Meet Sketch, The Streamer Dominating Twitch In 2024
Kai Cenat's was easily Twitch's fastest growing streamer in 2023, and he's still riding that wave of popularity today. With a new year comes new opportunities for people to break into the mainstream, and it looks like Twitch viewers have found the breakout star of 2024. Kylie Cox hasn't been streaming terribly long, but millions of people now know him as Sketch, a.k.a. thesketchreal.
Sketch has spent a huge chunk of time over the past year streaming "Madden" games on Twitch and hanging out with his rapidly growing audience. Back in 2023, hardly anyone knew who he was, but now he's gotten so well-known that he's traveling the country and hanging out with professional athletes. Sketch's quirky personality has brought him quick internet fame, but the transition to being a massive star hasn't been entirely easy. Sketch's rise has occasionally been tragic, but he's clearly making the most of what the universe has thrown his way. Once you get to know him, it's easy to see that Sketch is living his best life.
Sketch started as a realtor -- technically
There are plenty of streamers who've all but dedicated their entire lives to building an audience. People spend years creating content for every platform they can manage, slowly picking up fans as time drags on. For many streamers, the internet has been their full-time job for as long as they can remember. Not so for Sketch, who was still working as a real estate agent in 2023. Before he was an internet sensation, Sketch spent his days working with his family. Instead of selling houses, Sketch focused on buying plots of land for his dad's development business. When interest rates went up in 2023, Sketch found himself with more free time on his hands. Since he already worked from home, he decided to kill some time by streaming for fun.
Even though this plan worked out in the best way possible, he seems to feel a little guilty when he looks back at that time. "I might have got some free dollars from my dad on that one," Sketch said in an interview with Theo Von. With a laugh, he added, "I'll tell you what, you probably shouldn't let anyone work from home, Pops." Then again, if all your employees are going to become breakout internet stars, maybe just send them home right away?
His anxiety actually won him fans
Playing a particular game or jumping in on strange Twitch metas might get some new people to show up to a broadcast, but audiences only stick around for the long haul when they really like a streamer's personality. People showed up to Sketch's early streams to watch him play "Madden," then got pulled in by his extremely high energy and string of odd catchphrases. When Sketch really gets going in the middle of a match, he usually starts gesticulating wildly and spouting meme-worthy phrases non-stop. It's gotten to the point that some people think Sketch has a condition (like Tourette's) that's forcing him to move so much.
To a certain extent, Sketch's gestures and signature catchphrases — like "What's up, brother?" — are all part of an act. He plays up his boisterous personality to keep his audience engaged, but at the same time, everything he does on camera is related to his life offline. Sketch has said that his family and close friends know he has a tendency to fidget and gesture with his hands when he gets nervous. He's not been a "professional" performer for all that long, and having thousands of people show up to watch him play games definitely gets his anxiety firing on all cylinders. Therefore, Sketch's on-camera energy is a bit of a nervous tic, but it's also become a key part of his brand, as well as something that fans love about his streams.
He's engaged ... or married ... or something
Sketch fans were caught completely off-guard when the streamer got engaged seemingly out of nowhere in April 2024. A clip started circulating on TikTok that claimed to show Sketch proposing "to his longtime girlfriend," which was news to fans.
@livefromthecut Streamer Sketch proposes to his long time girlfriend #sketch #sketchclips #jynxzi #jynxziclips #hellobrother #fyp
It turns out the engagement was all part of a Nick Nayersina video called "I Surprised Sketch With His Dream Girl!," and Sketch actually went a bit further than just popping the question. Nayersina knew that Sketch was a big fan of lifestyle influencer Faith Ordway, so he asked her to meet up with him and Sketch while they were all attending Coachella in Las Vegas. Sketch and Ordway hit it off, and by the end of Nayersina's video, they had a full Vegas-style wedding.
Shortly after the big ceremony, Ordway posted her own video recapping the weekend. "The love is real, the marriage was not," Ordway said. "That was just for fun. We got married for fun, okay, but we're still very much in love." Sadly, it was a love not meant to last. Ordway later told her fans on TikTok that even though people had expected her to break Sketch's heart, it was the other way around. She learned from a podcast that he'd gone on a date with another woman after leaving Vegas. Meanwhile, Sketch referred to himself as "engaged" during his interview with Theo Von. It's definitely confusing for fans, but at least the pair seem to be on good terms.
Sketch is influencing the NFL
It's no secret that Sketch is a massive fan of the NFL. After all, he rose to fame playing "Madden" on Twitch. Since breaking out on that platform, Sketch has been asked to show up on all kinds of podcasts and streaming channels, and you'll almost never see him on camera without a Texans jersey. Best of all, Sketch's love of the NFL goes both ways. When Sketch's "What's up, brother?" catchphrase went viral, it caught the attention of a number of professional football players, and they started incorporating the phrase and Sketch's signature point into their celebrations. The pose attracted enough attention to get its own spot on "Sports Center."
Sketch pulled up to the NFL draft to announce the Texans' pick 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Z6zkrVkdF9
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 27, 2024
This eventually led to a formal partnership between Sketch and the NFL. In April 2024, Sketch got to attend the NFL Draft to announce a pick for the Texans. This partnership also seemed to build more connections for Sketch. The streamer was actively involved in the entire draft weekend, and just a couple days before making his big announcement, he and fellow streamer IShowSpeed got to spend some one-on-one time with Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. No small feat for someone who's barely been streaming for a year.
"TUESDAY! TUESDAY!"
Sketch catches a dime from Caleb Williams 🎯pic.twitter.com/ELWeo3emN5
— Caesars Sportsbook & Casino (@CaesarsSports) April 25, 2024