Coffee With Speed
If you were having coffee with me, I would welcome you to my tangle of words… compliments of the New Year. Over the years, I have picked up a certain eccentricity, where every time I interact with someone for the first time in the year I wish them a happy new year. I never quite figured out when people stop saying it, February? March? Never?
What does speed mean to you? If you had asked me just before the year begun, I would have said that it thrills but kills, the grim mathematics of distance over time and its starring role in road traffic fatalities. I would certainly not have thought about the popular American YouTuber and Livestreamer,Darren Jason Watkins Jr better known as IShowSpeed… or simply Speed.
Speed is famous for his high‑energy streams, which now include In Real Life (IRL) broadcasts and these are live, unscripted wanderings through cities and countries as he eats local food, meets fans, absorbs culture, and occasionally stumbles into the unexpected. Viewers watch it all, chaos and charm in equal measure, as it happens.
I first learnt of Speed just before he started his Speed Does Africa Tour when the news made the rounds that Zimbabwe was on the itinerary. While I might not have been familiar with Speed before this, he commands a large following, especially amongst the youngsters, and his visits have had a massive turnout with crowds of fans chanting his name in every country he has touched down.
Speed has been hailed for breaking stereotypes about Africa, something which many people have been doing, me and this blog included, just at an unprecedented scale, reach and influence, with over 48 million subscribers on Youtube, which is what makes this tour stand out. I am constantly surprised that even in 2026 there are people who still perceive Africa only as a dark and struggling wilderness.
Granted, its not all flowers and rainbows, but it’s not as bleak as the narrative that has shaped some people’s perceptions, and broadcasts such as Speed’s go a long way in showcasing a side of Africa that rarely makes the global media.
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that I was rather nervous about how the IRL stream in Zimbabwe would look, but it played out beautifully, except for a few awkward moments which only someone intimately familiar with Zimbabwe would notice…
The stream begins with Speed getting a fortune-telling reading from Elliestrator at the Mbuya Nehanda statue. While I was thrilled about it, twas a bittersweet moment because ever since this monument was completed 5 years ago, people are not allowed near it, and it has 24-hour police protection, begging the question, why it was constructed in the first place.
In November 2025 YouTuber named Davud Akhundzada was stopped by police from going up to view the statue and the Ministry of Tourism gave a long-winded explanation on why access to the monument was restricted and apologised to the Youtuber. The government also offered assurances that general access to the monument will be improved.
And then the next time they allowed access is because a famous youtuber is here, kinda takes me back to childhood, when we were only allowed to use the fancy dinner service when there were important visitors or special occasions like Christmas Day and would spend the rest of the year locked up in the display cabinet.
The next stop was for some test of strength activities with Speed versus the Strongest Woman in Africa title holder Chido Maenzanise at the recently completed Trabablas Interchange, which by Zimbabwean standards is an impressive feat of construction but I guess to someone with more exposure its just another traffic interchange, which had Speed even asking why they came all the way there, when they could have done their activities anywhere else… oooopsie. I felt that for us.
The other eyebrow-raising moment was close to the end of the stream when kids of a prominent individual flaunted the rules and showed up at the club section for a photo opportunity with Speed. It took for the YouTuber pointing out kids shouldn’t be in the club, for people to see that perhaps that wasn’t the best of optics irrespective of whom one’s father is. While some could argue that the venue is a family-friendly establishment, the Deck section is still a no under 21 shisha bar which would make Speed, who turns 21 on the 21st of January, just barely qualify to enter.
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that the highlight of the Zimbabwean stream, was when Speed met his Zimbabwean lookalike Mudiwa Jani known as Superstar Jani the Zimbabwean Speed or Temu Speed. The guys had effortless chemistry and matching energy that it was unsurprising to find that he is now making appearances with Speed in other countries, recreating the viral Spiderman meme with other lookalikes, and even taking over the stream when Speed was indisposed.
While the streams have brought an awareness and showcased African culture, they have also brought scrutiny on some of our less-than-stellar moments and the mean streak that surfaces when countries compete to claim they offered the “best” or “most authentic” African experience instead of all just celebrating each other’s wins, diversity and similarities.
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that when the dust settles, hopefully, Speed’s visit serves as an eye-opener on the power and influence of digital creators, and when I take out a camera and start recording, I won’t be treated like someone upto no good… and we wont need to wait on Youtubers from abroad to showcase the beauty and chaos of the place we call home…
What’s been happening in your neck of the woods, how is the New Year shaping up for you?
~B
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