Twitch and YouTube streamer IShowSpeed’s whirlwind tour of Philadelphia included multiple stops for cheesesteaks, a visit to the Eagles’ practice facility, a sprint up the “Rocky Steps” and a meetup with Meek Mill and Gillie Da King.
Not a bad way to spend roughly 8 hours in the City of Brotherly Love.
IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., is an Ohio native with a massive following on social media and streaming platforms, including 1.7 million Twitch followers, over 43 million YouTube subscribers and nearly 40 million Instagram followers.
Four months after a similar tour across several major cities in China, Watkins hit Philly on Day 6 of his “Speed Does America” tour, a 35-day, constantly livestreamed event where Watkins will visit 25 different states. He kicked off the tour on Sunday, Aug. 28.
Throughout the tour, the streamer has been followed by large crowds of fans trying to get selfies or just show their faces on the stream. You might have seen some crowds following him yesterday.
Here’s a quick rundown of where IShowSpeed went in Philly on Tuesday, and where you can find it on the massive 12-hour-long YouTube recording of the livestream.
Selfies with Philly high schoolers
Around the 5:45:00 mark in the video, IShowSpeed’s tour bus pulls up at Broad Street and Snyder Avenue, where a crowd of students is gathered outside South Philadelphia High School. Watkins heads over to the group and gets a couple of pictures with the crowd before getting a ride to his next spot.
Cheesesteaks at Pat’s King of Steaks
Around 6:00:00, IShowSpeed heads behind the grill at Pat’s King of Steaks in South Philadelphia with owner Frank Olivieri Jr. Olivieri, whose great uncle is credited with inventing the Philly staple, shows IShowSpeed how to chop up ribeye on the flattop grill. Then he loads up a roll with the streamer’s cheese of choice — American, no onions.
“Why no onions, you got a date tonight?” Olivieri asks.
“Nah, I don’t like onions,” IShowSpeed says — then asks for mayo.
He does give the cheesesteak a “W” and asks for Ws in the chat.
“That cheese hit too…that s–t good as hell,” he says, before taking a walk through the Italian Market and stopping at a few local businesses.
He even stopped for a haircut at a local spot (around 6:19:00) before getting a ride to South Street.
IShowSpeed and Paul George visit Jim’s Steaks
For his second cheesesteak of the day, IShowSpeed caught up with Philadelphia 76ers player Paul George at Jim’s Steaks on South Street, around 6:30:00 in the video.
The Twitch star once again gets his steak with American cheese, but this time goes without the mayo. He follows George’s lead and puts some ketchup on his.
“It’s the uno,” George says.
They chat a little bit about the cheesesteak scene in Ohio (a 7/10 at best, while Jim’s is at least a 9/10) and George shares some optimism for the Sixers’ next season.
“I feel like in Philly there’s so many good spots you can’t even choose one,” Watkins says.
Meeting Eagles’ Saquon Barkley, Howie Roseman, Big Dom at NovaCare Complex
IShowSpeed pulls up to the NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia around the 7:19:00 mark and greets Big Dom and linebacker Jihaad Campbell.
After walking by the Lombardi Trophy the Eagles won in Super Bowl LII, he runs into retired champion defensive end Brandon Graham for some polite conversation before heading outside to the practice field and into the weight room.
That’s where (around 7:24:00) Howie Roseman greets the streamer, who shared that he was once a D1 football prospect with an offer from Ohio State — and that he can run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash. IShowSpeed opted to pursue his streaming career instead.
“Where’s Saquon Barkley at?” IShowSpeed asks, saying “I gotta meet the” – and then doing a jump like Barkley’s famous hurdle over a Jaguars defender last season.
They head back out to the practice field, where he catches some passes from Roseman (around 7:29:00), and then Barkley comes out around 7:42:00.
“I’ll link up with you sometime and we’ll actually race,” Barkley says. “We’ll do like a little something for charity.”
“Alright, bet,” Speed says.
Later, he meets the 6-foot-8-inch Jordan Mailata, remarking, “his hand is like the size of three hands.”
Table tennis in Love Park
There are lots of short moments, including trying to see the Liberty Bell before being turned away due to the large group and amount of tech and cameras they all have. But around the 9:17:00 mark, IShowSpeed gets out at LOVE Park and plays table tennis for a bit.
Meeting Philly’s “Concrete Cowboys”
It’s tough to be a cowboy in Philadelphia unless you’re a member of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club. IShowSpeed headed to this North Philadelphia stable around 9:43:00 in the video and meets and pets some horses.
The club inspired the 2020 Netflix film “Concrete Cowboy” starring Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin.
Getting some boxing reps at Front Street Gym
Around 10:28:00 in the video, IShowSpeed heads over to Kensington and visits the Front Street Gym to meet some boxers.
Visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art and “Rocky Steps”
Around 11:22:30, you can see IShowSpeed running up the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as “Gonna Fly Now” plays. He really had the Rocky experience.
Final cheesesteak stop: Skinny Joey’s
After 12 hours of streaming in Pennsylvania, this last part of the Philly trip is in a separate video.
IShowSpeed pulls up to the recently opened Skinny Joey’s cheesesteaks on Broad Street. This time, he orders a cheesesteak with American cheese and jalapenos, and once again grabs the ketchup.
He rated Skinny Joey’s an 8.5/10.
Meeting Meek Mill and Gillie Da King
Philly artists greet IShowSpeed near the South Philadelphia Sports Complex in the video. He ends his night riding some ATVs and dirt bikes with Meek Mill and Gillie Da King, the Eagles’ oversized-hat-wearing good luck charm who grew an even wider following for his hype videos set to the song “Blow the Whistle.”
IShowSpeed then gets some sleep (yes, still on stream) on his tour bus and then heads off to New York in this video.