Ninja admits he often struggles with the “huge pressure” of Twitch streaming

Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins has opened up on the struggles of streaming on Twitch, and the “huge pressure” that comes with modern internet fame ⁠— namely, the feeling that everything is just one mistake away from disappearing.

Fortnite’s first superstar, Ninja, is one of the most famous streamers in the world, even after a 12-month stint on Mixer knocked him out of Twitch’s upper echelons.

In the past half-decade Blevins has risen from retired Halo pro to an undisputed titan in the streaming world, commanding nearly 17 million followers on Twitch alone, and often broadcasts to 20k loyal fans at a time. He’s even taken his success mainstream, hosting events, appearing in movies, and more.

Ninja’s rise hasn’t been all sunshine and roses, however.

Speaking to The Cosmic Wonder, the Twitch star opened up on one side of his Twitch streaming career he’s struggled with: the “immense pressure.”

Ninja revealed he’s always struggled to handle the pressure of his Twitch stardom, from his fledgling 2016 streams, to his popularity spike at the height of Fortnite’s worldwide fame, and even to now.

“There’s so much pressure,” he declared.

“It always feels like, ‘don’t mess up’. There’s always that hovering over your head. It’s so taxing. Even when you grow, and you know you have a loyal audience, you’re actually at a stage where you have to keep them happy.

“There’s always something that adds even more of that work.

“You’re supposed to work less,” the Twitch star continued, “but somehow there always just ends up being more! It’s like, even if you’re not streaming as much you’re doing more work in the backend, more calls, more press. You have to, so things don’t go wrong.”

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Ninja did add there’s one way to alleviate the stress: “That pressure isn’t always there… if you make sure you’re a good person, you won’t have a problem.”

⁠Those pressures haven’t deterred Ninja from pushing on with his glittering Twitch career, however, and the once-top Fortnite star says, despite all the struggles, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

He said: “I understand the privilege that I have.”

Few can boast the streaming glories Ninja has already raked in since exploding in popularity alongside Fortnite either. He still sits as Twitch’s most-followed streamer, and has slowly built his internet fame into mainstream culture since his late 2016 streaming debut too. Even with all the pressures Twitch brings, Tyler Blevins wouldn’t trade it in for the world.

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“I understand the situation I am in,” he said. “I’m grateful for everything that has happened, everything I have in my life right now. I am blessed.”