Roberto Gonzalez[2] (born August 22, 1997), better known by his online alias Fanum, is an American streamer and content creator born in
New York City, to parents of
Dominican descent.[3][4] Fanum began to emerge online around the year 2016. He is known for being the originator of the vernacular "Fanum tax."[5][6] He won "Breakout Streamer of the Year" at the
13th Streamy Awards and the "Best Role Play Streamer" of the year award at the
2023 Streamer Awards.[7]
Early life
Fanum was born on August 22, 1997 in
The Bronx,
New York City to parents of Dominican descent. He has a younger brother who has appeared in his videos.[6]
In addition to English, he also speaks
Spanish.[2] After graduating from a local high school in New York, he enrolled in college but left mid semester to focus on earning money for his YouTube equipment.[8]
Career
Fanum entered the online entertainment sphere by streaming on
Twitch in November 2016 and made his YouTube channel, JustFanum, in May 2017. Although the channel was created in 2017, the first video was not posted until February 2019. He began creating content on
NBA 2K and later expanded to
IRL vlogs, which often draw upon his experiences in New York.[9][10]
Fanum has been featured on the music video for
Offset's September 2023 single "
Fan" alongside Kai Cenat.[13][14]
In June 2024, Fanum appeared as a contestant in the
Sidemen reality competition series Inside . The series features ten celebrity guests who compete in challenges to secure a prize fund totalled at £1 million, with everything they buy or do costing money from the prize fund. He was in the show for seven days and came in the 4th place.[15][16]
AMP Group
Fanum is an original and prominent member of the American content collective known as AMP (Any Means Possible). Fanum contributes to the group's collaborative challenge videos. The collective's popularity within the streaming community has been bolstered by the individual popularity of its members such as
Kai Cenat (who Fanum discovered), as well as by their involvement in controversial events. In August 2023, Kai Cenat was arrested, following a meet-and-greet he hosted with Fanum which event took place in
Union Square Park and resulted in "a couple thousand people" crowding the park and the local area leading to the destruction of property. While no charges were placed against Fanum, Cenat was charged with inciting a riot.[9][17]
Fanum's influence led to the emergence of the term and
internet meme "Fanum tax", referring to his practice of demanding taste of his friends' food. This slang has entered the vernacular of
Gen Alpha as well.[18][19][20][21]