Press & broadcasting
Ninja
born 1991 · livestreamer, YouTuber, professional gamer
The Fortnite streamer who became the most famous gamer in America in 2018 was born in Taylor, a Downriver suburb of Detroit.
- Born
Taylor, Michigan
age 35- Birth name
- Richard Tyler Blevins
- Also known as
- Tyler Blevins
- Detroit years
- 1991
- Field
- Press & broadcasting
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Richard Tyler Blevins, known online as Ninja, was born in Taylor, one of Detroit's Downriver suburbs, and grew up in the Chicago area. He started streaming while playing Halo 3 for several esports teams and switched to Fortnite Battle Royale in late 2017. In March 2018 he played Fortnite live with Drake, Travis Scott and JuJu Smith-Schuster, breaking Twitch's record for peak concurrent viewers and bringing streaming into mainstream news. His Twitch channel went on to gather more than 19 million followers. He has kept a Michigan link through charity: in 2024 he and his older brother Jonathan raised $93,000 for cancer research in a stream with the University of Michigan held at its football stadium in Ann Arbor.
Highlights
- Broke Twitch's peak-viewer record with Drake in March 2018
- More than 19 million Twitch followers, among the platform's most-followed channels
- Former professional Halo player
- Raised $93,000 for cancer research with the University of Michigan in 2024