Streaming video games is bigger and more lucrative than its ever been, and at the forefront is Ninja. Ninja primarily streams Fortnite (although he also plays many different and unique titles), and he is currently the most popular personality on Twitch.

But despite his popularity, many people don't know a lot about him. They know he's a video game streamer, they know he's popular and controversial, and they know he dyes his hair a lot of wacky colors. But beneath all that is a person with a unique story and a very unique Twitch channel. These are ten things you didn't know about Ninja and his channel.

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10 His Real Name Is Richard Blevins

Now, you may not actually believe this, but Ninja's name is not actually Ninja—we know, crazy, right? His real name is Richard Blevins (Richard Tyler Blevins, if you want to get technical), and he is of Welsh descent. He was born in Detroit in June 1991, although he was primarily raised in Chicago and later took an interest in sports and video games. He also attended Grayslake Central High School in Grayslake, Illinois, a small village located within the Chicago metropolitan area.

9 He Began His Gaming Career With Halo 3

After graduating high school in the late 2000s, Ninja made a controversial decision by opting out of a "normal job" to pursue gaming full time. Now, we don't know him personally, but that probably didn't sit too well with his parents. He began playing Halo 3 on the professional circuit and played for various professional organizations, including Cloud9 and Team Liquid. He is now with the Toronto-based Luminosity Gaming, who recently won the 2017 Gamescom Invitational.

8 He Has Broken Two Twitch Viewing Records

Ninja's popularity began to skyrocket when he started streaming Fortnite, and this massive surge in popularity has resulted in two broken Twitch records. The first came in March 2018 when he broke the individual stream record by hosting a game with Juju Smith-Schuster, Drake, and Travis Scott. He later broke his own record during an eSports event that took place at Las Vegas's newly-opened HyperX eSports Arena. Ninja faced off against various top-level Fornite players, and the stream peaked at 667,000 concurrent viewers, making it the most watched single stream in Twitch history.

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7 He Earns Over $500,000 A Month

via: dexerto.com

Streaming is clearly a lucrative business. At least it can be if your name is Ninja. Ninja makes a reported $500,000 a month from streaming video games, which, in case you didn't know, is an absolutely ridiculous amount of money. This money comes from various sponsorships, donations, business partnerships, YouTube views, and Twitch subscriptions, as he has more than 160,000 paid subscribers. And what does he do with all this money? Not much, according to him. Aside from splurging on a few designer clothes, Ninja has tucked his money away in the bank. That's probably smart. He won't be making $500,000 a month forever.

6 His Studio Was Made By Red Bull

Here's a tip for aspiring streamers; don't be discouraged because your get-up doesn't look like Ninja's, because a lot of time, clout, and money went into that sucker. Just remember, Ninja too started from humble beginnings. Red Bull partnered with a creative agency called Roundhouse to create Ninja's state-of-the-art studio. It includes changing LED lights, eight monitors, four 4K 60 FPS broadcast cameras, microphones, and even an analyst desk. It also spans the entire length and width of Ninja's basement. And, while Red Bull declined to share the budget, estimates place the equipment at well over $20,000 in value.

5 He Is The First eSports Player To Reach The Cover Of ESPN The Magazine

Some people may claim that eSports are still a niche interest, but we beg to differ. Not only did Las Vegas open its own eSports arena, but Ninja has now graced the cover of ESPN The Magazine. The issue hit newsstands on September 21, 2018, and featured an in-depth article into Ninja's career and lifestyle titled "Living the Stream." And it's no surprise why Ninja made the cover. By this point, he had broken his own Twitch viewing record and became the first Twitch streamer to hit ten million followers. Whether people like it or not, eSports and Ninja are here to stay.

4 He Was On Family Feud

via: YouTube.com

Streaming video games and partaking in gaming tournaments isn't all that Ninja does. He also plays Family Feud. Ninja, going by Tyler Blevins, appeared on Family Feud in 2014, long before he became famous for streaming Fortnite, although well into his competitive Halo days at that point. Ninja was even selected for the fast money round! Team Blevins actually did astonishingly well, accruing $40,000 in prize money and winning multiple fast money rounds. Who knew this random kid from Family Feud would go on to become the richest and most famous video game streamer of all time?

3 He Was Paid $1 Million To Promote Apex Legends

Apex Legends was set to be the big Fortnite killer, and EA desperately wanted it to be a success. So, what better way to promote the game than to have Fortnite's most popular player play it? Ninja was paid $1 million to promote Apex Legends, which included tweeting about the game and streaming its launch to his then thirteen million Twitch followers. Turns out that EA knows how to market a game, because the Ninja play worked spectacularly, netting the game ten million signups in its first three days. And that's why Ninja is paid the big bucks.

2 He's Won Four Major Awards For Streaming

It's not just gaming tournament trophies that Ninja is winning—he's also winning major awards for his streaming work. Ninja has won four major awards, signifying his total dominance of the streaming market. In 2018 alone he won a Streamy Award and a Game Awards award Content Creator of the Year, and an eSports award for eSports Personality of the Year. The streak continued in 2019 when he won a Shorty Award for Twitch Streamer of the Year. Yeah, when you're making $500,000 a month, you better be the Twitch streamer of the year!

1 He Does A Lot Of Charitable Work

Ninja isn't just using his clout for personal gain. He has actually done a lot of charitable work for various diseases, including Alzheimer's and depression. In 2018, he raised $110,000 through a charitable stream, the money of which went towards the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. He's also given tournament prize money to various charities, including the Alzheimer's Association. And finally, he took part in the #Clips4Kids event and helped raise over $340,000 for children in need. Turns out that Ninja is actually a really good dude.

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