The Untold Truth Of TommyInnit
TommyInnit is one of the biggest streamers you might have never heard of. The first video on his main YouTube channel went up on September 9, 2018, and his star has only risen since. TommyInnit spent much of his time early on creating "Minecraft" content for YouTube, and he eventually expanded into Twitch streaming, becoming one of the most popular "Minecraft" streamers in the world (per Stream Charts). Today TommyInnit runs multiple YouTube channels, regularly streams on Twitch, and creates content on TikTok. His accounts have millions of followers between them, and he's generated over a billion views with just the content that's on his main channel.
What makes TommyInnit's rise to internet fame even more impressive is his age. Some streamers love gaming with their kids, but other streamers actually get their start as kids. TommyInnit was only 14 years old when he began seriously streaming, and by the time he turned 18, he was worth millions of dollars. His rise to success is one of the fastest the streaming world has ever seen, and his work is just getting started. Before you start seeing his name in more and more places, take some time to learn a few interesting facts about TommyInnit.
He's only been streaming seriously for a few years
Success on YouTube never comes overnight, and for most people being able to make a living from posting videos takes years. Many of the highest paid YouTubers have been on the platform for over a decade, grinding away at content creation and mastering the ever-mysterious algorithm. By those standards, TommyInnit has achieved an almost unheard of level of success.
TommyInnit shut down his first attempt at a YouTube channel after his schoolmates stumbled upon it, but in 2018, he uploaded his first video to his current channel. Since then, he's had the kind of reception that most people only ever dream about.
TommyInnit's had one of the fastest growing YouTube channels in the platform's history. Today, the young streamer has well over 11 million subscribers on his main YouTube channel, where he's generated nearly 2 billion views. In just a few short years, TommyInnit has become one of the most popular streamers in the game — and he built up that following all before turning 18.
He's running a small social media empire
Many YouTubers start branching out with new channels after they get popular, and TommyInnit is no exception. His main channel is dedicated to gaming, and for the most part TommyInnit's gaming focus is "Minecraft." His spin-off gaming channel is called TommyOutit, and though he doesn't update it as often as his other channels, it's still a fairly popular destination for his fans. In 2021, he launched Tom Simons, a dedicated vlog channel that doesn't have a single video with fewer than 3 million views. On top of posting all that content to YouTube, TommyInnit is also active on TikTok, where he often tries out new jokes and comedy bits.
TommyInnit is part of a new generation of YouTube stars who grew up watching some of the platform's earliest success stories. In an interview with Logan Paul, he explained that he admires people like Bo Burnham, who managed to carry his success on YouTube into other areas and mediums. TommyInnit says he plans to take a shot at stand-up in the coming years to continue flexing his comedic muscles. Considering how quickly he's managed to build an online following, there's a good chance he won't have any trouble becoming a comedy star in person.
He's made bank, but money isn't everything to him
Millions of subscribers and billions of views online is undeniably impressive, but it can sometimes be difficult to picture what that translates to in terms of financial success. TommyInnit makes money from the ad revenue on his videos and streams across his various platforms, of course, but he also sells branded merch on his own store. Though TommyInnit doesn't typically discuss his earnings online, it has been estimated that his net worth is in the millions. However, TommyInnit doesn't take his wealth all that seriously. He made waves online after making a tongue-in-cheek joke about earning "billions" of dollars by being such a successful YouTuber.
There's more than one way to tell that TommyInnit isn't creating content just for the money. When the NFT craze began to sweep the internet, he wasn't shy about expressing his disdain for the trend. When asked if he had plans to get into the NFT game like other content creators have done, TommyInnit's answer was a resounding no. For TommyInnit, millions of dollars are an unexpected but welcome byproduct of the work he does online, not the reason he signs in every day in the first place.
He still tries to live a 'normal' life
It's easy to imagine that becoming an internet famous millionaire would completely change a person's life trajectory. If TommyInnit wanted to, he could retire tomorrow and never have to work another day in his life — but to hear him tell it, not much about his day-to-day existence has been altered by his success.
Speaking with Logan Paul in September 2021, TommyInnit said that he still attended public school three days a week, and he even still had to ask permission when he needed to skip school to make a video. His YouTube stardom also didn't directly translate into high school popularity. "I'm just a kid who makes videos," he said.
That's not to say TommyInnit is having a completely normal high school experience. When your days off include activities like buying out an entire water park, "normal" becomes a relative term. Maybe that's why he officially dropped out of school in November 2021, giving him more time to focus on creating content for his various platforms.
He struggles with anxiety
No one has a perfect life, and despite all the success some YouTubers find, the job still comes with its own struggles. TommyInnit has spoken directly to his fans about the anxiety that comes from being online too much. According to him, the best method he's found for managing that anxiety is doing "everything you can to put things in control [for] yourself." For him that means taking time away from the internet and existing off camera for a while until he feels himself beginning to calm down. However, getting that control back is a much bigger challenge when millions of people show up to watch what you do every day.
TommyInnit spoke with Logan Paul about the anxiety that's come along with internet fame. He started getting recognized on the street more regularly in early 2021 and found the experience "really overwhelming." He also opened up about having "a feeling of alienation with YouTube," because even though millions of people recognize him, they don't really know who he is as a person.
"I didn't know I was going to have 10 million subscribers," he said, "I thought I was going to have 30 thousand." He's slowly adjusting and getting used to his new status as one of the biggest YouTubers in the world.
He won't be drinking anytime soon
TommyInnit is part of a rare group of YouTubers who made it big before they became adults. That fact changed how other big YouTubers reacted to him and even limited his collaboration opportunities, which he felt gave him more reasons than the average kid to look forward to his eighteenth birthday. Fans, on the other hand, might have worried that TommyInnit's whole brand would go through a change once he was officially an adult. Well, when he turned 18 on April 8, 2022, he quickly dispelled any worries that he was going to start making edgier content.
He celebrated his birthday (naturally) with a livestream that eventually was reposted to YouTube. TommyInnit lives in England, where the legal age for buying alcohol and cigarettes is eighteen, so he decided to take full advantage of his new privileges by trying them out on-camera for his fans. He approached it all with his usual over-the-top sense of humor, spitting out everything in disgust the moment he tried it. Whether or not TommyInnit was hamming up his reactions for the stream, fans could rest assured that he wouldn't be going through a major personality change anytime soon.
He was in a Bella Poarch music video
Bella Poarch is a social media star who created the most popular TikTok video of 2020 (via Vox), making her popularity blow up. In addition to being a content creator, Poarch is also a musician who highlights her close ties with the streaming community in her work. In August 2021, she released a music video for her single "Inferno" that was packed to the brim with cameos from streamers like Ludwig, SubUrban, DisguisedToast, and, of course, TommyInnit. Currently the video has generated well over a hundred million views.
While streaming "Minecraft," TommyInnit discussed his experience collaborating on the video. As with many pandemic-era productions, most of the video was filmed in front of green screens that allowed it look like the actors were actually working together on a set. His friends Henry and Big Russ went with him to the green screen studio, where he played the role of a bellhop. "It was so weird," TommyInnit said.
A behind the scenes video of the production shows him being his regular goofy self while dressed like a staff member at a five star hotel. The unique opportunity definitely let TommyInnit branch out from his usual content creation, but he's not about to transition into acting full time.
He lives in a $1 apartment
Not only is TommyInnit now an official adult, he's also living on his own. He's found himself in a unique living situation: a "$1 apartment" that's already been the subject of one of his longest YouTube videos. Fans in the comments on the video think he's probably exaggerating how cheap the rent is, but it still exemplifies the old saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
After moving in, TommyInnit discovered that some of the walls were bizarrely damp and seem to be covered in mold. Even worse, the heat in the apartment didn't fully work, meaning the place would never get properly warm.
The bargain price could possibly have made up for the poor quality of the apartment, but the problems didn't end there. The apartment also came along with a landlord full bizarre rules. For starters, after 8 PM he expects total silence from TommyInnit's apartment, which is understandably difficult for a streamer known for being loud and rambunctious. Even stranger, he told TommyInnit that the apartment's corded phone needs to be kept in working condition — only for the phone to break the second it was touched.
"I am not enjoying adult life," he tweeted. "My landlord is a little b****." Welcome to adulthood, TommyInnit!