What is the Reason behind Dr Disrespect’s Fame?

Guy Beahm, better known for his alter-ego Dr Disrespect is one of the biggest streamers in the world. He may have been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons (or maybe the right ones, you never know), but this doesn’t change the fact that he is one of the most influential people in the industry. Everyone knows that he’s not the best player at a particular game nor is he that mechanically gifted where people just look at him with awe as he plays. He is almost like any other streamer except the fact that he has a huge fan base and influence in the industry. So what exactly is the reason behind his popularity? Let’s find out

Beahm has worked with Sledgehammer games early in his career as a level designer. He is responsible for developing several multiplayer maps for Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare. He was also the community manager there and had featured in a lot of videos on the gaming channel Machinima. This explains his love for Call Of Duty and that he has a good background in the gaming/streaming industry.

While working at Sledgehammer, he joined Justin.tv (now Twitch.TV). He then quit his job at Sledgehammer in 2015 to pursue a full-time streaming career. That, was when the world was introduced to everyone’s favorite ‘Dr Disrespect’

Beahm’s alter-ego: Dr Disrespect

Beahm wears a black mullet wig, sunglasses, a Kevlar vest, and headphones when he is in character. He prefers to call himself ‘Doc’ or ‘the Two-Time’. Doc is understandable but why two-time? He won the NBA Jam tournaments back-to-back in 1993-94(This is what he claims). Check this out to understand it better

Doc lives by the motto ‘Violence.Speed.Momentum’. To top it off, he even calls his mustache ‘Slick Daddy’ or ‘Poisonous Ethiopian Caterpillar’. He’s known to go out of character during his streams but mostly he sticks to his alter-ego. ESPN also famously described him as ‘a WWE character in the competitive gaming world’. Well, with the aggression, banter, and insults he throws around, he sure earned that title.

Professional Gamer vs Streamer

To understand the reason behind Beahm’s fame, we have to understand the difference between professional gamers and streamers. When you talk about professional players like S1mple, or Shroud (former pro), they would first be referred to as professional gamers and then streamers because they started their careers as gamers. S1mple still is a CSGO pro but Shroud is now a full-time streamer. Pro gamers stream all the time but that doesn’t mean they are full time-streamers/entertainers.

Dr Disrecpect comes under the streamer category and NOT the professional gamer category. He is what you can an entertainer in the streaming industry. He is not the best player grace the gaming industry nor is he that mechanically gifted. But his ability to entertain his fans while streaming is what sets him apart. Pokimane, Alinity, etc. would be examples of other streamers.

Why is Dr Disrespect so famous?

Now that it’s established that he is not a professional gamer, how on earth is he so famous? If you are a professional gamer with unreal skills, word gets around quickly and it is rather easy for you to make it big in the streaming space since you already have the skills required to play the game. But in Doc’s case, it’s majorly because of his persona and his character. Let’s be honest, not everyone can become a pro-gamer. But there are still other ways you can make it big as a streamer much like Doc. His loud personality, his ability to trash talk is something the fans find amusing. And the fact that he has managed to keep his persona intact over the years is what makes him one of the best entertainers in the industry. Last year, 4-time CSGO major winners Astralis posted a video where Dr Disrespect was teaching them how to trash talk. Check it out

This is just an example of what he does. If you’ve seen his streams, you’ll know how entertaining he is. There is also the fact that he is one of the oldest streamers in the business increases the respect for him maybe? Considering the gaming industry usually has a fairly younger audience and players, too. Doc also refers to his fanbase as ‘Champions club’ and boy does he have a great fan following.

Also Read: Logic Could Have Become A 100T CO-Owner

Doc and his controversies

Apart from being outright funny and entertaining and a master of trading insults, he has also managed to get himself banned by Twitch back in June 2019 for live streaming from inside a bathroom. His ban was lifted soon after the incident. But very recently, he was permanently banned from Twitch for reasons unknown. Rumors suggested that it was all a PR gimmick but there is still no clear reason for the same.

Following the ban, he also put out a teaser video of something exciting coming our way and did a series of interviews where he explained how he was holding up. Check out the video here

The bans, controversies, etc may have helped Dr Disrespect’s case in some way where more and more people looked him up.  But even before that happened, he was crowned as the ‘streamer of the year’ in 2017 and again in 2019. And he thoroughly deserved it. He brings something new to the table, apart from just being a skilled gamer and manages to entertain the fans every single time. If you’re looking for a reason for his fame, you will find that there are many.

Big things are coming our way from Dr Disrespect and his team and we can’t wait to see what it has in store for us