Summary
ThoughTwitchinitially launched in 2011, it didn’t truly find its footing until February 2014. For the first few years, the Amazon-owned streaming platform was predominantly focused on gaming content and doing well with it. However, in 2016,Twitchmade the decision to allow non-gaming streams which helped make it a viable contender to YouTube. This also resulted in new categories being introduced like Just Chatting, IRL, Music, and Creative.
IRL content can vary quite a bit, but it has quickly become one of the most watched categories on the site. Over time, some streamers have found unique ways to entertain their viewers such asLudwig’s record-breaking subathon, filming pets playing video games, and exhausting tests such as the Dark Closet Challenge. While a lot of these bizarre challenges can be thrilling to watch, some may not understand how they originated.
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Twitch’s Closet Challenge Is Incredibly Strange
Challenges in which people have tried to sit in the dark for multiple hours have been around for years. In 2019, a poker player by the name of Rich Alati attempted to do this for a month for $100,000, though he ultimately quit at 20 days in. PopularYouTube Channels such as Mr. Beast’shave also promoted similar strange behaviors. For example, acting like NPCs on TikTok even has its own supply and demand now. Many of the people who attempt such content make sure to create a spectacle that usually benefits them monetarily.
Though thisTwitch stream garnered a lot of attention, C0usta didn’t manage to make it all 72 hours. A few minutes after the 20-hour mark, he admitted defeat. Even though he didn’t win the car, the commotion caused by the stream attracted the attention of another streamer who goes by the name of Izidore.
Izidore happens to be a friend of ERBY and is well-known for trying insanely difficult challenges. Videos in 2019 saw him eating a whole stick of butter and in 2021 he refused to end his stream until he could beat all ofMinecraft. Just a day after ERBY’s moderatorfailed the three-day closet challenge, Izidore announced he wanted to take it on.
On August 28, he went live but the constant barrage of ping pong balls, flash bangs, water shooters, and a leaf blower proved to be too much. Izidore tearfully explained to his audience that he was having trouble breathing, sleeping, and seeing. By August 31, he had to tap out after experiencing a panic attack. It likely didn’t help that the available punishments were a lot easier to achieve than C0usta’s, as a flash bang only cost 25 cents.
While this stream definitely helped push Izidore’s name into the headlines, it clearly didn’t end like he wanted it to. Not only will he have to total his car for not completing the challenge, but his mental health has been greatly affected.Pokimane, a fellow Twitch streamer, commented that there was no way that these challenges and subathons “are healthy for a human being to do.” Though this does bring up an important question of whether people should be encouraged to do these brutal challenges, it’s likely someTwitchstreamers won’t be deterred from continuing.
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