At 21 years old, Kai Cenat is the top streamer on Twitch. This success comes from dedication to his craft. Although Cenat started creating content in high school by posting short videos on Vine and Instagram, he began taking things seriously in college.
“I don’t play when it comes to my content because people will get comfortable, and things can slow down,” he told Complex in a cover story. “I know that all this can go away. So I gotta keep my head focused, stay on the right path, and just execute every time.”
Creating content while keeping up with college schoolwork was sometimes a balancing act.
“It was hard,” Cenat said. “I would have my laptop, my camera. I would record that day, edit that same day. And then post by 8 o’clock and have it up and running. And there were times when I had to upload before class and have five minutes to sprint from my dorm all the way to the other side of the campus for class.”
“It was kind of hard balancing it because, you know, I put so much effort into my videos, and I had schoolwork to do,” he admitted.
These efforts paid off, though. Cenat says the highlight of his career so far is having bought his mother a house. The streamer shared the news in a video last year.
“It’s amazing. When I bought my mom a house, it was like her house, her cars that she wanted. It was like, wow, like you feel what I’m saying? Like my mom could call me with anything that she needs, and I’m able to provide it. It’s insane, so I pray every day, and I’m just thankful,” he told Complex.
Cenat says he used to save $5 from school daily to afford a ride back home on Fridays.
“To say that she has a house to herself is crazy, like a nice backyard that she can just chill in, privacy… That’s the craziest thing ever.”
Buying his mother a house is especially significant as he spent part of his childhood in shelters.
“My mom still got the shelter sheets in her crib. I just remember the craziest stuff,” he said. “My mom doing things by herself. She’s like a hero. I always think about that moment and realize where I came from and don’t take nothing for granted.”
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Cenat also talks about the lack of diversity in the streaming community, saying, “The diversity is not too crazy.”
“I was bringing a crazy light to the culture by being on the platform and dominating and doing everything I had to do,” he said, adding that he used to get banned repeatedly on the come-up.
“When I was coming up, I used to get banned like crazy, and people used to think it was due to race. Everybody used to get banned left and right, but when a person who wasn’t Black would do it, they wouldn’t get banned. So it was a weird type of vibe,” he said. “But if I can speak right now, I’m chilling now. I’m good. Nothing is happening to me. But every time I get banned, I go on every blog post. It’s weird, but I’m chilling right now though.”
