Staggering figure raised during 101% run attempt
This past weekend, British YouTuber Hbomberguy sat down in front of Rare’s 1999 Nintendo 64 release Donkey Kong 64 with two goals. Firstly, to reach 101% completion – a feat which had eluded him since childhood – and secondly, to raise money for trans youth rights group Mermaids. With the help of activist CaseyExplosion and huge support from the LGBTQ community, the stream was an astounding success.
Streaming his endeavours on Twitch, Hbomberguy (real name Harry Brewis) got off to an incredible start. With initial hopes of hitting the $3,000 USD mark, Hbomberguy proceeded to pull in over $200,000 within the first 40 hours. By the time Brewis flicked the off switch (some 57 hours after the start of his run) and all of the late donations were tabulated, the total raised stands at an incredible $340,000 USD.
A selection of famous names dropped in over the course of the DK 64 marathon to lend encouragement and support. This included Doom creator John Romero, actress Mara Wilson, trans activist Chelsea Manning, Donkey Kong’s voice actor Grant Kirkhope, gaming critic Jim Sterling and even congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Mermaids is a British organisation that campaigns to raise awareness of trans rights among the young. Formed in 1995, the group lobbies for better recognition of gender dysphoria among young people, striving for professional services and support for trans and non-binary youth and their families. “As a person living in Britain, I find the media discussion about this issue in this country, especially in its tabloids, to be woefully misinformed,” said Brewis of his choice of charity. “I’d like to do my bit to help support the people who do the hard work of contributing to people’s thinking on an important issue.”
It seems that Hbomberguy, despite his incredible achievement, will need some time to recover from the near 60-hour session. As he stated mere hours ago on his Twitter account: “Me brain be boo.”
