What started out as a humble $500 fundraising attempt has now seen 26 year-old gamer Harry Brewis raise a staggering US$350,000 for trans support group .
All by playing Donkey Kong 64 for 60 hours straight - and live streaming it for the world to see.
As his campaign went viral, Brewis was joined by a number of big names, including US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Chelsea Manning, both who linked into the live stream and offered Brewis words of encouragement.
“I actually broke down and cried a little bit about $75,000 in,” Brewis, who is known by his gaming alias 'hbomberguy', told .
“Because, I’d really expected it to not do very well. Because I didn’t think that many people really knew or cared [about trans issues]. I thought that was part of the territory and that’s why it’s worth doing."
“I think what caused so many people to react the way they did was the utter shock at discovering that there are so many who are willing to help, so many people who care, and they were almost waiting for an excuse to do it,” he said.
Brewis was supported throughout his marathon effort by a group of friends, who took over the stream each day to allow the gamer a chance to catch up on sleep.
“So many people have thanked me, and I haven’t done any of it, I literally just played Donkey Kong for 60 hours.
“It’s absolutely absurd just how generous people are. It’s been an exercise in optimism.”
