YouTube superstar leads haka, mobbed by Kiwi fans in Rotorua

YouTube streamer IShowSpeed leads a haka in front of Whakarewarewa – the Living Māori Village alongside Kiwi YouTuber Jimi Jackson and dozens of participants in Rotorua. Photo / IShowSpeed
A YouTube superstar was mobbed by fans as he showcased Rotorua while on his tour of New Zealand.
Crowds gathered across the town this afternoon to catch a glimpse of IShowSpeed as the American internet star live-streamed himself to his audience of 33 million YouTube subscribers as part of his tour of Australia and New Zealand.
The 19-year-old, also known as “Speed”, has built a following of millions across various social media platforms through his wild stunts and collaborations with some of the most famous people in the world.
The Ohio native, real name Darren Jason Watkins jnr, has raced Paris Olympics 100m champion Noah Lyle in a 50m sprint, jumped over the top of a speeding Lamborghini, appeared on WWE and met the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo – all in the last few months.
Speed donned an All Blacks jersey and said he wanted to play rugby, eat a pie and learn the haka during his first New Zealand livestream.
A large crowd gathered as he was leaving Skyline Rotorua’s reception area and several men began to perform the Ka Mate haka for Speed, who seemed momentarily surprised before being embraced by the group.
“What the f*** is that? Oh yeah! I wanna do that!”
The streamer asked the group to teach him the haka, and one man instructed the crowd to follow him with “two slaps on the thighs” before pulling his arms back in twice to “bring it in for two”.
IShowSpeed embraced the man briefly before leaving the building and continuing the livestream, which had more than 53,000 live viewers at one point.
The livestream also featured popular Kiwi YouTuber Jimi Jackson, who taught him New Zealand slang such as “chur”, “mean” (to which Speed responded, “That’s fire, I might actually use it”), and “too much”.
The two YouTubers raced each other in Zorbs before Speed tried a steak and cheese pie given to him by a crowd member – and appeared to enjoy it more than expected.
“That meat pie was actually good!”
Jackson then helped teach IShowSpeed the Ka Mate haka before the American streamer led it in front of several rows of participants at the entrance of Whakarewarewa – the Living Māori Village.
Speed shouted “Kia mau!” multiple times and incorporated barking sounds and backflips before leading the rest of the haka.
His rendition was enthusiastic, though he misremembered several actions and words as it progressed, and he embraced the dozens of children and teenagers behind him after it ended.
He could be later seen repeating the haka in front of a middle-aged Korean man and attempting a “manu” dive-bomb in the village’s natural waters.
IShowSpeed plans to appear in Auckland on Monday, and later Queenstown, as part of his tour.