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Kieran Press-Reynolds and Katie Hawkinson
- Kai Cenat started his YouTube channel in 2018 and switched to Twitch livestreams in 2021.
- He's gained tremendous popularity through his infectious comedy style and his star-studded collaborations.
- While he's the recipient of the Streamer of the Year award, he's now facing legal consequences of a giveaway gone awry.
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Kai Cenat is one of the biggest streamers in the world — and was crowned the 2023 Streamer of the Year — but he is still clamoring to become a household name.
Cenat is known for many things, including helping to popularize "rizz," which has become the most ubiquitous new slang word of the year. He's also skyrocketed to fame after a monthlong "subathon" stunt in February, where he streamed for 30 days straight, nearly 24 hours each day, on Twitch.
His risky and ambitious endeavor helped set the record for most concurrent subscribers to a Twitch channel, with his channel surpassing 300,000 at one point.
Cenat also hosted a PlayStation give-away in Manhattan's Union Square Park on Aug. 5 that devolved into a riot resulting in several injuries, New York City police said. Officers made several arrests after thousands of people swarmed the gathering. Cenat now faces potential charges for the incident, such as "inciting a riot," police said.
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As he grows his career beyond Twitch, here is what you need to know about the ascendant star (who may soon become a household name).
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Kai Cenat has been obsessed with YouTube since he was a kid.
According to his July cover story in Complex, 21-year-old Cenat moved multiple times as a child.
Cenat was born in Brooklyn before he decamped for Georgia. His family later returned to Brooklyn and eventually settled in the Bronx. He said he was a troublemaker in elementary school and acted rudely toward his teachers.
"As a little kid, I was bad. I'm not gonna lie," he told Complex. "Not to my mom, though, but in school and to everybody else."
Growing up, he said he was obsessed with YouTube. When he was 13, he went to a meet and greet in Massachusetts to see the prankster and vlogger Roman Atwood, who he said was a huge motivation for him.
Cenat uploaded his first YouTube video in January 2018 and continued to post as he was in college at the State University of New York at Morrisville. His earliest videos already featured the high-octane style he has become known for.
Like Atwood, his YouTube videos were mostly challenges and pranks, like a Jan 26, 2018, video titled "TEXTING MY FRIENDS EX GIRLFRIEND PRANK!! (GONE WRONG!!)"
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Cenat's profile exploded after switching over to Twitch.
Cenat continued uploading videos on YouTube and gained a sizable fanbase, but he didn't really blow up until he switched over to Twitch streaming in February 2021. As of July 2023, he has 7.5 million subscribers across two accounts on YouTube and 6.4 million Twitch followers.
His Twitch popularity skyrocketed mostly in the last year: In. August 2022, he had just over 1.5 million subscribers, according to the data analytics website SocialBlade.
Cenat is known for a variety of content on the streaming platform. His streams are often 8 hours long and feature him sitting in a swivel chair reacting to videos and interacting with the thousands of fans feverishly commenting in the chat. He has also recorded himself playing games, meeting fans, and traveling to places like Japan.
Viewers say they're inspired by his rise and love his comedy style, which involves a lot of animated facial expressions, startling reactions to memes and pop culture, and riffing with other creators.
Fan-made compilations of his funniest moments have racked up millions of views on YouTube.
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Cenat has set records and won awards.
Cenat has made set records and made headlines for his stunts.
In February, he hosted a monthlong subathon, which is an event where influencers stream with the sole goal of racking up as many subscribers as possible. Cenat streamed himself almost every minute of the month — including while he was sleeping, and even left the camera on as he left to use the bathroom.
By the end of the month, Cenat had reeled in just over 306,000 subscribers, setting the record for most concurrent subscribers ever on Twitch.
Cenat took the record from Ludwig Ahgren, another massively popular streamer who set the previous record at 283,000 subscribers.
Cenat is also the recipient of "Streamer of the Year" at two award shows this year. He won the title at the 12th annual Streamy Awards in December 2022 (he was nominated in the Breakout Streamer category as well, but lost to his friend iShowSpeed). He also won Streamer of the Year at the 2023 Streamer Awards, edging out favorites like Hasan Piker and xQc. His latter win received widespread praise in the streaming community.
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Cenat's biggest contribution to internet culture might be a single word.
Cenat is particularly known for being one of the earliest adopters of the word "rizz," a beloved Zoomer slang term used to describe someone's ability to charm a potential romantic partner. It was popularized by influencers like him, Silky, and Duke Dennis in 2021, according to KnowYourMeme. At one point, Cenat hosted a show called "RIZZ ACADEMY" where he gave people tips on how to up one's rizz in various social settings.
@cyrian._ wait till the end #fyp #fypシ #viral #xyzbca #cyrian_ #rizz #shadowboxing ♬ White Tee - Summer Walker & NO1-NOAH
On the "No Jumper" podcast last year, the streamer said he first heard the world from a close circle of friends. After he started using it during his Twitch livestreams, the term caught on like wildfire in late 2022, and it eventually became a TikTok meme in 2o23. One of the word's most alluring qualities is it can be used in many playful ways. People love using it to parody names, like turning the Wizard of Oz into the "Rizzard of Oz."
Ironically, at the height of the term's popularity, Cenat said he has stopped using it. He said during the No Jumper interview that TikTok "butchered" and "killed" the original meaning of the term.
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Cenat has palled around with famous musicians and experimented with making music himself.
Cenat has featured numerous famous names on his livestreams, including musicians like Lil Baby and Ice Spice. In one popular clip featuring the"Munch" rapper, Cenat taught her how to "get sturdy," a new dance trend. He also once FaceTimed Drake live and asked him to come on the stream ("I never really done a stream... so we might have to set it up," Drake said).
Cenat has created a few songs himself. "Dogs," a collaboration with iShowSpeed that uses the famous Baha Men "who let the dogs out" hook as a sample, has received over 10 million streams across YouTube and Spotify. His first song uploaded to Spotify, "Bustdown Rollie Avalanche," which features rapper NLE Choppa, has over 54 million plays.
He recently participated in a rap cypher with Lil Yachty and his influencer content group AMP, which includes other creators like Duke Dennis and Din "Agent 00" Muktar.
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