Ilya Maddyson Blogger, video blogger Date of Birth: 08.03.1988 Country: Latvia

1. Early Life and Education
2. Blogging and Rise to Fame
3. YouTube and Twitch
4. Financial Success and Personal Life
5. Controversies and Legal Troubles
6. Current Status

Early Life and Education

Ilya Sergeyevich Davydov, known online as Ilya Maddison, was born on March 8, 1988, in Riga, Latvia, to engineer parents. His family moved to Moscow when he was seven, settling in the Mitino district. From a young age, Ilya's passions were football and video games. However, a serious knee injury at 14 forced him to abandon professional sports.

After high school, Ilya pursued a degree in journalism at RSUH. However, his fascination with video games led him to neglect his studies, resulting in his expulsion in his third year due to excessive absences.

Blogging and Rise to Fame

With a desire to find a career he enjoyed, Ilya stumbled upon American video game reviewer AVGN. Inspired, he decided to create his own review of a questionable video game. On December 19, 2008, he uploaded his first video on Rutube. It quickly gained popularity, leading Ilya to publish subsequent videos.

His fame grew rapidly, and he was soon invited to host "Igrovaya Vyinos" ("Games to Go") on TNT. The show featured video game reviews, with two seasons and 14 episodes each.

In 2009, Ilya was awarded the prestigious "Hero of the Runet" award. The same year, he took on the role of head of a gaming section on the Rutube website, a position he held for two years. His appearances at gaming events further boosted his popularity.

YouTube and Twitch

In October 2011, Ilya created his first YouTube channel, bringing a large following with him. He gained notoriety with a video titled "I Want to Be a Boxer," which received mixed reactions. Despite this, Ilya continued to blog actively for three years before reducing his output significantly.

While he rarely uploaded videos, Ilya remained present online, shifting to the streaming platform Twitch. His charisma and humor allowed him to quickly become a leader in the Russian segment. His success inspired many young people to follow in his footsteps, creating their own video content.

Financial Success and Personal Life

Ilya's influence on the industry was evident in his substantial earnings. In 2016, he revealed that he made around $3-4,000 per month. At the peak of his popularity, he received lucrative offers from advertisers and stated that he had earned enough to secure his and his children's future.

In his personal life, Ilya describes himself as an introvert. Through his blogging, he met his girlfriend, Ksenia Sevastianova (aka Ksyusha Zanuda). However, reports suggest that they have since separated.

Controversies and Legal Troubles

In January 2017, a video from 2012 surfaced in which Ilya made derogatory remarks about the Quran. The video sparked outrage and threats from Chechen Muslims, including a public threat from the vice president of Dagestan's Boxing Federation.

Fearing charges for offending religious sentiments, Ilya deleted his social media accounts and fled Russia on January 21. In February, the Chechen Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case against him, which was later removed from its website. However, a Grozny court deemed the video extremist, and Ilya was sentenced to 1.5 years of suspended imprisonment.

Current Status

After a period of silence, Ilya returned to streaming. He maintains an unofficial Twitter account but is not active on Instagram. His height is 179 cm, and his weight is unknown.