IShowSpeed

IShowSpeed is the online name of Darren Watkins Jr., an American streamer and YouTube creator from Cincinnati, Ohio [14]. Rolling Stone gives his name as Darren Watkins Jr. [2], while TimesLive gives the fuller form Darren Jason Watkins Jr. [14]. In January 2026 TimesLive described him as 21 [14]. The sections below follow the dated events that the sources report.

From bedroom streams to millions of subscribers

He rose to fame during the Covid-19 pandemic, after streaming began as a bedroom hobby [14]. In early October 2025, SI reported more than 44 million YouTube subscribers [4]. TimesLive gave the figure as over 47 million in January 2026, and said he had more than 43 million Instagram followers [14]. These numbers come from different dates, so they are a series of snapshots, not one running total.

He won Streamer of the Year at the 2024 and 2025 Streamer Awards [14]. Rolling Stone named him its most influential creator of 2025 [2].

Tours built as livestream trips

The Speed Does America tour began on 28 August 2025 in Miami and visited 25 states over 35 days [12]. The livestream marathon ended with the premiere of Speed Goes Pro [3]. In San Francisco and Oakland, CBS reported that crowds greeted him, and that scores of people followed him past Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, City Hall and the Golden Gate Bridge [12].

The African trip was announced in December 2025 as a 28-day tour of more than 20 countries. At the time there was no confirmed starting point and no country-by-country schedule [7]. AFP's dispatch from Accra described it as a month-long tour of Africa that he was wrapping up [9].

In April 2026 he began a Caribbean tour on 25 April, with 15 destinations including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S. Virgin Islands [13]. theGrio described it as a new travel tour that followed his African journey [13].

A passport from Ghana

In late January 2026 Ghana's Foreign Minister, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, announced in a post on X that the government had approved the issuance of a Ghanaian passport to IShowSpeed. He cited "the irrefutable ties of IShowSpeed to Ghana" [9]. EWN reported the move as him gaining Ghanaian nationality at the end of the Africa tour [8]. The reports describe an approval and a passport. They do not describe the legal process behind it, so this page does not go further than that.

Ringing in 2026 in Cape Town

He rang in 2026 with an eight-hour livestream from Cape Town, South Africa, wearing a Springbok rugby jersey, which IOL said local supporters liked [6]. The crew also showed a portable Starlink setup, which the article says suits live broadcasts from remote safaris [6]. IOL said thousands of viewers watched across several platforms, but it does not name the spot he streamed from [6].

Speed Goes Pro

Speed Goes Pro is a YouTube series in which he trains with athletes from other sports. The premiere was held on Tuesday, 30 September 2025, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum [3]. The sources do not agree on the format. TheWrap calls it a six-episode digital series from OBB Media and DICK'S Sporting Goods [3]. Rolling Stone describes a five-part sports series, narrated in the style of ESPN by the actor Liev Schreiber [2]. The football and gymnastics episodes were the ones screened at the premiere [3] [2]. Gold medalists Nastia Liukin and Suni Lee attended the premiere to support him, and TheWrap reported that new episodes would drop every other Wednesday from 15 October 2025 [3].

The athletes he trains with include Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Suni Lee, Joey Chestnut and Randy Orton [4]. Brady sent a video to the premiere in which he praised Speed's "raw athleticism" [3]. The trainer, Fred Richard, said Speed spent four straight hours trying to learn a double backflip, with no breaks [4].

A campaign before the series

In March 2025 DICK'S Sporting Goods launched its "Speed Shopping" footwear campaign, starring IShowSpeed with Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Suni Lee and Travis Hunter [10]. The company described him as a "viral video creator and streamer" known for his "unparalleled athleticism" [10]. The campaign ran on broadcast, digital, social and streaming services [10]. Its release does not mention Speed Goes Pro [10].

The Ronaldo meeting

TimesLive dates his obsession with Cristiano Ronaldo to 2022 [14]. He met Ronaldo on 17 June, the day Portugal played Bosnia and Herzegovina [11]. He later explained that he had been saying he would never meet him: "I was not about to meet him. I was lying" [11]. A child in the crowd pointed him toward the seats where Ronaldo's family sat, and Rui Costa later invited him down to where the players were [11].

The World Cup final closing ceremony

Complex reported that he was the first performer on the field before the 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, at New York New Jersey Stadium, and that he opened the closing ceremony with drummers and dancers in bright tracksuits [5]. He performed "World Cup (Champions)", the single that the article says had been released the previous month [5].

What the sources leave open

The figures on subscribers and episode counts come from different dates and outlets, so they are shown as reported. One profile gives a net-worth range without naming who estimated it [14]. This page leaves that out, because a net-worth figure needs a named estimate and a date.