Credit: Warner Records.
Darren Watkins Jr. (iShowSpeed)
- First ranked
- 2026
- Years ranked
- 01
- Dealbase entries
- 08
TDI Review
Darren Watkins Jr., better known as IShowSpeed, has become remarkably good at turning the things he loves into lucrative business. Football, travel and even his well-documented love of KFC have become the basis for major partnerships, while the unpredictable livestreaming style that made him famous has increasingly carried him into mainstream entertainment. At just 21, Watkins has built one of the most commercially powerful personal brands in this year’s Index.
Football offers the clearest example. During this year’s World Cup, Watkins partnered with FIFA, YouTube and Fox Sports, hosted match simulcasts and headlined the first YouTube FIFA Creator Cup. He also featured on the tournament’s official album and performed at its closing ceremony. Elsewhere, Expedia built a travel campaign around the livestreams that have taken him around the world, while KFC turned years of Watkins featuring the chain organically into an official partnership.
Those interests are increasingly becoming entertainment properties in their own right. Speed Goes Pro, his five-part YouTube series, put Watkins alongside professional athletes as he attempted to master their sports. He is now developing an anime-style series with Big Shot Pictures, which will take the IShowSpeed persona into scripted entertainment, with Watkins voicing and lending his likeness to its lead character.
The scale behind all of this is difficult to replicate. His 28-day tour of Africa took him through 20 countries and repeatedly drew huge crowds, demonstrating how far a personality originally built through gaming streams has travelled. Watkins is now putting infrastructure behind that growth too, spending $11 million on a Miami warehouse that will become a new content headquarters.
Watkins enters the Elite tier with a commercial model that is unusually difficult to manufacture. The interests that drive his content are the same ones generating partnerships and new entertainment projects, allowing the business around IShowSpeed to grow without losing the spontaneity that made him famous in the first place.
Representation: Watkins is represented by CAA and Mixed Management.
Signals
Total VIT
30.1k
Source
Top platform
YouTube
Source
Dealbase appearances
IShowSpeed x Higher Ground/ Breakwater Studios
IShowSpeed has partnered with Breakwater Studios and Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama, to support the theatrical release of The Eyes of Ghana, a documentary about Ghana’s independence and its influence across Africa.
IShowSpeed x KFC
KFC has teamed up with IShowSpeed to launch Hot Ranch Big Dip, a new spicy ranch sauce served in four-ounce portions across the US. Available for a limited time, the dip is twice the size of KFC’s typical sauce cups and launches alongside several menu additions.
IShowSpeed x Killer Merch
IShowSpeed has launched an apparel collection with Killer Merch across 560 Zumiez stores in the US. The collection includes five T-shirts and a hoodie, with Zumiez reportedly skipping its usual smaller-store test and rolling the range out nationwide from launch.
IShowSpeed x FIFA/YouTube
IShowSpeed will headline the first-ever YouTube FIFA Creator Cup, an exhibition football match bringing together YouTube creators and former World Cup players. Taking place on 12 July at Wollman Rink in Central Park, the match will stream globally on FIFA’s official YouTube channel and be simulcast on IShowSpeed’s own channel.
IShowSpeed x Expedia
Expedia has named IShowSpeed (Darren Watkins Jr.) as its official travel partner, building a campaign around his livestreamed travel content. It opens with a 12-hour broadcast across four Caribbean destinations, with further content planned across North America. A dedicated site, Exspeedia.com, lets fans follow his travels, book trips and vote on future destinations. Fans in the US, Canada and Mexico who book through the site can enter a competition to meet him.
IShowSpeed x Big Shot Pictures
YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed is set to star in a new anime‑style series developed by Brian Robbins’ production company, Big Shot Pictures. In the project, IShowSpeed will voice and lend his likeness to the animated main character.
Dude Perfect, IShowSpeed x Pepsi
PepsiCo Foods has launched Flavor Swap, a limited-edition range that mixes popular flavours across Doritos, Ruffles, Cheetos and Lay’s. The launch is fronted by creators including Dude Perfect, IShowSpeed and singer Madison Beer, who feature in the campaign and on-pack as PepsiCo rolls the products out through TikTok Shop and retail.
IShowSpeed x Beats by Dre
Beats by Dre partnered with IShowSpeed on its first major campaign with a livestream creator, promoting Powerbeats Pro wireless earbuds. The campaign launched with a short film shown during one of IShowSpeed’s livestreams, using kung fu training scenes inspired by his viral trip to China to show the product staying in place during fast movement.