Tyler Faraz Niknam[2] (born December 20, 1990), better known as Trainwreckstv or Trainwreck, is an American live streamer and co-founder of live streaming service Kick.
| Trainwreckstv | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Niknam in 2022 | |||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | Tyler Faraz Niknam December 20, 1990 United States | ||||||
| Nationality | Iranian | ||||||
| Education | Arizona State University (BA) | ||||||
| Occupation | Streamer | ||||||
| Twitch information | |||||||
| Also known as |
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| Channel | |||||||
| Years active | 2015–present | ||||||
| Genres |
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| Followers | 2.1 million | ||||||
Kick information | |||||||
| Channel | |||||||
| Years active | 2022–present | ||||||
| Followers | 282.6 thousand | ||||||
Last updated: April 14, 2024 | |||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
| Channel | |||||||
| Years active | 2015-present | ||||||
| Subscribers | 232 thousand[1] | ||||||
| Total views | 34.9 million[1] | ||||||
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Last updated: April 14, 2024 | |||||||
Early life
Niknam was raised in Scottsdale, Arizona. He went to Chaparral High School. He is of Iranian descent.[3] He graduated from Arizona State University in 2014, earning a bachelor's degree in analytic philosophy.[4]
Career
Niknam began streaming gaming and IRL content in 2015.[5]
In November 2017, Niknam received a five-day ban from Twitch after he went on a rant where he referred to several female streamers as "sluts" and accused them of stealing views from those who he viewed as more deserving streamers.[6] In an interview with Kotaku, Niknam stated that the rant was directed towards "the 0.1 percent [of women] that sexually exploit themselves for views and money and hide behind the defense or veil of sexism." He also stated that the rant was partially meant to be interpreted in a satirical manner.[7] He later released an apology via Twitter.[8] In October 2018, Niknam received an indefinite ban from Twitch after he stated during an Overwatch stream, that women normally play characters within the Support class and when they switch to the more aggressive Damage class they bring down the team and lose games.[9][10]
In April 2019, Niknam debuted the "Scuffed Podcast" where he and several other internet personalities discuss a variety of topics.[11][12]
In late 2020, Niknam began streaming Among Us and quickly gained popularity for his style of play. On October 6, he won a Code Red Among Us Tournament, taking home the grand prize of US$5,000.[13] Digital Trends named Niknam as one of the best Among Us players on Twitch.[14]
Niknam was the second most watched Twitch streamer during the 2020 United States Presidential Election, hitting 607,000 hours watched on election night (18.2% of total hours watched across Twitch). Fellow streamers Hasan Piker and Mizkif ranked at numbers one and three, respectively.[15][16]
In June 2021, Niknam moved to Canada. According to Wired, Niknam often streams for multiple hours a day gambling on the cryptocurrency gambling site Stake.com, which does not legally operate in the United States. Niknam and other gambling streamers on Twitch were criticized due both the illegality of online gambling and the harmful influence that they may have on underage viewers. When Stake.com was banned by Twitch, Niknam switched to Kick.com, a new streaming platform with financial ties to Stake.[17][18]
In October 2022, Niknam claimed to have been paid US$360 million by sponsors to gamble on stream over a 16-month period.[19]
Controversy
Niknam is well known for bribing top players in FPS Games such as Counter-Strike where he bribes them with money in order to boost him despite also trashtalking other teams when he struggles to perform that same level.
He is also known for selling out his streams by also bribing other streamers to join his podcasts
Philanthropy
Niknam has used the Scuffed Podcast as a way of raising funds for charitable causes. In January 2020, he raised $41,109 AUD for the World Wide Fund for Nature Australia to support wildfire relief after the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season.[20] In June 2020, Niknam raised US$35,000 for civil rights advocacy group Color of Change.[21]
References
- ^ a b "About Trainwreckstv". YouTube.
- ^ D'Anastasio, Cecilia (9 January 2020). "Twitch's Non-Gamers Are Finally Having Their Moment". Wired.
- ^ What ethnicity am I?, retrieved 2023-02-12
- ^ "Arizona State University Commencement and Convocation Program - Spring 2014" (PDF). Arizona State University.
- ^ Ashcroft, Helen (17 September 2018). "20 Top Twitch Streamers (And How Much They Are Worth)". TheGamer.
- ^ Alexander, Julia (13 November 2017). "After a big gaming streamer's suspension, Twitch community demands answers (update)". Polygon.
- ^ Grayson, Nathan (15 November 2017). "Streamer's Hateful Rant Revives Debate About Women On Twitch". Kotaku.
- ^ Robertson, Adi (16 November 2017). "A misogynist Twitch rant has streamers calling for clearer rules". The Verge.
- ^ Alexander, Julia (1 October 2018). "Twitch streamer Trainwrecks' latest ban over sexist comments spurs community conversation". Polygon.
- ^ Murray, Sean (4 October 2018). "Twitch Streamer Trainwrecks Suspended (Again) For Making Sexist Comments (Again)". TheGamer.
- ^ Grayson, Nathan (30 May 2020). "As Streamers Spread Dangerous Conspiracy Theories, Twitch Does Little To Stop Them". Kotaku Australia.
- ^ "TrainwrecksTV Scuffed Podcast". Google Podcasts.
- ^ Galloway, Ryan (7 October 2020). "Trainwreckstv wins Code Red Among Us championship". Dot Esports.
- ^ Roach, Jacob (19 January 2021). "The best Among Us players". Digital Trends.
- ^ May, Ethan (13 November 2020). "Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet Live Stream Election Report". Streamlabs.
- ^ Michael, Cale (13 November 2020). "Streamlabs report shows HasanAbi rivaled major news outlets for presidential election coverage". Dot Esports.
- ^ Liao, Shannon (6 December 2022). "Top Twitch creator endorses platform connected to crypto gambling site". Washington Post. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ D'Anastasio, Cecilia (13 July 2021). "Twitch Streamers Rake in Millions With a Shady Crypto Gambling Boom". Wired.
- ^ Miceli, Max (2022-10-19). "Trainwreck disses Hasan, Poki, and Ludwig while bragging about stunning gambling sponsorship profits". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ Miceli, Max (11 January 2020). "Trainwreckstv raises more than $40,000 AUD for Australian wildfire relief". Dot Esports.
- ^ Duwe, Scott (5 June 2020). "Trainwreck's Scuffed podcast raises $35,000 USD for Color of Change charity". Dot Esports.