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Trihex

Mychal Ramon Jefferson (born February 17, 1989), better known online as Trihex, is an American professional speedrunner, Twitch streamer, and content creator focused on video games and fitness. Active on YouTube since 2006 with over 100,000 subscribers and on Twitch where he maintains more than 400,000 followers as a Partner, Jefferson specializes in speedruns of platformers such as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, for which he has set multiple world records including a recent 100% completion time. He is the namesake and visual basis for the Twitch global emote "TriHard," originating from a 2012 photograph capturing his determined expression at an anime convention, which has become emblematic of intense gameplay effort but has also been co-opted for racist harassment in streams. Affiliated with the esports organization TempoStorm, Jefferson has featured in high-profile charity events like Summer Games Done Quick, demonstrating technical proficiency in glitch exploitation and precise execution that define elite speedrunning. His content integrates gaming with personal fitness routines, reflecting a holistic approach to self-improvement, and he ranks among the top 100 players in Dance Dance Revolution.

Background

Early influences and entry into gaming

Trihex first engaged with competitive gaming through Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, beginning his attempts in late 2004 on the Game Boy Advance SP. This marked his formal entry into the practice, driven initially by personal challenge rather than organized competition, as he sought to optimize completion times for a game he had played extensively. His affinity for Yoshi's Island, released in 1995 for the , stemmed from its demanding platforming mechanics, which emphasized precise timing and environmental manipulation—elements that foreshadowed his later expertise in glitch exploitation and route optimization. Early playthroughs likely built on casual gaming experiences with titles, though specific childhood consoles or inaugural games remain undocumented in public accounts; by 2004, Trihex had accumulated sufficient familiarity to experiment with time-saving techniques absent from standard play. This self-initiated pursuit aligned with the nascent online community's emphasis on individual records, predating major events like , and positioned Trihex as a pioneer in categories, where he contributed to evolving strategies over subsequent years.

Speedrunning career

Key achievements in Super Mario and Yoshi games

Trihex began Super Mario World 2: in 2004, contributing to the development of advanced techniques in a category renowned for its precise platforming and enemy manipulation requirements. His expertise was showcased at Summer 2015, where he completed an any% run in 2:42:44, earning praise for technical execution and audience engagement during the event's opening slot. He further demonstrated proficiency in a 100% run achieving 2:34:24 on June 1, 2015, incorporating checkpoint-less segments and half-skips, though subsequent improvements by others refined the category. In , Trihex set the any% world record on April 2, 2019, with a time of 3:18:59, leveraging optimal routing through the game's craft-themed levels shortly after its release. He also completed an all frontside flowers run in 3:01:05 on May 2, 2019, highlighting endurance in collecting optional objectives. For core titles, Trihex's runs in include a personal best 16-star completion emphasized for utilization, streamed on September 29, 2023. In , he conquered the user-created level "Cat Trick EX2" on July 15, 2019, after exceeding 8 hours of attempts, clearing it in 42.316 seconds via precise timing and wall jumps. These efforts underscore his persistence in high-difficulty challenges within Nintendo's platforming ecosystem.

Broader contributions to speedrunning community

Trihex launched the Speedrun Breakdown video series in October 2015, designed as a resource to demystify techniques, strategies, and for newcomers, with the explicit goal of reducing intimidation barriers within the community. The initiative included breakdowns of glitches, backup plans, and game-specific tactics, presented through edited highlights, slow-motion analysis, and commentary to make long-form runs more digestible. This educational effort addressed common entry hurdles, such as grinding practices and community norms, by emphasizing practical learning over rote repetition. Beyond personal records, Trihex contributed to community growth through active participation in charity speedrunning marathons, performing high-profile runs that drew large audiences and supported fundraising totals exceeding millions annually for organizations like . Notable appearances included a 100% run of at 2014, which showcased advanced categorization and boosted visibility for niche titles, and a similar run at 2015 that highlighted endurance strategies in extended playthroughs. These events, attended frequently by Trihex over a , fostered collaborative engagement among runners and viewers, amplifying 's appeal as a charitable and skill-based pursuit. Trihex also shared practical advice on speedrun preparation, advocating for familiarity with routes and mental to handle variability, as outlined in community guides drawing from his experience. His streams and breakdowns often dissected personal route innovations, such as optimized egg and enemy paths in , indirectly advancing strategy discussions on platforms like Speedrun.com. These efforts promoted a more accessible, strategy-focused culture, encouraging broader participation without relying on unverified tools.

Streaming and esports involvement

Rise on Twitch

Trihex initiated streaming on in February 2011, shortly after attending Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) 2011, before transitioning to with channel creation on April 27, 2011. His initial content emphasized speedrun practices and full runs of franchise titles, including and , appealing to enthusiasts in the niche scene. This focus on precise, high-skill gameplay combined with explanatory commentary during live sessions gradually attracted viewers from forums and events, fostering interaction through discussions on route optimization and exploitation. By maintaining a centered on series content, Trihex cultivated a loyal , evidenced by steady increases in concurrent viewers during early dedicated to these . Viewership milestones underscored his ascent: in November 2016, he celebrated reaching 200,000 followers with a dedicated stream highlighting his journey. Subsequent expansion into collaborative challenges, such as levels post-2015 release, broadened appeal beyond pure speedruns, contributing to sustained growth. As a Partner, Trihex's had accumulated 413,000 followers by October 2025, reflecting enduring popularity driven by consistent output rather than viral stunts.

Esports competitions and collaborations

Trihex competed in the Nintendo World Championships 2015, held on June 14, 2015, as part of Nintendo's E3 coverage, where he advanced through initial speedrunning qualifiers focused on games like Yoshi's Woolly World before participating in the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U bracket in Stage 4. In the Smash Bros. portion, Trihex paired with another competitor but was eliminated as John Numbers and Cosmo Wright advanced to the grand final. This event marked one of his early high-profile esports appearances, selected from qualifiers at Best Buy stores across the U.S. In 2016, Trihex joined the esports organization as a featured speedrunner and community streamer, announced on November 23, 2016. Through this affiliation, he participated in 's Speedruns Arena event on January 5, 2018, defeating competitor in a 007 matchup to win $3,800 in prize money. also collaborated with Trihex on initiatives like the TriHard Marathon in August 2019, a charity speedrunning event benefiting the , featuring team-ups with other members such as Axe, D1, and MightyKeef. Trihex has provided commentary for competitive Super Smash Bros. tournaments, including top-8 matches at Smash and Splash 5 in June 2019, where he reflected on the challenges of keeping pace with established casters. He also commentated pools for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate events, such as those streamed by VG Boot Camp in May 2019, partnering with caster k0rean. These roles extended his involvement in the Smash esports scene, known for its professional circuits and large audiences. Additionally, Trihex attended esports-focused panels and symposia, including the Red Stick Esports Symposium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on April 23, 2018, and was featured alongside figures like Liquid`Chillin at the IGEC Esports Conference in 2019. These engagements highlighted his growing presence in esports discussions beyond competitive play.

The TriHard emote

Creation and widespread adoption

The TriHard emote originated from a photograph of streamer Trihex capturing his excited facial expression at the A-Kon 23 anime convention in Dallas, Texas, in June 2012. This image was selected and uploaded as a subscriber emote for Trihex's Twitch channel, quickly evolving into a global emote accessible to all Twitch users. Initially used to convey hype, joy, or intense effort during streams, its upbeat depiction of Trihex's open-mouthed smile facilitated rapid adoption within the platform's chat culture. By late 2012, TriHard had integrated into everyday interactions, often spammed in chats to celebrate achievements or energize discussions, paralleling established emotes like . Its versatility allowed broad application, from gaming highlights to community reactions, contributing to its status as one of 's most frequently deployed global emotes. Trihex himself acknowledged its enduring popularity in a 2021 post, noting its role in brightening chats since inception. Within five years of creation, by 2017, it ranked among the platform's core expressive tools, underscoring widespread organic adoption driven by user familiarity and memetic appeal.

Cultural significance and positive uses

The TriHard emote, originating from a hyped by streamer during a live reaction, serves primarily to convey excitement, enthusiasm, and high energy in chats. Viewers deploy it to celebrate intense gameplay moments, such as clutch plays in or personal milestones like subscriber surges, thereby amplifying communal hype and viewer engagement. In streaming culture, TriHard has fostered interactive traditions, including spamming the during "turbo sub" events or cheers to visually reinforce positivity and support for the broadcaster. Trihex has highlighted this usage as a constructive aspect, noting its role in generating celebratory activity that strengthens bonds without derogatory intent. Its versatility extends to denoting effort or "trying hard" in competitive contexts, endearing it to audiences who value in gaming. As an emblem of early Twitch emote evolution, TriHard exemplifies how streamer personalities integrate into platform folklore, promoting a shared that enhances audience participation and meme-driven camaraderie. This has influenced subsequent designs, emphasizing expressive faces to boost and retention.

Emote controversies and defenses

Allegations of abuse and calls for removal

In 2018, the TriHard emote gained notoriety for its association with coded , particularly when paired with the number "7" to imply a homophobic slur, as seen in Twitch chats during streams. This usage contributed to the suspension of professional player Félix "" Lengyel from for violating conduct rules, highlighting how anonymous users exploited the emote to evade moderation while promoting derogatory content. By 2019, broader concerns emerged over the emote's role in enabling unchecked toxicity, with critics arguing that its neutral origins did not preclude accountability for repeated weaponization in harassment campaigns. Streamers like banned TriHard from their channels, citing its frequent deployment by trolls to disrupt discussions and amplify slurs without direct traceability. The issue intensified during Twitch's August 2021 hate raids, where automated bots flooded smaller channels with TriHard spam alongside racial epithets and threats, affecting hundreds of users including TriHex himself, who has endured years of targeted . Community discussions on platforms like and amplified calls for Twitch to globally disable or remove the emote, viewing it as a vector for organized abuse that outpaced platform moderation efforts. Proponents of removal contended that preserving it normalized evasion tactics, though Twitch maintained policies against without altering global emote availability.

Trihex's positions and arguments against

Trihex has argued that calls to globally remove the TriHard emote from represent misguided that ultimately strengthens trolls rather than curbing misuse. In a July 2019 YouTube video titled "Should TriHard be removed?", he contended that the emote's association with racist spamming stems from 's anonymous chat system and insufficient accountability for users, not inherent properties of the emote itself. He emphasized that banning it would fail to eliminate , as bad actors would simply adapt by using alternative symbols or emotes, thereby handing them a symbolic victory. In response to streamer banning TriHard from his chat in early 2021, Trihex released a detailed via , describing global removal as a "fallacy doomed to empower trolls." He advocated for streamers to moderate their own communities aggressively from the outset—such as through early curation of chat culture and swift bans for offenders—rather than relying on platform-level prohibitions that evade addressing user behavior. This approach, he argued, preserves the emote's positive, high-energy connotations for legitimate fans while mitigating abuse without conceding to pressure. Trihex reiterated these points amid 2021 hate raids on , where the appeared in targeted , defending it as a tool separable from malicious intent through proper oversight. He has maintained that the "is not at fault" for how users deploy it, positioning as reactive and ineffective compared to fostering accountability. His stance aligns with broader critiques of over-moderation, urging platforms and creators to target behaviors over symbols to avoid unintended escalations of online antagonism.

Platform bans and repercussions

Twitch suspensions and stated reasons

Trihex received a temporary from on October 5, 2018, for using a homophobic slur during a live stream while addressing a friend off-camera, which he described as an inadvertent slip. The platform's stated reason was violation of community guidelines prohibiting hateful conduct, including derogatory language targeting protected characteristics. On August 1, 2019, Trihex was issued a 24-hour ban alongside other streamers for providing commentary over the Democratic primary debate broadcast by , prompted by a DMCA takedown notice from Time Warner citing unauthorized use of copyrighted material. later reversed similar suspensions and admitted the automated enforcement had been exploited to suppress political discourse, though Trihex's specific case aligned with the copyright claim. In February 2020, Trihex's ongoing stream was abruptly terminated due to a DMCA strike, which he linked to third-party abuse of reporting mechanisms rather than intentional infringement, highlighting 's vulnerability to false claims without immediate . Trihex's channel faced another suspension on January 8, 2025, with reports attributing it to streaming audio from a leaked clip, constituting a potential violation under 's policies on unlicensed media playback. has not publicly detailed the exact rationale, consistent with its practice of withholding specifics from external parties, though channel moderators cited the audio clip as the trigger.

Exclusion from events like Games Done Quick

In October 2019, Trihex announced on his Discord server that he had been prohibited from participating as a speedrunner in Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) 2020, despite his submission for a Super Mario Maker 2 block being initially accepted. The decision stemmed from Games Done Quick's (GDQ) code of conduct, which bars individuals with prior Twitch suspensions for hate speech or derogatory language from event participation in roles like running or commentating. Specifically, GDQ referenced Trihex's 30-day Twitch ban in October 2018, during which he used a homophobic slur—referred to by Trihex himself as the "F-Slur"—while conversing informally with friends on stream. Trihex was permitted to attend AGDQ 2020 as a spectator but barred from competitive or hosting duties, with the exclusion extending his effective suspension to approximately 1.25 years from the original Twitch infraction. Trihex addressed the ban in a YouTube video uploaded on October 7, 2019, expressing disappointment and clarifying the context: the slur occurred in a non-directed, offhand manner during a casual stream segment, not targeted at any individual or audience member. He reiterated his prior public apology for the lapse, emphasizing remorse and a commitment to avoiding such language, while questioning the proportionality of GDQ's policy in light of the incident's age and his clean record since. In subsequent statements, including a 2024 update cited by media, Trihex attributed GDQ's stance directly to the 2018 event, noting it as the referenced trigger despite his fulfillment of Twitch's penalties and behavioral reforms. This exclusion aligned with GDQ's broader enforcement trends amid growing scrutiny over event safety and inclusivity, particularly following high-profile bans for similar verbal infractions among speedrunners like SHiFT, who faced parallel restrictions for AGDQ 2020. GDQ's organizers have maintained that such measures protect the charity marathon's family-friendly environment, which raised over $3.1 million for the National MS Society at AGDQ 2020, though critics, including Trihex supporters, have argued the policies reflect overly punitive applications of zero-tolerance rules, potentially sidelining prominent community figures without evidence of repeated or event-specific misconduct. No indicate Trihex's reinstatement for subsequent GDQ events, such as Summer or later AGDQs, effectively extending his exclusion from official participation.