A crew member working with American online streamer IShowSpeed was hospitalized on Sunday after sustaining injuries while filming a high-intensity segment during the streamer’s visit to Nairobi as part of his “Speed Does Africa” tour.
The production team member, known online as Slipz (also referred to as Slippy), suffered a nerve and disc injury while executing physically demanding elements of the livestream, including a rally car and helicopter sequence, the injured man said in a social media statement from his hospital bed.
“I sustained a pretty bad nerve/disc injury while pushing myself very hard to execute the rally car and helicopter segment of today’s stream… which ultimately went very well and the team and I are very proud of how we pulled it off,” Slipz wrote.
He described how the intensity of the filming left him dehydrated and in shock, at one point passing out and temporarily losing feeling in his left leg. Subsequent medical checks indicated non-permanent nerve damage in his left leg and internal bruising in the pelvic area, with no bone fractures or long-term damage detected, he added.
Despite the setback, Slipz reassured fans that he would remain involved in the ongoing production of IShowSpeed’s livestream segments, even if his on-camera presence might be limited during the immediate recovery period.
“You may not see me much tomorrow or the next day but I assure you I am still around and working to execute all of Speed’s livestreams just as I would if I was at 100%… I’m just a lil handicapped physically temporarily. The goal is to show the world. Nothing stops us,” he said.
The incident occurred as part of IShowSpeed’s highly publicized stop in Kenya, where the American streamer — real name Darren Watkins Jr. — drew huge crowds and tens of millions of online viewers.
His Nairobi livestream segments have become some of the most watched of his Speed Does Africa tour, contributing to a surge in his YouTube subscriber numbers and online engagement.
Fans thronged the streets throughout the livestream, with large crowds following the streamer’s convoy at multiple stops.
The outpouring of public interest prompted police escorts and at times brought traffic to a standstill in parts of the city.
Officials have welcomed IShowSpeed’s presence in Kenya, viewing the attention as a boost to the country’s visibility on the global stage.
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano described the Nairobi leg of the tour as “a very, very successful day” and highlighted the potential of such high-profile digital content to showcase Kenyan culture and hospitality to a wide international audience.