Ninja Reveals His Loftiest Goal Yet
Tyler "Ninja" Blevins spends a lot of time on camera, but that's mostly due to the fact that he's a streamer. He can be found quite often playing Fortnite for his fans, so it's rare he gets to sit down for an in-depth interview. That changed recently thanks to a recently published episode of the True Geordie podcast, in which host Brian Davis gave Ninja over an hour to speak his mind.
And boy, did the current Mixer streamer have quite a bit to say about the state of his career.
If you're used to the squeaky-clean image Ninja tends to project on stream, the interview might surprise you a little. Ninja is a bit more unplugged than usual, dropping a few curses and even managing to slam Britney Spears at one point. We suggest you watch the whole interview if you're interested in seeing all that. It's what Ninja said about his career trajectory, however, that really grabbed our attention. Ninja still has big dreams about what he can do and who he can become. Most of all, he knows that he's a top streamer these days, and there are a whole lot of hungry competitors on Mixer and Twitch gunning for his spot.
Ninja wants to be the greatest
In terms of fame, there are some in entertainment and sports who are treated like deities. They are so tremendously admired and respected that, even if they slip, they still might be more famous than just about everyone else. You could slot Tom Hanks into such a category. In the world of sports, Michael Jordan could hit that mark.
Ninja would love to join that club, stating on the True Geordie podcast, "I want to get so big that no one can talk sh-t anymore."
The streamer went on to note that "No one is making sh-t videos about David Beckham," and observed that former pro wrestler and current action movie star The Rock is just as beloved. Ninja claimed that "[The Rock] could sh-t on the street and people would clap," and while that's certainly up for debate, we think we understand the point he's trying to make.
Ninja seems to want the life of an A-lister. He wants to live in a world where he's viewed as huge star, and he wants the respect that comes along with that. We don't think it seems likely, though, that an increase in fame would bring about a decrease in the online vitriol directed at Ninja. He's a video game streamer, after all; he invites viewers into his life every day. That's not something a lot of celebrities do.
Ninja has haters
But lets talk about all of that negativity for a moment. It didn't always come flying at Ninja from all directions, and it especially didn't when he first started streaming. At one time, Ninja was just a pro gamer trying to learn the ropes over on Twitch, with many other popular streamers ahead of him in both viewership and revenue.
Fortnite, most would agree, changed that. When the game's battle royale mode took off, Ninja's streaming career took off with it. Soon he was gaining more subscribers, more sponsorship deals, and more attention. And soon, he was no longer the little guy; he was the top dog. That change put a huge target on his back.
"I've witnessed going from the underdog, going from this guy who was coming up on Fortnite and getting love from everyone, and getting solid love for a year, just compliments, and then seeing it change," Ninja said on the True Geordie podcast.
Now Ninja is the subject of constant ridicule. Whether it be over his move to Mixer or the content of his streams, someone always seems to have a bone to pick with the guy. With that in mind, we can understand why he wants to level up his status and recruit more fans to drown out the haters.
What Ninja is up to now
The Ninja of today isn't all that different from the Ninja who debuted a few years back. He's still dying his hair strange colors. He's still rocking a Red Bull headband. And he's still playing Fortnite, a game that has undergone its own metamorphosis over the past few months. The only difference now is that you won't find Ninja on Twitch, but instead, on Mixer, where he boasts over 2.6 million followers and has racked up over 33 million views.
Will Ninja ever reach The Rock levels of fame while streaming on Mixer? We can't say for certain. We can say, though, that he's certainly the streamer to beat in terms of mainstream popularity and personality. He may not be making millions of dollars per flick, but he is still making millions. And Hollywood has at least shown some interest in bringing Ninja aboard. So who knows: maybe a Met Gala invitation is in his future. We'd definitely love to see that costume.