Twitch streamer Byron “Reckful” Bernstein has passed away at age 31, and fans are honoring him with a memorial in World of Warcraft, which he streamed regularly. Reckful was one of the most-watched WoW streamers and had publicly struggled with his mental health before his death. This article contains discussion of suicide. If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
Reckful was a beloved streamer, but had given his audience reason to worry about his health well before his passing. He openly discussed his mental health and history of suicidal ideation on stream. Reckful also used psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, on stream, and appeared on camera earlier this year apparently having a bad reaction to the chemical, which caused many in his community to express concern for his safety.
Reckful’s death was confirmed by multiple sources, including his ex-girlfriend, streamer BeccaTilts. Shortly before Reckful’s death, he tweeted a marriage proposal to BeccaTilts in the midst of worrying series of tweets referencing his mental health and referring to himself as feeling “insane.” Both Reckful’s brother and another ex-girlfriend, Blue, confirmed that Reckful took his own life. Earlier this year, he had shared a video discussing his older brother, who committed suicide when Reckful was 6 years old, and said that he was working to overcome his own struggles with mental health.
Following the news of his death, Reckful’s fans took to Twitter, Twitch, and World of Warcraft to express their grief. Fans on Twitter posted messages of mourning for Reckful alongside calls for the community at large to do better about respecting one another and helping struggling people to get help for their mental health. While Reckful had plenty of supportive fans among his viewers, the Twitch community as a whole can be cruel, and commenters sometimes mocked his struggles with mental health. In World of Warcraft, where Reckful spent much of his time as a streamer, players across multiple servers held impromptu gatherings, showing up to several in-game locations in droves and kneeling to honor Reckful’s memory. Blizzard Entertainment also shared condolences on the official World of Warcraft Twitter account.
Byron “Reckful” Bernstein’s Twitch broadcasts gained him a lot of followers, partially because of his willingness to be vulnerable and not hide his own struggles. His passing should serve as a reminder that mental illness can affect anyone, regardless of fame or success, and should be taken seriously. He will be missed by his friends and family, as well as his fans.
