Rocky Stoutenburgh (born April 22, 1987), better known as RockyNoHands, is an American streamer. In 2006, when he was 19 years old, he severed his spinal cord, becoming paralyzed from the neck down. He broke two Guinness World Records in the video game Fortnite by 2020. In 2020, he signed with Luminosity Gaming, becoming the first-ever quadriplegic to sign with an esports organization.
| RockyNoHands | |
|---|---|
 Stoutenburgh in 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Rocky Stoutenburgh April 22, 1987 |
| Occupation | Online streamer |
| Organization | Free Agent |
| Twitch information | |
| Channel | |
| Location | Michigan, United States |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Genre | Gaming |
| Followers | 73.3 thousand |
YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Subscribers | 58.5 thousand[1] |
| Total views | 2.47 million[1] |
TikTok information | |
| Page | |
| Followers | 1 million |
| Likes | 10.5 million |
Last updated: April 2023 | |
Early life edit
Rocky Stoutenburgh was born on April 22, 1987,[2] and grew up in his hometown of Southgate, Michigan, alongside his younger brother Andrew.[3][4] He developed a passion for video games during his youth, but his engagement waned during his teenage years due to various commitments, including school and work. After high school, he pursued full-time employment at a scrapyard near Southgate.[3]
In 2006, at the age of 19, Stoutenburgh sustained an injury after falling on his head while wrestling with his friends. He was airlifted to a hospital in Ann Arbor, where he was diagnosed with a broken C3 cervical vertebra, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.[3][5]
Several years after his injury, his brother convinced him to play video games again by using a QuadStick, a mouth-operated video game controller. Stoutenburgh played games such as Call of Duty and Halo Wars using the device; however, he quit playing video games after five years, as the controller continually broke. However, after a new model, the FPS QuadStick, was released, he started playing again.[5]
Streaming career edit
In January 2017, Stoutenburgh began streaming on Twitch and uploading his gameplay on YouTube, under the name RockyNoHands.[5] In his first-ever stream, he won a PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds match.[6]
Stoutenburgh set two Guinness World Records, making it into Guinness World Records 2020 and Guinness World Records 2020 Gamer's Edition, for achieving for the most wins and kills in a match in Fortnite using only his mouth. He had 509 wins and 11 kills in a single match as of March 2019.[7][8]
Stoutenburgh gained more visibility in July 2020 after he won the competition "So You Think You Can Stream?", a talent contest hosted by Destructoid.[9][10] Stoutenburgh's victory in the competition led to him signing with a professional esports contract with Luminosity Gaming as a content creator. The contract made him the first-ever quadriplegic to sign a deal with a professional esports organization.[11] By September 2020, Stoutenburgh had over 67,000 followers on Twitch and 54,000 subscribers on YouTube.[3] in January 2024 RockyNoHands contract with Luminosity Gaming expired and became a free agent.
References edit
- ^ a b "About RockyNoHands". YouTube.
- ^ "Rockynohands Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Casey, Tim (September 18, 2020). "Rocky Stoutenburgh Becomes First Quadriplegic With Professional Esports Contract". Forbes. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Braz, Vitor (September 6, 2019). "'RockyNoHands' plays Fortnite with his mouth, makes it into Guinness World Records 2020". GameRevolution. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ a b c Wood, Austin (July 27, 2017). "Meet Rocky NoHands, the paralyzed PUBG streamer who kicks ass using only his mouth". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ PC Gamer editorial team (July 16, 2020). "Totally Game: Meet the Call of Duty streamer who plays using his mouth". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ Montoya, Elizabeth (September 6, 2019). "The gamer who plays Fortnite with his mouth and smashes records". Guinness World Records. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ Stitt, Chanel (August 17, 2020). "Record-winning quadriplegic gamer becomes one of the first to sign professional deal". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ C, Lilian (July 2, 2020). "Destructoid's Stream Talent Contest is over, and we have a winner!". Destructoid. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ Beresford, Trilby (August 11, 2020). "Quadriplegic 'Fortnite' Player Signs Esports Deal With Luminosity Gaming". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ "Michigan man is first ever quadriplegic to sign with pro esports organization". Fox 2 Detroit. August 20, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2022.