IShowSpeed Net Worth: Famous YouTuber With Many Controversies
| Full name | Darren Jason Watkins Jr. |
| Age | 19 |
| Nationality | American |
| Residence | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Net Worth | $10-$12 Million |
| Education | Ohio Digital Learning School |
| Source of Wealth | YouTube, TikTok |
Darren Watkins Jr. is much more popular by his Internet handle, IShowSpeed, who has turned into a sensation on the Internet when it comes to live streaming and gaming.
He started doing live streams in 2017 on Twitch, attracting only a few viewers at the time. It’s through this blend of individuality in style and a somewhat charismatic personality that has captured the gaming community, spiralling his popularity.
IShowSpeed is very famous for his live streams on popular video games like “Roblox,” “Fortnite,” and “FIFA.” His streams are very dynamic and sometimes even unpredictable. That has been the approach with which he is drawing much attention as a streamer. Not just solo streams, but he also collaborated with other big-time streamers, Adin Ross, Kai Cenat, and Sidemen, in order to broaden the reach.
Although he’s had huge success, IShowSpeed still faced criticism over his behaviour during streams. Gross and misogynistic comments have marked his content and associated it with several controversies, drawing huge backlash from viewers and the community.
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Darren Watkins Jr., better known by his alias IShowSpeed, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 21 January 2005. He grew up in the same place where he had been raised with two younger siblings. At a tender age, Darren was much inclined to play video games- a hobby that later on led him into this profession.
Darren made his YouTube channel way back in 2016 but posted his very first video, which was of some NBA 2K18 gameplay, in 2018 while at school. At first, he had just a few people watching him when he was live streaming NBA 2K and Fortnite; most of the time, there were two viewers at any given time.
Although very humble in its beginnings, Darren’s passion for making content started to pay dividends. His channel grew really fast, and by April 2021, it had 100,000 subscribers. As of July 2024, he has 27.5 million subscribers on his YouTube account, showing what a difference it has made from the early days.
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IShowSpeed started his YouTube career at 11 years old back in 2016. His early content includes live streaming of popular video games like NBA 2K and Fortnite. He used to get, on average, only two viewers on his streams at that time. But a bit later, this humble start helped boost the ball onto its extraordinary rise in his career graph.
In 2017, Watkins reset himself onto the Twitch platform as IShowSpeed. At that time, live streams rarely reached a few viewers. However, with time, things dramatically turned in his favour. In April 2021, he reached another major milestone of hitting 100,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Much of IShowSpeed’s notoriety came from the provocative, oftentimes highly controversial nature of his stream content. For instance, very frequent outbursts and insulting remarks about other players and games incurred many bans for him on Twitch. Then, his popularity skyrocketed from those very setbacks. By this past summer, the count had reached about 10 million subscribers.
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One of the prominent events within the given period of time was the popularization of the mobile game “Talking Ben the Dog.” His streams became instrumental in the success of this game, which eventually became a bestseller in the App Store.
This upward trajectory continued well into 2022 and 2023. By June 2022, IShowSpeed’s subscriber count was already at 1 million. This increased to 10 million in July 2022 and surged further to 20 million in August 2023. As of May 2024, his YouTube channel commands a massive subscription base of 24.4 million subscribers.
IShowSpeed won the Streamy Award for Breakout Streamer in December 2022 after gaining a massive following within a very short period of time. The story of his case gives an example of the very fragile and sometimes unpredictable nature of online fame, from small-scale streamer to major influence.
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IShowSpeed is an internet character who has been surging in popularity as a gamer and ultra-Cristiano Ronaldo fan. On a funny note, he had a moment to remember finally getting a chance to meet his idol.
Speed was in attendance during the highly talked-about game between PSG and an all-star team from the Saudi Pro League featuring soccer legends Ronaldo and Messi. He streamed the reactions live from the crowd, adding to his already energetic commentary, which gave fans another vantage point on the game, culminating in one of the most popular reactions on the internet.
Finally, after the game, Speed met Ronaldo in person. The meeting caused a stir on cyberspace because of the ecstatic reaction from Speed and the kind reception from Ronaldo. Ronaldo took a photo with Speed to show appreciation for this die-hard fan. Through the encounter, Speed became much more personalized; his elation in the presence of his soccer hero was actually very relatable to any fan enjoying a moment like that.
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As a huge fan of Anime and especially the show “One Piece,” Speed decided to take his viewers on a virtual trip around Japan. The trip included trying out local food, such as ramen, and visiting the ancient city of Kyoto. While visiting the city, he toured several temples and gave some of his money away on the street to some of his fans.
Stopping at a local souvenir shop in Kyoto, Speed helped attract customers in before buying a samurai outfit. He went on to see a Shiba Inu, which he was very excited about. This trip showed the world Speed’s keenness on Japanese culture and the type of funny guy he was.
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IShowSpeed featured in a big YouTube event: the Sidemen Charity Soccer match, which was held to raise money for many various causes. The match had already gained a lot of attention ever since its inception in 2016, and Speed’s appearance just added to the hype. He was arguing with strategies and goofing around at the event with other YouTubers like xQc, MrBeast, and Kai Cenat.
Then Speed’s team won, and after that, he met a fan named Pelle, whom he gifted a PlayStation 5. The following event was another Sidemen thing: the 1vs20 dating show. In this entertaining game show, Speed was given the task of picking a partner out of twenty contestants. As usual, he has been very humorous, but on the other side, he was as romantic as possible, making it one of the most viral episodes ever, having gained 42 million views within two months. Generally, Speed has made it very famous within the YouTube community.
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Watkins first broke into the music scene when he released a single called “Dooty Booty” on his YouTube channel in the summer of 2021. The track went viral on several social media platforms, notably TikTok.
After his debut came the single “Shake” and its video, which garnered more than 160 million views on YouTube within a period of a few months. He followed this through in 2022 with a string of singles, which included “God is Good”, “Ronaldo (Sewey)”, and “World Cup”. The latter has been notable for its viral success.
In 2023, Watkins continued his streak of collaborations with fellow streamer Kai Cenat on the single “Dogs,” once more carving his name in the music industry.
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A controversy involving a certain cryptocurrency project by the name Paradox Coin brewed around IShowSpeed. In his live stream, Watkins was seen promoting the new coin. He was wearing a t-shirt with the logo of the project. He also told his followers to check the crypto project’s Instagram account.
Things boiled over when Watkins, with the promotion, was giving away a PlayStation 5 to his live viewers. Guests on the stream claimed the Paradox Coin would become “the biggest crypto coin in the world” and promised additional PlayStation 5 consoles to those who signed up for the coin.
The longer this promo went on, the more viewers began to question whether this was a legit project. Instead of listening to the concerns, Watkins asked his moderators to instaban users speaking negatively about Paradox Coin. The backlash wouldn’t stop, and finally, he admitted to having made a mistake in terms of promoting the project.
IShowSpeed excited his audience in a recent live broadcast by revealing a spectacular gift from KFC: a lifetime supply of chicken.
The live reveal was one of the biggest highlights, with the content creator shown evidently excited by the surprise. Yes, he got real giddy as he went to show the viewers this lifetime coupon for fried chicken from the company that everyone knows—KFC.
The coupon had details of the offer, making IShowSpeed now hold a coupon enjoining him to enjoy free chicken for life by merely scanning its barcode at any KFC location. It was accompanied by a personalized note from the company itself, thanking IShowSpeed for his continued support.
IShowSpeed and KSI ended their longstanding quarrel with a charity boxing match in December 2023. It was so successful that over $63,200 was raised for the Anthony Walker Foundation from the event.
On 7th April 2024, IShowSpeed appeared memorably during WWE’s WrestleMania XL.
Dressed up as a bottle of Prime — the sports and energy drink brand founded by KSI and Logan Paul — IShowSpeed featured in a dramatic moment where he got knocked out by Randy Orton onto the table of commentators.
On April 29, 2024, he returned as a guest to WWE Raw. He was also there to join Logan Paul to announce the second-round picks of the 2024 WWE Draft.
IShowSpeed’s YouTube channel is the principal source of income for him, which now has over 27.5 million subscribers. His fame really went off during the pandemic in 2020, hugely increasing the amount he makes from YouTube. He generates an average yearly income of $4 million off YouTube. This includes ad display revenues, sponsorships, and channel memberships.
The biggest contributor to his income is YouTube AdSense. According to Social Blade, Speed makes approximately $16,000 a month off AdSense alone. On top of that, during live streams, he can earn as much as $75 to $200 per stream, depending on the duration and viewership of such streams.
Speed also makes money off of his presence on TikTok. While the app doesn’t facilitate earning money through ad revenue on posted videos as YouTube does, there are still other means by which influencers are able to pull in cash through branding business and sponsored posts. He has earnings of up to $15,000 per post on TikTok, depending on how much various brands pay for a particular deal.
Coming with a huge following, IShowSpeed receives many brand collaborations. While there are no specific figures for such deals, it is only right to believe that the pay is plenty, considering the reach and influence he holds.
IShowSpeed holds an estimated net worth of $10 million to $12 million. IShowSpeed net worth primarily stems from his businesses in gaming, streaming, and rapping. It is the controversial and a bit aggressive outbursts that turned IShowSpeed into one of the most famous guys in Web space, gathering millions of viewers and subscribers.
Celebrity Net Worth did an approximation of IShowSpeed net worth, stating that it lies at around $10 million. He makes most of his money off of his YouTube channel alone, and many videos bring over five million views. The most viewed video is his music video for the song “Shake,” with 211 million views.
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In summary, IShowSpeed net worth is best illustrated by the $10 million realized in 2024. The recent greatest gains in his incredible net worth have lately been attracted by the rise in popularity and fame in the fields of gaming and music, where he operates, despite some issues surrounding him.
Yes, IShowSpeed took part in WWE’s WrestleMania XL in April of 2024. In order to promote the sports and energy drink brand, he dressed like a bottle of Prime.
After promoting Paradox, IShowSpeed came out to admit its mistake and apologized to the audience with the statement: “I’m not a scammer.”
The estimated IShowSpeed net worth is $10–12 million. The astounding amount is evidence of his success as a rapper, live streamer, and YouTuber.
| DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing. |
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