S'pore fans gear up to welcome YouTuber IShowSpeed

The expected arrival of American live streamer IShowSpeed in Singapore has put thousands of his fans on alert, as many of them prepare to welcome the wildly popular video streamer who surpassed a total of 30 million YouTube subscribers during his ongoing South-east Asian tour.

Already, a Telegram group tracking his whereabouts has been set up, with more than 7,000 members ready to share only verified information when the online personality, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr, is spotted in Singapore.

The 19-year-old announced on Sept 7 that he would be embarking on a tour of South-east Asia, having previously done a similar cross-continental live stream trip to Europe.

The YouTube star, who was last streaming in Jakarta on Sept 18, has not revealed when he will arrive in the Republic but teased his followers in the IShowSpeed Wherabouts SG Telegram chat by saying: “When I come to Singapore, y’all better be good man.”

IShowSpeed, who also goes by Speed for short, first achieved internet fame in 2021 as a budding content creator streaming himself playing games such as NBA 2K and Fortnite, with fans entertained by clips of his over-the-top reactions to gameplay events.

The American started his tour on Sept 9 in Thailand, where he rode an elephant and did some muay thai, and raised eyebrows when he apparently lost control of a tuk-tuk he was driving and crashed into a temple’s wall.

While he was later seen on his knees apologising to the Thai temple’s monk, some of his viewers questioned the veracity of his apparent “accident” and accused him of performing a stunt to entertain his fans.

“You do realise he is faking it and doesn’t actually mean it right?” wrote an X user, while another condemned his act of intentionally crashing for content as “pretty low”.

His next stop in the Philippines was more pleasantly received, as he sparred with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and sampled fast food behemoth Jollibee’s Chickenjoy, dancing in approval as hordes of mostly male fans gathered outside a locked restaurant to film him.

Speed’s visit to Malaysia on Sept 17 was also not short of mayhem, as his fans showed up to offer him food and seek selfie opportunities.

At one point, security personnel had to lock down the entrance of the fried rice eatery of another internet personality, Uncle Roger, when Speed visited the Pavilion mall in Kuala Lumpur.

Crowds clogged up the walkways outside the store to sneak a peek at Speed, with some riding escalators to peer over those in front of the store’s entrance before metal barriers were brought down.

“Sabar, sabar,” he can be heard repeating, having learnt from locals how to say “calm down” in Malay.

Speed is no stranger to controversy, having been banned from shooting game Valorant in 2022 for making sexist comments at a female player. He later apologised, saying that he had been receiving racist comments from other players.

Dr Hamza Shahab of the University of Nottingham Malaysia’s business school said full-time streamers like Speed are not subject to requirements other professions may need to meet, including education, age and specific skillsets. This may create a space on social media for reckless and inappropriate behaviour like harassing individuals of the opposite gender or damaging religious sites.

“There needs to be clear and enforceable boundaries that prohibit actions such as property damage, sexual harassment, cultural and religious disrespect,” said the assistant professor of digital marketing, whose research interests include social media marketing and the interaction between computers and human behaviour.

“Social media influencers should behave responsibly and follow procedures like informing local authorities of their itinerary and seeking government assistance to ensure their tours are organised safely and smoothly, with consideration to their follower numbers.”

Apart from regularly flaunting his physical agility by performing backflips for fans and by jumping over cars driven at him at full speed, Speed has also won the envy of many by being in the company of football stars.

As an attendee at the prestigious Ballon d’Or awards awarded by France Football magazine to the world’s best footballer, the live streamer was seen rubbing shoulders with the sport’s leading stars from Real Madrid and Manchester City.

In April 2024, Speed even made it onto professional wrestling giant WWE’s biggest live event, Wrestlemania, making a surprise appearance as a sports drink mascot in a match between Randy Orton and YouTube streamer-turned-wrestler Logan Paul. During the match, Orton kicked Speed and performed his signature move, the RKO, on him while on a table.

“(Speed) is promoting himself by engaging in reckless behaviour such as... provoking the audience to escalate situations into chaos including the riders, all to create a sensation and increase his live audience,” Dr Hamza added, referring to another incident in Kuala Lumpur when Speed nearly repeated his tuk-tuk mishap with a motorcycle.

He also warned that young people, who make up most of Speed’s followers, may experience adverse effects like exhibiting antisocial behaviour after engaging inappropriate content “since they learn social skills from their surroundings”.

Meanwhile, his followers in Singapore expect Speed to arrive in time for the Gumball 3000 supercar rally on Sept 21, which coincides with the Formula One weekend.

The administrator of the Telegram chat, who wants to be known only as Chan, said he has been emphasising a “safety first, fun next” approach for Speed’s followers who intend to “stream snipe” him, referring to an act of showing up in person at a streamer’s filming locations with the intention of becoming part of the stream.

He said he has been encouraging rules in the chat such as not touching Speed or his cars, nor calling any names when the live streamer is in Singapore.

“I saw the streams in other countries. Those were chaotic and disappointing as people just chased him without giving him space to walk,” he said. “I believe that Singaporeans are civil, and just want some fun meeting their ‘superstar’.”