IShowSpeed, the 20-year-old YouTuber and streamer, has taken on one of his most daring challenges yet — racing a cheetah! The video captioned ‘I Raced A Cheetah!’, part of his “Speed Does Africa 2026” tour, shows Speed enthusiastically introducing his opponent, a fully grown cheetah, before the unexpected happens — the cheetah lunges at him, scratching his leg.
The clip has garnered 35.5 million views so far.
Undeterred, Speed decides to go ahead with the race, and the anticipation builds as they take their positions at the starting line. As the countdown begins, Speed dashes forward with full effort, but the cheetah effortlessly picks up speed, crossing the finish line just before him.
The clip has stunned social media, with many questioning Speed’s courage and decision to race the world’s fastest land animal. Cheetahs can reach speeds of 100-120 km/h, while the fastest recorded human speed is 44.72 km/h, set by Usain Bolt in 2009.
Mixed reactions:
An Instagram user reacted, “We really need to draw a line between appreciating nature and exploiting it. Using a Cheetah for a sprint race against an influencer isn’t cool—it’s a massive step backward for wildlife respect. Animals aren’t props, and they certainly aren’t here to help PR teams generate viral clicks. Cheetahs are threatened in the wild and deserve to be protected in their natural environments, not paraded around for entertainment. Let’s stop glorifying the commodification of wildlife and start advocating for their right to exist without human interference.”
Another wrote, “Cheetah was jogging and wasn’t going full speed, humble yourself speed.” A third joked, “Cheetah didn’t run, it just walked.”
Meanwhile, another individual reacted, “The video has clearly been shot in a staged environment.” Whereas another said, “My guts tell me it’s AI.”