How did Ninja become gaming’s first crossover star? The Fortnite legend is relentless about one thing: He’s always on.
On a sweltering afternoon in Chicago, with the bass from the closest stage at Lollapalooza booming in the background, a dozen kids cluster at a tent to watch a pale, gangly young man with neon pink hair play a video game.
“It’s Ninja! It’s Ninja! He plays Fortnite!”
“I wonder what kind of car he drives. It’s either a Prius … or a Ferrari.”
“I play Fortnite every day, Mom. It’s my dream to play Fortnite.”
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, the object of their adoration, is tired. It’s about 1:30, later in the day than he usually starts streaming. “I just want to chill. Even when we’re out and about at night, it’s just so much,” he says, before turning on the camera to broadcast himself to millions. Throughout the day, Ninja, 27, talks about wanting to watch rapper Logic perform that night from a room with no mics and no cameras.
Hot and exhausted as he is, he takes pictures with every single kid who shows up after each game, bending his stringy frame so that his face is level with theirs. Some kids are too shy to ask for a photo, staring at him in awe. When that happens, he leans over and says, “Hey, buddy, I’d like to take my picture with you. Is that cool?”
This story is from the October 1, 2018 edition of ESPN The Magazine.
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This story is from the October 1, 2018 edition of ESPN The Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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