YouTuber IShowSpeed ​​’absolutely fine’ after free fall injury stunt in Rotorua’s Velocity Valley

Millions of viewers watched on Speed’s YouTube channel as he lay motionless for a few minutes after the jump. As the camera angle approached Speed, he opened his eyes, grabbed his head and claimed it was painful.

The livestream was then cut, leaving fans wondering if he had been seriously injured.

Short said that just after completing the jump, Speed’s cameraman whispered to him, “Don’t worry, he’s going to fake his death.”

Short said staff attending Speed ​​were unaware of his intention to feign injury and handled the situation professionally.

“As you’ll see in the footage, Speed ​​whispered ‘green apple,’ which is a code word for the cameraman to cut the livestream, leaving millions of his followers hanging.”

Short said Speed ​​landed perfectly and safely. He said what viewers on his YouTube channel didn’t see was what happened after the live stream was cut.

“Speed ​​jumped up and was heard saying, ‘That was fucking sick,’ as he high-fived some of his crew and walked away unharmed.”

Velocity Valley posted a video to its TikTok channel of Speed’s jump, including a clip of him walking and saying, “That was fucking sick.”

(Warning: The video below contains strong language.)

Rawiri Nelson, one of the organizers of the New Zealand tour, said Speed ​​loved the Vertigo ride at Velocity Valley and it was “absolutely fine” afterwards.

He said no injuries were sustained and that Speed ​​undertook “potentially more dangerous” activities the next day, including fighting with UFC fighter Dan Hooker and running straight at the New Zealand Warriors.

In response to whether Speed ​​faked his injury after the Vertigo ride to gain more livestream viewers, Nelson said the way YouTubers create content is about “curiosity.”

“It’s not really up to the person doing something to determine what people think is going on. When it comes to things like this, people will assume the worst-case scenario. All I can say is that he loved it, he enjoyed it. It was one of his favorite things to do, along with the haka in the village.”

The Vertigo involves being strapped in and hoisted to the top of a crane-lifted platform before an instructor releases the hook, allowing the person to free fall into a net below.

In Speed’s livestream, he seemed nervous during the trip up, repeating that he couldn’t make the ride, telling his parents he loved them and saying he “might die.”

As he was led off the platform and left suspended in the air, Speed’s nerves seemed to manifest themselves physically.

“Bro, I really need to fuck. I could screw myself up. I’m not trolling. I have to poop.”

He let out a “ka mate, ka mate” and barked as the crowd counted down before an instructor released his carabiner and dropped him.

Some commenters on his YouTube channel seemed concerned, with one saying: “I watched this live. I hope he is doing well.” Others didn’t believe his injury, writing: “Stop lying, there’s footage of him right after he got up, he’s fine.”

The four-hour stream – which saw Speed ​​lead a haka, eat a steak and cheese pie and compete in a Zorb race with Kiwi internet star Jimi Jackson – had more than 60,000 people watching live at one point and is currently at total two million views on YouTube.

Speed ​​uploaded a clip of him performing Ka Mate for Whakarewarewa – the Living Māori Village, complete with barking and a backflip, which racked up almost 20 million views on Instagram before being taken down.

He also visited Auckland and Queenstown prior to his flight there Australia today as part of his tour of the two countries.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua daily mail for over 25 years and mainly covers police, court, human interest and social issues.