Although Fanum keeps making strides in the streaming world, he believes there’s a reason why Hollywood hasn’t embraced him and his fellow streamers yet.
It’s no question that we’re in the middle of a paradigm shift when it comes to entertaining ourselves. As explained by Forbes, traditional media companies are competing for audiences and ad revenue but face challenges thanks to cord-cutting, streaming services, and other digital platforms.
One example of those platforms is Twitch, which racked up 1.7 billion hours watched live in Dec. 2024, according to TwitchTracker.
In a new interview with GQ, the 27-year-old AMP streamer, whose Twitch account boasts over 2.7 million followers, suggested legacy media haven’t approached him because they’re still not up to speed on the concept of streaming.
“People are still waking up. They still don’t understand what streaming is,” Fanum told GQ’s Kieran Press-Reynolds. “They’re like, ‘What do you mean, you’re live?’”
Fanum also told the magazine that he dreams of elevating live streaming to Hollywood-like production levels, with sleek, mega-set environments, and trailers for all creators. He was seemingly inspired by the scale of KSI’s Big Brother-esque reality show Inside.
“That’s us,” he said. “Just other creators with an idea, and they made it a reality.”
Fanum’s parents, who are originally from the Dominican Republic, were dentists in their home country but couldn’t get their credentials validated in the United States.
A representative for the Bronx-bred streamer confirmed to GQ that streaming made him a millionaire, but Fanum’s parents apparently didn’t understand what he was doing for a living at first.
“[My mom] sees the only way out as school. Here’s her son, in a room, just making videos and somehow getting paid. She literally thought I was selling drugs at first,” he said.
It hasn’t all been positive since the young streamer rose to fame and fortune. Last year, he announced plans to sue the New York Police Department after an officer pointed a gun at him and seized his Lamborghini Urus shortly after the Bronx Dominican Parade.
