When IShowSpeed, aka Darren Jason Watkins Jr., hosted the premiere of ‘Speed Goes Pro’, he got an opportunity to have Suni Lee in the frame. However, seemingly fazed by the idea of live streaming, the gymnast confessed, “This is so scary.” But two weeks later, the Olympian coached IShowSpeed as he unveiled a full gymnastics routine he’d been working on. This time, her reaction was nothing short of genuine astonishment. She even gave away one of her most prized possessions. 

It all started with IShowSpeed getting on the horizontal bar. But that led to a massive goof-up. With his core tucked in, Watkins “farted. Right in front of Suni, you know.” Meanwhile, Lee couldn’t help herself and broke into a laughing spree. She remarked, “I’m dying. I’ve been doing gymnastics for 17 years and no one has ever farted in front of me.” But then came the real surprise. 

Watkins greatly impressed the Olympian with his floor exercise that he practiced in secret. Suni Lee claimed that it was “really good,” but “for a beginner.” Slightly down, Speed pressed on. He asked if she felt like he had what it takes to be a professional gymnast. And with a bit of confusion in her voice, she said, “Yes.” This led to another round of celebration from the YouTuber. And then, Lee decided to shock the YouTuber. 

She asked Speed to close his eyes as she went to get him his present. And it was her gold medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics. When Speed looked at what hung from his neck, he was overjoyed. Following a stint of energetic celebration, he stated, “I worked so hard for this.” But did you know that this wasn’t really Speed’s first gig with a professional gymnast?

While Suni Lee was clearly the star mentor of the “Speed Goes Pro” episode, another familiar face from the gymnastics world made the experience even more memorable for iShowSpeed — Fred Richard. 

IShowSpeed’s previous gymnastics experience with Fred Richard

Speed’s run-ins with Fred Richard weren’t just casual meets. They became competitive showdowns that gave fans a window into how seriously Speed is taking the gymnastics journey. In one memorable challenge, Speed and Richard faced off in a jumping contest at a Michigan gymnastics facility. Richard landed cleaner and higher. But as Speed tried to push himself above 7 feet, Richard nailed the mark first while Speed’s knees grazed the mat. The exchange ended with Richard remarking playfully and Speed marveling, “Like why is he [Fred] showing out!”

Well, Richard wasn’t going to let Watkins go like that. He later took on the mantle of his mentor and helped the YouTuber fine-tune his backflips. He patched mental blocks, helping Speed land a more stable flip after several failed tries, turning what could have been a spectacle into a bit of genuine athletic coaching. And yet, after a while, Speed extracted a groan of disappointment from Fred Richard during one of his live streams. 

Richard’s reaction was a mix of frustration and coach-mode firmness. “Speed man, what did I teach you? What was all the flipping we did for?” he asked, visibly disappointed yet still guiding. But now, getting the Olympic gold medal from Suni Lee made it all worth it. Her green signal at IShowSpeed’s ability to go professional was more than enough to make him jump around in celebration.