Darren “IShowSpeed” Atkins Jr.’s Philippines tour has been one hell of a ride for the world-famous streamer, from the good, the not-so-good, and everything in between.
IShowSpeed is a known patron of travel streams. From his online gaming streams up to his trips around the world, IShowSpeed never fails to show what he is capable of. But upon reaching the Philippines, a nation famous for its internet presence, a roller coaster ride of experiences eventually sparked. IShowSpeed’s viewers learned the nitty-gritty parts of the country, from its food to its fighting style.
IShowSpeed’s tour already tells a lot about the Philippines, but also how engaging the controversial streamer can be. Most of his experiences are meme-worthy, some can be disturbing, but everything was interesting.
One of the highlights of the IShowSpeed Philippines tour was when the streamer ate the Filipino-Chinese food known as siopao, a steamed pork bun. He enjoyed it, but fans deceived him by convincing him the meat inside the bun was made out of cat meat, leaving him traumatized. The Filipino streaming community never fails to meme people, including YouTuber tourists.
Some of the other Filipino foods that IShowSpeed tried in the stream are the famous balut, a steamed fertilized duck egg. At least he enjoyed the original Jollibee fried chicken.
As part of his Philippines tour, IShowSpeed took on world-famous boxer Manny Pacquiao in a sparring match.
When talking about the Philippines, one person would definitely come into mind, especially to foreigners: Manny Pacquiao. And IShowSpeed did not miss the opportunity to meet the decorated and legendary boxer after the streamer went to Pacquiao’s home. The two even faced off in a short sparring match on stream.
Aside from having a sparring session against the former eight-division world champion, IShowSpeed also sang the karaoke of Pacquiao’s home, tried balut again, had his pair of gloves signed, and recreated Pacquiao’s famous “Happy New Year” meme.
There is no doubt about the massive following IShowSpeed already has, but the crowd in the Philippines truly showed up for the streamer. But he gained more than 500,000 new subscribers during his stay in the Philippines. His stream also peaked at over 300,000 viewers. The numbers don’t lie when people regard the country as heavily invested in social media. Some fans always appeared whereever IShowSpeed went.
The new subscribers IShowSpeed gained is a good thing. However, his trip wasn’t perfect, mainly because of the racial slurs that some fans yelled in the background. For better or worse, many Filipinos stream snipers acted out to keep the stream entertained.
“They can match my energy, but there are times when it’s too much, like I can’t even walk bro. It’s just bad bro. Chat, I’ve been in countries that matched my energy and it was cool. This is insane,” said IShowSpeed.
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