture of IShowSpeed with his father

• He started streaming video games while studying in school. He also worked as a food delivery person at a nursing home for the old people.

• IShowSpeed said in an interview that there was a YouTuber, with 2K21 subscribers, named Bugatti who motivated him in 2016 to start streaming. He occasionally streamed while playing various video games such as Fortnite, FIFA, and NBA 2K. In 2021, many people noticed his reactions, screams, and slurs while playing these games.
  

  IShowSpeed during 2K21 gameplay

• Later, when the video game Talking Ben the Dog became the best-selling game on the Apple App Store after 10 years of its launch, IShowSpeed was credited as the person behind the game’s popularity as several of his streams playing the game went viral. Several video game developer companies have banned him from playing many video games due to his misogynistic and violent remarks towards players, games, and fans.
  

  IShowSpeed with the toy of Ben the dog

• He has also done several streams while chatting with strangers on the chat website Omegle. His way of communication includes barking, screaming, roaring, twerking, and shouting at strangers. He also streamed from February 2023 while sitting with a robot named Moxie worth $50,000. When he does Omegle streams, his fans also start going online on Omegle in the hope of talking to him.
  

  IShowSpeed (right) talking to a girl on Omegle

• IShowSpeed started doing internet challenges in September 2022, during his live streams which was praised by his fans. A few of the challenges include the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge, Cinnamon Challenge, Vacuum Trash Bag Challenge, Juvalips Challenge, and Coke & Mentos Challenge. During many of his challenges, he has been rescued and hospitalised by local police.

• He has also gained popularity for his streams with many YouTubers, streamers, and rappers such as Adin Ross, Kai Cenat, Lil Nas X, and KSI. ^[10]YouTube – IShowSpeed He and Kai Cenat started a new show ‘The Kai ‘N Speed Show’ in May 2023 on the online video platform Rumble. In 2021, he started two other YouTube channels Live Speedy and Speedy Boykins alongside his main YouTube channel IShowSpeed.
  

  IShowSpeed with Adin Ross (left)

• The speed of growth of his channel has been identical to his name as in June 2021, his YouTube channel ‘IShowSpeed’ was subscribed to by 1 million people, in July 2022 by 10 million subscribers, and in August 2023 by 20 million subscribers. Till October 2023, his videos have been viewed more than a billion times.
  

  IShowSpeed celebrating 20 million subscribers

• He received his first YouTube Community Guidelines strike for streaming a sexual modifier in the Minecraft video game which he disclosed to his fans while streaming in July 2022 when he reached 10 million subscribers. His second YouTube Community Guidelines strike was for one of his arguments in Omegle in which he commented on a person’s weight; he revealed it in September 2022. His third and final YouTube Community Guidelines strike was in February 2023 for live-streaming the 2022 FIFA Ballon d’Or Awards ceremony. He has continued streaming despite saying on several occasions that he would stop streaming.

• In August 2021, he made his debut as a rapper with the song Dooty Booty. He later released many songs such as Shake in November 2021, Ronaldo (Sewey) in June 2022 (in honour of Cristiano Ronaldo), World Cup in November 2022 (for the 2022 FIFA World Cup), and Portuginies in July 2023. His song World Cup peaked at number 1 position on the Dutch Top 100 charts and number 6 on the Swedish Top 100 charts. He has also performed at various concerts.

• In an interview, he revealed the story about his name IShowSpeed and said that he used to play school-level basketball and rugby (American football) during his childhood and got the nicknames Speed or Speedy from his family and friends as he used to run very fast.
  

  IShowSpeed with his father during his school days

• His fans allegedly pranked him by giving him wrong answers when he attempted the chapter 1 quiz for his United States and Global Economics course at Ohio Digital Learning School in August 2022; he got zero marks in the test.

• He made a donation of more than $50000 in February 2023 for relief aid for the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes.

• Many people call him one of the biggest fans of Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. After the match between Portugal and Bosnia and Herzegovina in Lisbon on 18 June 2023, he met Ronaldo for the first time and uploaded a clip of the meeting which was liked by his fans. The Portuguese player Rafael Leao arranged the meetup and was praised by IShowSpeed’s fans for his gesture.

• In July 2023, he met the Brazilian footballer Neymar; however, Lionel Messi’s management did not allow him to meet Messi.
  

  IShowSpeed with Neymar (left)

• IShowSpeed is a fan of the British football (soccer) club Manchester United. During the match between Manchester United vs Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in June 2023, he started streaming while holding a Manchester United cap in his hand. He asked a person from the audience which team he liked and later said that the man punched him before his bodyguard pacified the situation. ^[11]The Sun

• He did a live stream in August 2023 in which one of his eyes was closed, and the other eye was severely swollen. He revealed that he has been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease known as Cluster headaches, contrary to his fans’ claims of a Sinus infection. He was in Japan at that time and was admitted to a hospital in Tokyo. His fans assembled outside the hospital and sang his songs, and his mother also came to the hospital from the USA. ^[12]The Sun
  

  IShowSpeed during his treatment in hospital

• During a livestream in September 2023, he called a school teacher of one of his fans, posing as the fan’s father. The fan was later suspended from the school as IShowSpeed called the teacher a b**ch several times during the call. He then gave $500 to his fan’s mom and talked to her about the situation.

• In 2022 and 2023, he played for the YouTube All Stars against Sidemen FC in the soccer (football) games. On 23 September 2023, before the match at West Ham United’s Stadium in London, a video showed him practising after which he was referred to as ‘the true successor of Cristiano Ronaldo‘ by his fans.
  

  IShowSpeed during a soccer (football) match

• Some videos rumoured to show IShowSpeed fighting in streets have gone viral; however, his fans have disregarded those videos by claiming that the person shown in the videos is a lookalike of IShowSpeed and have called those videos fake.

• He also sells merchandise clothing under his brand IShowSpeed Merch. ^[13]Ishowspeed.com
  

  IShowSpeed’s merchandise clothing

• He went viral in October 2023 during his visit to India. He said in the live stream that he had come to India to watch the India vs Pakistan match in Ahmedabad as a fan of the Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. He was seen playing cricket in a South Indian dress called dhoti, and when he missed a ball, he said that he was playing like the Pakistani cricketer Babar Azam.
  

  IShowSpeed wearing Virat Kohli’s jersey during his visit to India

• During his live stream while in India, he also showed recording sessions with the Indian rapper and Bigg Boss 16 winner MC Stan and the popular Bollywood singer Daler Mehndi, particularly his song Tunak Tunak. It was rumoured that a recording company based in India, T-Series, did a YouTube Community Guidelines Strike as he was seen playing a few songs of the popular Indian rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh.
  

  IShowSpeed with MC Stan (right)

• IShowSpeed has an affectionate bond with the popular YouTuber KSI. In an interview, KSI said that he viewed his younger self in IShowSpeed. Before KSI’s fight with Tommy Fury, the younger brother of the world heavyweight champion boxer, Tyson Fury, IShowSpeed was also seen in KSI’s training camp.
  

  IShowSpeed with KSI (left)

• Although he has never been diagnosed with Autism, it has been rumoured that IShowSpeed suffers from this disorder which happens due to differences in the brain that cause repetitive behaviours and problems with communication.

• In July 2024, while live-streaming in Norway, he was mobbed by a large number of fans. He later took to Twitter to express his concern over the incident. He wrote,
  

  Never coming to fu***** Norway again.”

Bro got assaulted pic.twitter.com/RAuItFTfoQ

— Speedy Updates (@SpeedUpdates1) July 3, 2024