IShowSpeed walked away from Velocity Valley's Vertigo ride unharmed and describing it as "f***ing sick" after faking a potential injury as part of his YouTube livestream. Video / Velocity Valley
An organiser of the tour has confirmed Speed was “absolutely fine” after the ride and “loved it”.
Short said they were not aware he was going to fake a serious injury after going on their signature ride, the Vertigo – a 43m free-fall into a net.
Short said after Speed’s YouTube livestream ended dramatically, leaving fans fearing he was hurt, Speed jumped up and walked away saying the ride was “f***ing sick”.
Millions of viewers watched on Speed’s YouTube channel as he lay motionless for a couple of minutes after the jump. When the camera angle closed in on Speed, he opened his eyes, clutched his head and claimed it was sore.
The livestream then cut, leaving fans questioning if he was seriously hurt.
Short said Speed’s cameraman whispered to him moments after completing the jump, “Don’t worry, he is going to fake his death.”
YouTube streaming star IShowSpeed appeared nervous before falling down the Vertigo ride at Velocity Valley in Rotorua. Photo / IShowSpeed
Short said the staff who attended to Speed did not know of his intention to fake an injury and professionally handled the situation.
“As you will see in the footage, Speed whispered ‘green apple’, which is a code word for the cameraman to cut the livestream, leaving millions of his followers hanging.”
Short said Speed landed perfectly and safely. He said what the viewers on his YouTube channel did not see was what happened after the livestream was cut.
“Speed jumped up and was heard to say ‘That was f***ing sick’ as he high-fived some of his crew, walking away uninjured.”
Velocity Valley posted a video to its TikTok channel of Speed’s jump, including a clip of him walking and saying, “That was f***ing sick”.
[Warning: The video below contains coarse language.]
Rawiri Nelson, one of the organisers of the New Zealand tour, said Speed loved Velocity Valley’s Vertigo ride and was “absolutely fine” afterwards.
He said there were no injuries received and the following day Speed was undertaking “potentially more dangerous” activities, including fighting with UFC fighter Dan Hooker and running straight at the New Zealand Warriors.
In response to whether Speed faked his injury after the Vertigo ride to get more livestream viewers, Nelson said the way YouTubers create content is about “curiosity”.
“It’s not really up to the person doing something to control what people believe is going on. When it comes to things like this, people will lean into the worst-case scenario. All I can say is he loved it, he enjoyed it. It was one of his favourite things he did, along with the haka at the village.”
The Vertigo involves being harnessed and hoisted to the top of a crane-lifted platform before an instructor releases the hook, leaving the person to free-fall into a net below.
In Speed’s livestream, he seemed nervous on the journey up, repeating that he couldn’t do the ride, telling his parents he loved them, and saying he “might die”.
As he was led off the platform and left suspended in air, Speed’s nerves appeared to manifest physically.
“Bro, I genuinely have to s***. I might s*** on myself. I’m not trolling. I have to poop.”
He let out a “ka mate, ka mate” and barked while the crowd counted down before an instructor released his carabiner and let him fall.
Some commenters on his YouTube channel seemed concerned, with one saying, “I watched this live. I hope he’s okay”. Others weren’t buying his injury, writing, “Quit lying, there’s footage of him right after he got up, he’s fine”.
The four-hour stream – in which Speed led a haka, ate a steak and cheese pie, and entered a Zorb race with Kiwi internet star Jimi Jackson – had over 60,000 people watching live at one stage and currently has a total of two million views on YouTube.
Speed uploaded a clip of him performing Ka Mate in front of Whakarewarewa – the Living Māori Village, complete with barks and a backflip, which gained close to 20 million views on Instagram before being deleted.
He also visited Auckland and Queenstown ahead of his flight to Australia today as part of his tour of the two countries.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
