IShowSpeed: I am in India to meet Virat Kohli, see India vs Pak match, and India winning it| EXCLUSIVE

HT City gets talking to internet sensation IShowSpeed in his first-ever India interview and photoshoot.

You know him from that video where he danced his heart out to Daler Mehndi’s Tunak Tunak Tun. Or his live-streaming videos where he goes crazy, with unmatchable energy! IShowSpeed, an Internet sensation courtesy his livestreams and YouTube, is in India, and it has to be HT City with whom the 18-year-old starts his journey.

YouTuber-rapper IShowSpeed met HT City's Rishabh Suri for an exclusive shoot and interview in Mumbai ((Anshuman Poyrekar/ HT))

We take him to pose with Mumbai’s landmark, the Gateway of India in the backdrop. He’s bubbling with energy, high fiving fans who are surprised since his visit was kept under wraps. And do you know what brings him here?

“I am here because of Virat Kohli,” he mentions the 34-year-old Indian cricketer, “I want to see India beat Pakistan in the World Cup match tomorrow! I will be there at the stadium. I don’t follow cricket back home, but I follow Kohli. I want to meet him, and I am also excited to meet the Tunak Tunak guy (Daler Mehndi), I am just very excited bruh!”

His second largest social media fan following is from India, and he’s aware. He is being hosted here by White Rivers Media. “People have just been telling me ‘come to India’, so here I am. I am here to see what India is all about. India has this energy and I can’t wait for it to come out. I am bringing mine out too, and I can’t wait for the two to mix,” he quips, while breaking into a hoot. You have to meet the guy to know his energy is infectious.

IShowSpeed poses for HT City wearing cricketer Virat Kohli's Indian jersey.

This isn’t the first time Speed (as his fans call him) has manifested meeting his favourite sportsperson. This time, he is wearing it on his t shirt- he suddenly changes into the Indian jersey with Virat’s name on the back’.

Earlier this year, the YouTuber- rapper met his favourite soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo too. That picture alone currently stands with more than 10 million likes on Instagram. His YouTube follower count is currently 20.6 million.

His approach to life is what his name is all about- “Yes my stuff goes viral, but I don’t have time to really think about it, life moves with so much speed. It’s an amazing feeling, I feel blessed to wake up each day. You care about those people, and they in turn care about you, it’s like a brother-sister thing. That’s what keeps me going. They don’t even know my real name (Darren Jason Watkins Jr.), they just like calling me speed, it has stuck. People ask me about the secret behind my energy, but it’s just always been there like this!”