Most people know Tyler “Ninja” Blevins as Fortnite’s best player, setting and breaking all types of records, but one of his earliest gaming achievements didn’t happen behind a computer or console.
Blevins told popular YouTubers Keemstar and FaZe Banks (owner of mega esports team, FaZe Clan) on their new show, Mom’s Basement, about his family’s appearance on Family Feud years ago. A clip unearthed on YouTube shows Blevins standing at the podium in front of Family Feud host Steve Harvey, and answering a question that Blevins described as “something sexual.” Although Blevins’ full clip isn’t on YouTube, there are shoddier videos, taken from a phone recording a television screen, that can be found on YouTube.
It’s an adorable trip to see a young Blevins shyly answering questions on Family Feud, but Blevins told Keemstar and Banks that it was also a monumental moment for the show. Blevins said his family was the first to submit a video application for the show instead of auditioning in person. Polygon has reached out to ABC for confirmation. Their audition tape can be seen below.
“We were the very first family to, not only be emailed back about our video that we submitted, but also on the show from a video submission,” Blevins said. “It started with that.”
The family reportedly walked away with more than $40,000 in prize money, according to a local report from The Brillion News.
Since then, Blevins has become a superstar in the world of esports and Twitch streaming, but he still considers himself a family man first. He’ll never leave his hometown, Blevins said, still talks to his parents daily. Blevins said his father has always been a big fan of his gaming career, but admits the support has grown in the wake of Fortnite’s success.
“I’m literally getting text messages from them every single day saying, ‘We love you so much and we’re so proud of you,’” Blevins said.
Even when Blevins first started pouring all of this energy into esports and gaming, his parents didn’t question his goals. Blevins said it helped that he was still doing well in school and playing varsity soccer, not giving his parents a reason to think poorly of the time he spent gaming. Now, however, his parents are boasting about his record-breaking streams on Twitch and his sold-out Las Vegas tournament. While Blevins is proud of his accomplishments, he also acknowledges that it’s easy to become comfortable and lazy.
“Maybe if this happened to me six years ago I would have become complacent,” Blevins said. “But no, I’ve been waiting for this for so long. And now that it’s here, dude, you’re literally going to have to shoot me dead and pull it from my cold dead hands to take this away from me.”
Update: An ABC rep told Polygon that the Blevins were not the first family to appear on Family Feud after submitting an application via email.
