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IShowSpeed Net Worth | Darren Watkins Jr

What is IShowSpeed’s net worth?

Introduction

IShowSpeed (real name – Darren Watkins Jr) is an American YouTuber, online gamer, and content creator.

He gained popularity as an NBA 2K gameplayer and has a current following of over 32 million subscribers.

The Origin Story

Ishowspeed was born on January 21, 2005, in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, where he spent the greater part of his life.

He was raised by his parents alongside his brother and sister, with who he shares a close relationship.

Darren grew up fascinated by YouTube and the online world, particularly computer games and digital gaming. So it only made sense that he decided to spend his time gaming when he wasn’t in school.

Speaking of school, Darren attends high school and has not mentioned any plans to attend post-secondary education.

In fact, he contemplated dropping out of high school to focus his time on his career.

Prior to finding success as an online gamer, he worked part-time in a nursing home, delivering food to elderly attendants.

YouTube

darren watkins jr. net worth

@Getty

The start of his YouTube career was ignited by his friend, who suggested he start uploading videos.

It wasn’t until April 2020 that Ishowspeed took the idea seriously, even if he created his channel in March 2016.

What prompted him to take the initiative was the boredom he experienced during 2020 and his eagerness to find some sort of entertainment that would get him through day-to-day life.

He made the decision to quit his job at the nursing home and spend his time learning how to navigate YouTube and how to create content.

Darren has a passion for playing NBA 2k20 and 2k21 video games, which not many other players would create videos for, so he used this as an area of opportunity. 

As such, he began to post videos of himself playing the two games, and from that, he gained a tremendous following.

In addition to NBA 2k20 and 2k21, he played many other games, including Talking Tom & Friends, Fortnite, FIFA, Fall Guys, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. 

Just from adding these games, he began to notice an even greater growth in his following.

His channel is not only centered around gaming. He also uploads videos of himself singing music, and rapping to some of his favorite hits.

The creativity of his channel and the variety of content he creates is what helped him become the prominent YouTuber he is known as and helped him earn such a substantial net worth in a short period.

Twitch Ban

how much money has ishowspeed made

IShowSpeed at The 2023 Streamy Awards held at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel – @Getty

Just like anything in life, all good things come with some bad interjected every now and then. And Darren is not immune to that reality.

In December 2021, he was invited to Adin Live’s dating show on Twitch.

He was invited as one of the participants because the show included some of America’s top online gamers.

He took an unpleasant approach to his attraction to Ash Kash, another participant who is a social media influencer. 

Darren approached her through social media, and despite her declining his advances, he became somewhat aggressive with more unwanted advances.

As a result of his behavior, he was permanently banned from the Twitch platform, which took a toll on his online gaming presence since Twitch is a platform for competitive online gamers.

In April 2022, Darren was banned from every Riot Games after another sexist rant. On April 7, he released an apology via Twitter. “I was wrong,” IShowSpeed said. He added: “I was completely wrong in that situation.”

The MMO streamer Asmongold said that Darren’s ban was unfair and that “this [the permaban] doesn’t improve the situation with sexism online.”

According to this tweet, Darren is also banned on Fortnite.

His YouTube Channel Exploded

darren watkins jr. net worth

IShowSpeed attends the Strawberries & Creem and 2k management party at One Marylebone – @Getty

After IShowSpeed was permanently banned from Twitch, his YouTube channel exploded in popularity.

Most of his YouTube videos are live-stream recordings. 

The thing that makes Ishowspeed so peculiar is how he interacts with his subscribers during his lives streams. He is known for roaring, barking, and even shouting at the camera during his live streams, which tends to get a noticeable rise from his audience.

In addition to this somewhat strange behavior, he also enjoys talking about the constant growth of his subscriber count and how impressed he is with himself.

Music

how much ishowspeed worth

‘IShowSpeed’ gestures during the second half of a U.S. Open Cup semifinal match between Inter Miami and FC Cincinnati – @Getty

Aside from his gaming career, he is also an amateur music producer and is known to produce rap songs which he uploads to his channel. Some of his released songs include Ronaldo, One piece, God is good, and Shake.

He has a second YouTube channel named “Live Speedy,” which went live on June 2, 2021.

He uses this channel to post short clips and highlights of his previous live streams. 

READ MORE: MrBallen Net Worth

Girlfriend

Ishowspeed was in a long-term relationship with a previous girlfriend who he doesn’t share many details about. But the one thing he does share is how he found out she was cheating on him, which devastated him.

When he learned the news, he ended the relationship and moved into a new one with Ermony Renee (aka Dream), a social media influencer. 

It is unclear if the two are still together.

IShowSpeed – Net Worth – Darren Watkins Jr

So, how much is IShowSpeed worth? Darren earned most of his wealth from ads on YouTube, streaming on Twitch (this revenue stream was cut off), and posting on TikTok. Therefore, IShowSpeed has an estimated net worth of $15 million.

On both his YouTube channels, IShowSpeed has over 7.5 billion views–about $20 million in revenue before taxes.

He sells merch on ishowspeedstore.com.

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