Gamer describes the moment he was struck by lightning while live on Twitch

A North Carolina gamer who was struck by lightning while streaming on July 19, 2025, recounts his experience to AccuWeather.

Transcript

00:00Bro, I just got struck by lightning.

00:10A North Carolina gamer known online as Crispy Mate was live streaming on Twitch on July 19th

00:16when a bolt of lightning struck outside his Holly Springs home and sent an electrical surge

00:20straight through his gaming setup.

00:22I remember feeling it first, like in my ears, it's as if you were in the front row of like

00:27a concert and I did the drummer, just his one really good thwack and you feel the bass of it.

00:31But in both of your ears and then my vision, I remember going fully white.

00:36Like I just couldn't see anything for a split second.

00:38The lightning strike caused a sensory shockwave, leaving him disoriented, but still aware enough

00:44to check on the things that mattered most.

00:46I felt concussed, but my first thought was like my cats.

00:50So I jumped up and I bolted up the stairs to see if my cats were okay.

00:54And then I remembered, oh, I'm streaming too, but also I have a lot of electricity downstairs

00:58and I don't want the house to catch on fire.

01:00The moment was intense and the sensations lingered into the night.

01:03It was painful when it happened.

01:04It felt like a tingling in my head.

01:06It was kind of dizziness, like a fogginess.

01:08But like after a couple hours, I was kind of back to that sensation of like tingling went

01:13away the next day.

01:14Surprisingly, he says the following day brought an unexpected boost in energy.

01:18I woke up, felt great, went straight to the gym.

01:21And then like I had the best workout of my life, I feel like in there.

01:24Experts say indoor lightning strikes can happen if you're using anything plugged into the

01:28wall during a storm.

01:29John Jensenius of the National Lightning Safety Council says if lightning strikes your home,

01:33it typically follows either the wires or the plumbing.

01:36So if you're in contact with anything attached to those, you are at risk.

01:40Do not stream during a thunderstorm or do not use any electrical equipment near a window

01:44during a thunderstorm or at all.

01:46Turn everything off.

01:47Be safe.

01:48For AccuWeather, I'm meteorologist Tony Laubach.