Hundreds of fans flocked to the streets of Hollywood on Tuesday afternoon, interrupting traffic for a chance to meet viral YouTube streamer IShowSpeed.
The 20-year-old social media personality, often referred to as “Speed,” adventured around Hollywood Boulevard, livestreaming what his channel said was the last day of his 35-day-long “irl stream in America.”
A personal security detail helped Speed, a native of Cincinnati whose real name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr., navigate through the roving crowd of fans — likely some of the 44.6 million subscribers to his YouTube channel.
During his visit to Hollywood, Speed stopped by the Hollywood Wax Museum and strolled along the Walk of Fame, occasionally stopping to greet fans, meet new friends and curious bystanders. Sky5 captured aerial views of the growing crowds.
The YouTuber occasionally hopped into a vehicle — moments that were broadcast live to more than 63,000 viewers on his 24/7 stream. These appearances drew local fans to the streets, some rushing up to the windows hoping to catch a glimpse of the streamer. As of 1:30 p.m., no injuries or serious traffic incidents had been reported.
Speed got his start on Twitch playing video games like Fortnite and NBA 2K, but was banned from the livestreaming platform following a 2021 incident. He achieved further fame with his esoteric and sometimes violent antics during his livestreams that were subsequently reposted on TikTok by his fanbase; in April 2021, he had 100,000 subscribers but reached a million just two months later.
Since then, he has directed most of his attention towards YouTube, where his following has exploded even more; as of Tuesday, his main channel has more than 44.6 million subscribers and has received nearly 5.7 billion views.
Speed has also released multiple rap songs, including “World Cup,” which was released in honor of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and charted in several countries. In January, he traveled to Peru, where he was greeted by thousands of fans as he sampled local cuisine and was even made the mayor of Lima for an hour.
Another random tidbit about IShowSpeed? He “narrowly” lost a 50-meter dash to the fastest man in the world, Noah Lyles, in a competition set up by another incredibly popular YouTuber: Mr. Beast.
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