One of the highlights of American streamer and YouTuber IShowSpeed's visit to Singapore on Sep. 24 was receiving S$10,000 from a Singaporean TikToker after beating the local in a foot race.
Commonly referred to as Speed, the internet personality toured Singapore for the second time after his first stream was cut short on Sep. 22.
During his second stream, Speed was also given an iPhone 16 by a fan, while visiting Kampong Glam to try teh tarik.
Race
In Speed's stream, TikTok user Kevin Wee challenged Speed to a foot race near Arab Street.
Wee explained to Speed that if he lost, he would give Speed S$10,000 to be given to a charity of his choice.
Wee then pulled out a thick wad of S$50 bills, to Speed's amazement.
Speed asked if he could keep the S$10,000 to give to whomever he wanted and Wee agreed.
Screenshot via IShowSpeed/YouTube
Despite Speed apparently injuring his foot on Sep. 23 and Wee stretching, Speed still beat the local TikToker.
For charity?
Taking to his TikTok account Radical Kindness, Wee admitted that he was not a fan of Speed but did the race for exposure.
He noted that he knew he was likely to lose, but the money was for charity.
He also shared a picture of the running shoes he used in the race and the stack of S$50 notes he lost.
Screenshot via Radical Kindness/TikTok
"He did give it back to Singaporeans too, like S$200 to the man who served him teh tarik," he explained.
"Whether he gives the rest is immaterial, I got my exposure and wanted to give a good impression of Singapore to viewers around the world. My objective is served," he added.
Speaking to Mothership, Wee shared that he decided to race Speed as the YouTuber was known to be fast and would race fans.
While Speed has never lost a race, Wee enjoys a good race, having played tennis and did track and field.
Wee said: "I knew that would not be enough to beat him but my intention was not to win, it was to provide entertainment."
When asked how he raised the money, Wee said it was out of his pocket, but he made it fairly easily through his businesses.
Other ways to give back?
Some users pointed out to Wee that there are other ways to give back to society, and he could have donated the money to a charity.
Screenshot via Radical Kindness/TikTok
Screenshot via Radical Kindness/TikTok
Screenshot via Radical Kindness/ TikTok
However, Wee argued that the money he would get back from the exposure of this whole stunt would exceed S$10,000.
In addition, he believed that Speed would keep his word and that it was his money to use.
Screenshot via Radical Kindness/TikTok
"It was up to [Speed] to keep the promise [of giving to charity] or not," Wee told said in the interview when asked if he knew how Speed spent the S$10,000.
"I saw that he used the money to give S$200 to the man that served teh tarik. He used it to pay for things throughout the stream and later [gave] a S$1,000 tip to the staff at Sentosa that helped his team with the jumps.
Is that technically charity? Maybe not, but it still goes back to Singaporeans who deserve it."
Since the whole stunt, Wee has gained over 1,500 followers across platforms.
Reflecting on his interaction with Speed, Wee added that it was just "one neutral event in [his] life, in a series of events".
"I try to take a stoic approach, not to over-glorify success and stigmatise failure.. Because attachments cause suffering," he said.
Top photos via IShowSpeed/YouTube