Brighid Tully

This feature is from Complex Magazine Issue No. 3 - Fall 2025 (The Influence Issue), which is available now on Complex Shop. For Rakai, it all started with a viral video in his car. One minute, he was in class, scrolling Instagram. The next, his notifications were blowing up—and so was his future. “That right there just opened my eyes so much,” he says. “I was like, I can really have this happen.” It was the push he needed to go all in on streaming.

This feature is from Complex Magazine Issue No. 3 - Fall 2025 (The Influence Issue), which is available now on Complex Shop. At 21 years old, Brooklyn Frost has built her Twitch following by doing exactly what most can’t: being unfiltered, unedited, and fully herself. Though she initially got her start on YouTube, the Seattle-born creator found her home on Twitch in 2024, where her real-time connection with viewers clicked instantly.

Image Courtesy of SoFi Generate Key Takeaways An older crew member leans toward me on set, eyes fixed on Josh Allen. He recently worked on the excavation of the new Highmark Stadium, and this moment has him grinning like a kid. “Can you believe he’s right there?” he asks me. A few feet away, Allen is moving easily through the room, greeting everyone—“Hi, I’m Josh, nice to meet you”—as if anyone in Buffalo could mistake him for anyone else.