Darren Watkins Jr., more popular by his online identity IShowSpeed or simply Speed, is a young and famous content creator. He’s well-known for his gaming and entertainment live streams, which have amassed over a million subscribers in just a few days. As of 2022, IShowSpeed has an estimated net worth of $1 million.
Early Life
Watkins was born in the state of Ohio, USA, on January 21, 2005. He grew up in his hometown for the greater part of his life. He has a little brother and a little sister.
The teenager has been fascinated by YouTube and computer games since he was a child. Darren is currently enrolled in his sophomore year of high school.
Prior to joining the online community, Darren was employed in a nursing home, delivering food to the elderly. He has decided not to attend college and instead focus on his YouTube career. He has even stated he considered quitting school.
Online Career
Darren was motivated to start doing YouTube by a friend. In April 2020, he began sharing videos on the platform as IShowSpeed since he had nothing else to do during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Not long after, he quit his nursing home job and focused on uploading content. Speed gained so many fans in such a short period because he was one of the few people streaming quality NBA 2k20 and 2k21 videos.
He also played Fortnite, Talking Tom & Friends, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. His current content is based on his live streams in the past. He also performs music, rapping in a fast-paced style. This has helped Darren gain 7.01 million subscribers in roughly two years.
Controversies
Unfortunately, unpleasant events followed Watkins’ fame. In December 2021, he was invited to Adin Live’s dating show on Twitch. There, he made moves on social media influencer Ash Kaash.
The model said no to Speed, and he started to get aggressive. He left the stream for a while, and when he returned, he proceeded to attack Ash with sexist insults. He got banned from Twitch after that.
His most notorious song, titled Shake, released in November 2021, is also a subject of controversy. He danced to its questionable lyrics on stream. His father saw it and slapped his hands, but the young man proceeded to dance to his music.
Net Worth
IShowSpeed has stated that depending on the length of his streams, he earns between $75 and $200 per upload. He also makes money from YouTube ad revenue, sponsorships, and other sources.
From the ads on his YouTube videos alone, he gets an estimated $167,000 every month. Speed earns an average of $2 million each year solely from YouTube. Incorporating his other income sources, he has a net worth of $1 million.
Personal Life
Darren is said to have a daughter. He is allegedly the young father of a baby girl whose name is unknown. However, this was never confirmed. He once had a relationship with Ermony Renee but broke up with her after finding out she was cheating on him.
