Destiny (streamer)

Steven Kenneth Bonnell II, better known by his online alias Destiny, is an American Twitch streamer and YouTube personality. Bonnell was among the first people to commit to full-time streaming and received some attention as a pioneer of the emerging industry.[1]

Destiny
Bonnell debating at a public event in 2020
Personal information
BornSteven Bonnell II
(1988-12-12) December 12, 1988
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
ResidenceLos Angeles, California
OccupationTwitch streamer/YouTuber
Websitedestiny.gg
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2011–present
GenreVideo gaming, political commentary
Games
Followers538,066
Total views100 million
Follower and view counts updated as of June 3 2020.
YouTube information
GenrePolitics/Gaming
Subscribers232 thousand
(June 10, 2020)
Total views118 million
(June 10, 2020)
100,000 subscribers March 2018

Early life

Bonnell grew up in Omaha in a conservative Catholic home.[2] He is of Cuban descent on his mother's side.[3] When he was in his teens his parents moved to take care of an aging relative and he lived with his grandmother until he was 18.[2] He attended the University of Nebraska, working at a local casino and dropping out in 2010.[2] He worked in restaurants and as a carpet cleaner.[4][5][2]

Career

Bonnell began his online career as a professional Starcraft 2 player who livestreamed his matches.[1][6] According to Bonnell, he first started livestreaming in January 2011 on the website Justin.tv.[5] Bonnell eventually signed with Quantic Gaming.[7] Later, Bonnell would end up 4th in the 2011 MLG Global North American invitational.[8]

Bonnell has also received coverage for his live-streamed political debates.[2] Bonnell, along with Natalie Wynn, were credited by Caleb Cain for his turn away from the alt-right.[2] The New York Times has also identified Bonnell's political content, and particularly his combative debating style, as a force that has successfully worked against the far-right radicalization which some people experience through watching online videos.[9][10] Bonnell describes himself as a rule utilitarian[11] and a social democrat.

Throughout Bonnell's early career, he was well known for his provocative persona and common use of crass language.[1] This led to temporary suspensions from the Twitch platform for insensitive language. In February 2018, Bonnell was temporarily banned from Twitch for the use of the words "faggot" and "retard".[12]

A debate between Bonnell and well-known YouTuber JonTron became popular and controversial.[13]

Personal life

Bonnell lives in Los Angeles.[2] He has a son who lives in Nebraska.[2]

References
  1. McCormick, Rich (August 26, 2014). "This is why people want to watch other people play video games". The Verge. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  2. "Can This Notorious Troll Turn People Away From Extremism?". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  3. Bernal, Alan (October 24, 2019). "Trihex gets angry with Destiny over use of racial slurs". Dexerto.com. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  4. Destiny (May 17, 2016), My Life Before I Started Streaming, retrieved November 2, 2018
  5. Destiny. "My Journey In Streaming". Destiny. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  6. "Inside the new world of 24/7 on-demand videogame TV". Edge. July 1, 2013. Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  7. "Steven "Destiny" Bonnell joins Quantic Gaming". www.gamasutra.com. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  8. "2011 MLG Global Invitational - Liquipedia - the StarCraft II Encyclopedia".
  9. "Three: Mirror Image". The New York Times. April 30, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  10. Roose, Kevin (June 8, 2019). "The making of a youtube radical". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  11. "Destiny. Advocating for political violence - Destiny debates I, Hypocrite". May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  12. "Destiny, M0E, Alfie and other Twitch streamers banned as company crack down". Polygon. July 3, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  13. "YouTube Star JonTron Under Fire for Comments on Race and Immigration". Time. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
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