• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Lad who was given £10,000 by MrBeast completely changed life and makes £25,000 a month

Home> Entertainment> Gaming

Published 10:03 14 May 2024 GMT+1

Lad who was given £10,000 by MrBeast completely changed life and makes £25,000 a month

Tom Gardiner's life was upturned by one act of generosity, and now he's living his dream

Britt Jones

Britt Jones

Having a passion that others don’t understand can be difficult, but all it took was one mega star to change one teen's life forever.

Gaming - you either get it or you don’t, but you’ve got to admit that it does bring in substantial money if you’re good enough.

You’ve got the likes of Ninja, Shroud, PewDiePie, DanTDM and DougDoug leading the way to gaming streams which has made the group incredibly rich.

Advert

But as a teenager on the other end of the screen, sitting at home and watching, it can feel like you’ll never live up to your heroes.

Well, unless you’re Tom Gardiner, aka ReniDrag on YouTube.

Gardiner, from Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, began his online streaming journey in 2017, but his life was soon to change.

Advert

The 18-year-old was sent a whopping £10,000 by the one and only MrBeast in 2021 and he said it ‘changed’ his life.

Now, with half a million followers under his belt, Gardiner is living his dream, and it’s all thanks to that one act of kindness.

After his run in with MrBeast, he was inspired to make it a full-time career after he was set a series of gaming challenges by the YouTube legend.

He now earns up to £25,000 a month from streaming, meaning he can afford to take his family on holiday and buy things many his age wouldn't be able to do themselves.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "I felt so lucky. Honestly, YouTube has changed my life."

Advert

Tom Gardiner's life was changed forever after an online encounter with MrBeast. (BBC)
Tom Gardiner's life was changed forever after an online encounter with MrBeast. (BBC)

He added: "I had so much passion for editing and making videos. Even if no-one watched it - I didn't care. It was just a hobby at that point and I was really enjoying it."

When he was in year 11 of secondary school, he was enjoying his hobby, hoping it would turn into something more… and it did.

It was when he looked into his chat box where viewers can donate to the host when things turned.

He explained: "Anyone can be in your chat box, people are watching you play, and they can donate, like a tip jar. But MrBeast is crazy, he takes that to the extreme."

Advert

According to the streamer, MrBeast ‘jumped into my live stream randomly’ with an initial £700 donation and set him a challenge to find a diamond in the game - Minecraft - within one minute.

Gardiner said: "He then donated another £2,000 and set me the challenge to create a portal and I was able to do that too."

In total, MrBeast gave him £10,000 and created his own video showing fans that he was donating to a series of streamers in return for setting challenges.

MrBeast is known for his generosity in the gaming community. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for MrBeast Burger)
MrBeast is known for his generosity in the gaming community. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for MrBeast Burger)

That exposure set Gardiner up for success and now he rakes in 25k each month by streaming, allowing him to take his family on a holiday to Florida and buy himself a new car.

Advert

He said: "The whole thing really inspired me to knuckle down and work hard to try and become a YouTuber full-time.

"Before then, it was pocket money, something to do on the side. MrBeast’s connection didn’t give me much exposure, but it gave me the boost. And it snowballed from there."

But £25k isn’t the max amount of money he’s brought in. In fact, he admitted that at his height he brought in £300,000 in just one month.

He said: "I like to think I’ve been responsible and put most of it away. You never know what the future holds and I could never take this for granted.”

Featured Image Credit: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for MrBeast Burger / BBC

Topics: MrBeast, Gaming, YouTube, Money

Britt Jones
Britt Jones

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

6 hours ago
7 hours ago
8 hours ago
12 hours ago
  • Instagram/thegraceflorenceInstagram/thegraceflorence
    6 hours ago

    Woman who sleeps with other couples on TV hits back at criticism of series

    Grace Florence has been a 'resident non-monogamist' on the Channel 4 show since 2022

    Entertainment
  • Theo Wargo/Getty ImagesTheo Wargo/Getty Images
    7 hours ago

    Emma Stone reveals brutal impact of filming movie that ‘shifted organs’ in her body

    The actor pushed her body to its limits for the film

    Entertainment
  • YouTube/kjersti_flaaYouTube/kjersti_flaa
    8 hours ago

    Journalist who shared ‘uncomfortable’ Blake Lively interview explains why it took her so long to release it

    Kjersti Flaa insists she didn't have a 'hidden agenda' when she shared the footage eight years later

    Entertainment
  • Sony Pictures ReleasingSony Pictures Releasing
    12 hours ago

    Kid who ‘drew d**ks’ in Superbad shares how much he still gets paid for cameo

    It was a role to remember, and here's how much he still earns

    Entertainment
  • Billionaire YouTuber MrBeast makes brutally honest admission about the people he will never hire
  • MrBeast responds after fans spend thousands on ‘scam’ event and demand refunds
  • MrBeast reveals true amount of money he has in bank account after recently becoming billionaire
  • Man who deleted social media four years ago reveals shocking changes he noticed that ‘completely changed his life’