The year he turned 17, he uploaded his first YouTube video and made pranks and challenges. The year he turned 18, he enrolled at SUNY Morrisville, and he left college in 2020.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 20, he began streaming on Twitch. Complex says he blew up that year.
The year he turned 21, Dot Esports reported he reached 500,000 followers and became Twitch’s second most-subscribed streamer, and in December he won Streamer of the Year at the Streamy Awards. The year he turned 22, his 30-day Mafiathon broke Twitch’s subscription record, he signed with UTA, and he won Streamer of the Year at both the Streamer Awards and the Streamys. In August he was charged with inciting a riot after a Union Square giveaway; prosecutors later agreed to drop the case after an apology and restitution.
The year he turned 23, he announced a Nike partnership. Mafiathon 2 in November brought 727,694 subscribers, per BBC News.
The year he turned 24, he launched Streamer University at the University of Akron, reached one million subscribers during Mafiathon 3 and became the first streamer with 20 million Twitch followers.
The year he turned 25, he posted “I Quit” and announced Vivet in January, returned to streaming in July, and showed the brand on the New York Fashion Week runway in September.
Kai Cenat uploaded his first YouTube video in 2018, the year he turned 17, and became known in 2021, the year he turned 20, when he began streaming on Twitch. He broke the platform’s subscription record on Feb 28, 2023.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Posted his first video on YouTube and made pranks and challenges. Dot Esports said his Extreme Ding Dong Ditch series was particularly popular.
Source 01 · Dot Esports · Who is Kai Cenat and how did he get famous in the Twitch streaming world? · opens in a new tabSource 31 · Wikipedia · Kai Cenat · opens in a new tab Month from Dot Esports; the day is from Wikipedia.Graduated from high school and began studying at the State University of New York at Morrisville.
Source 31 · Wikipedia · Kai Cenat · opens in a new tab Date from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.Dropped out of the State University of New York at Morrisville.
Source 31 · Wikipedia · Kai Cenat · opens in a new tab Date from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.Dot Esports reported he had 5,000 followers, most of them from YouTube, when his first stream ended, and 70,000 before the month was out. Complex says he blew up in 2021, and Forbes says he found fame on Twitch after largely moving there that year.
The rapper tried to learn the Woo Walk dance as a guest on his stream, HipHopDX reported on April 8.
Source 15 · HipHopDX · Bobby Shmurda Finally Finds A Dance Move He Can’t Do · opens in a new tab The day of the stream is not stated; HipHopDX published on April 8, 2022.Released the single with the rapper NLE Choppa, The Hollywood Reporter noted.
Source 04 · The Hollywood Reporter · Twitch Streamer Kai Cenat Signs With UTA · opens in a new tabSource 31 · Wikipedia · Kai Cenat · opens in a new tab The Hollywood Reporter says only that the single came out in 2022; the day is from Wikipedia.Appeared in a minute-long comedic trailer for the rapper’s upcoming single, Uproxx reported.
Source 16 · Uproxx · Polo G Announces His New Single ‘Distraction’ With A Comedic Trailer · opens in a new tabDot Esports reported he reached 500,000 followers and became the second most-subscribed streamer on the platform that month, and passed two million followers shortly after.
Source 01 · Dot Esports · Who is Kai Cenat and how did he get famous in the Twitch streaming world? · opens in a new tab Month from Dot Esports; day not stated.The NBA 2K23 stream with 21 Savage peaked at 283,245 viewers, according to TwitchTracker figures cited by Dot Esports. That was more than 40,000 above the peak of his earlier stream with Lil Baby.
Source 14 · Dot Esports · Kai Cenat just keeps bowling over Twitch records and this time 21 Savage helped · opens in a new tab Dot Esports says he announced the stream the same day, Nov. 9.Won Streamer of the Year, one of the gaming categories the Streamys launched that year, Billboard reported.
Source 10 · Billboard · Mark Rober, MrBeast Win Big at 2022 YouTube Streamy Awards · opens in a new tabGame Rant reported the subathon would run from Feb. 1 to March 2. The stream drew 6.4 million unique viewers on its first day, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
Source 13 · Game Rant · Kai Cenat Announces Huge 30 Day Subathon · opens in a new tabSource 04 · The Hollywood Reporter · Twitch Streamer Kai Cenat Signs With UTA · opens in a new tab Wikipedia gives Jan. 31 as the start; the sources cited here say Feb. 1.United Talent Agency signed him for representation in all areas, The Hollywood Reporter reported. He had 4.4 million followers on Twitch at the time.
Source 04 · The Hollywood Reporter · Twitch Streamer Kai Cenat Signs With UTA · opens in a new tabBloomberg reported he had the most subscriptions of any streamer on Twitch, with the number topping 300,000. Forbes says he first broke the all-time record in February 2023.
Source 05 · Bloomberg · Twitch Streamer Kai Cenat Breaks Platform’s Subscription Record · opens in a new tabSource 03 · Forbes · Kai Cenat Reclaims Twitch Subscriber Title With ‘Mafiathon 2’ · opens in a new tab Bloomberg published on March 1 and dates the record to Tuesday, Feb. 28.Game Rant reported he won Streamer of the Year at the 2023 Streamer Awards.
Source 12 · Game Rant · Kai Cenat Wins Streamer of the Year Award · opens in a new tabSource 31 · Wikipedia · Kai Cenat · opens in a new tab Game Rant published on March 12, 2023; the ceremony date is from Wikipedia.Rolling Stone included him in its list of the 20 most influential creators.
Source 06 · Rolling Stone · The 20 Most Influential Creators Right Now · opens in a new tabA console giveaway he announced drew a crowd estimated at several thousand people to Union Square Park in Manhattan, and he was charged with inciting a riot. In May 2024 Manhattan prosecutors said they would drop the case after he posted a public apology and paid $55,000 of $57,000 in restitution.
Source 07 · NBC News · Twitch streamer Kai Cenat charged with riot after NYC giveaway chaos · opens in a new tabSource 08 · The New York Times · YouTube Streamer Faces Riot Charge After Union Square Park Erupts in Chaos · opens in a new tabSource 09 · The New York Times · Kai Cenat Resolves Union Square Melee Charges With Apology, Officials Say · opens in a new tabWon Streamer of the Year at the 2023 Streamy Awards, Billboard reported.
Source 11 · Billboard · Meghan Trainor, Jonas Brothers Among Winners at 2023 Streamy Awards · opens in a new tabA stream with Nicki Minaj peaked at 348,593 viewers, above his previous peak of 306,280, Game Rant reported.
Source 17 · Game Rant · Nicki Minaj Guest Appearance Breaks Kai Cenat’s Twitch Viewership Record · opens in a new tabSource 18 · Complex · Nicki Minaj Gives Kai Cenat His Props After Joining Him for Stream · opens in a new tabSource 31 · Wikipedia · Kai Cenat · opens in a new tab Day from Wikipedia; Complex reported the stream on Dec. 14, 2023.Confirmed the partnership on his stream. Complex reported he is the first streamer to join Nike and that the terms were not revealed.
Source 19 · Complex · Kai Cenat Confirms Partnership With Nike · opens in a new tab Complex published on Feb. 9 and says he made the announcement the day before.Rolling Stone said its second annual list was ranked and drawn from more than 500 nominees. It noted he had the most subscribers of any influencer on Twitch.
Source 20 · Rolling Stone · The 25 Most Influential Creators of 2024 · opens in a new tabTwitch confirmed to Forbes that he broke the all-time record with 327,000 paid subscriptions, less than halfway through the subathon that began Nov. 1.
Source 03 · Forbes · Kai Cenat Reclaims Twitch Subscriber Title With ‘Mafiathon 2’ · opens in a new tab Forbes published on Nov. 12 and says he passed the mark Monday night.BBC News reported the 30-day stream brought 727,694 subscribers, more than double the previous record of 326,252, with the final figure not yet confirmed by Twitch. He pledged 20% of the money to a school he is helping build in Nigeria.
Source 21 · BBC News · Snoop Dogg helps Kai Cenat reclaim Twitch subscriber record · opens in a new tab Date is the day of the BBC report.Took part in the match at a sold-out Wembley on the YouTube Allstars side, which beat the Sidemen on penalties after an 18-goal game, The Standard reported.
Source 22 · The Standard · Sidemen Charity Match 2025 · opens in a new tab Date of The Standard’s match report.USA Today reported he brought some 120 content creators to the campus for the event, with the Class of 2025 revealed on May 18.
Source 23 · USA Today (Akron Beacon Journal) · Kai Cenat kicks off ‘Streamer University’ at University of Akron · opens in a new tab Day of the event not given in the report; it was published on May 23, 2025.TIME listed him among the Titans on its TIME100 Creators 2025 list.
Source 24 · TIME · TIME100 Creators 2025 · opens in a new tabSource 31 · Wikipedia · Kai Cenat · opens in a new tab Date from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.Complex reported he reached one million subscribers during the subathon. The Times of India called him the first Twitch streamer to hold that many at once.
Source 02 · Complex · Kai Cenat’s 10 Best Streaming Moments of 2025 · opens in a new tabSource 25 · The Times of India · Kai Cenat becomes first streamer ever to hit 20 million followers on Twitch · opens in a new tab Exact day of the milestone not stated in the sources.The Times of India reported he became the first streamer to reach 20 million followers on Twitch.
Source 25 · The Times of India · Kai Cenat becomes first streamer ever to hit 20 million followers on Twitch · opens in a new tab The report is dated Nov. 14, 2025 (IST); the exact day is not confirmed.Mashable reported he won Best Just Chatting Streamer, Best Streamed Event for Streamer University, Best Marathon Stream for Mafiathon 3 and Best Collab, among other awards.
Source 26 · Mashable · The Streamer Awards 2025 winners · opens in a new tab Mashable published on Monday, Dec. 8, and says the winners were announced on Saturday.The 23-minute YouTube video introduced Vivet, his clothing brand, Complex reported. He said in it that he wanted to be known for more than one thing.
Source 27 · Complex · Kai Cenat’s Mysterious ‘I Quit’ Video Unveils New Clothing Line · opens in a new tabWent live for the first time in nine months to reveal the students and professors of Streamer University 2026. Complex announced the stream on July 5 and published the roster on July 7.
Source 28 · Complex · Kai Cenat Announces Twitch Return After Nine-Month Break · opens in a new tabSource 29 · Complex · Kai Cenat Reveals Students, Professors, More for Streamer University 2026 · opens in a new tabUSA Today reported he livestreamed the show and drew close to 800,000 viewers from Twitch alone. He described the show as see-now-buy-now.
Source 30 · USA Today · Kai Cenat explains his pivot from Twitch streamer to NYFW fashion designer · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2018–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
Debut and breakthrough are marked separately, and every record has a source.
Internet · United States
Dec 16, 2001 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 2001: the year of the event minus 2001, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.30 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.