Meet the Man Behind the GameStop Frenzy

Before becoming “the internet’s most disruptive trader,” the Wall Street Journal reports, Keith Gill was an accomplished college athlete who set his sights on becoming a professional runner. “When he puts his mind to something, he can be very focused,” his mother, Elaine Gill, tells the Journal. With his running dreams sidelined by injury, Gill, 34, turned his focus to online trading, which put him on the path to becoming the man behind the recent GameStop trading frenzy. Here’s more about Gill.

• Hometown hero. A native of Brockton, Mass., Gill is still remembered for his speed on the track, Brockton High School track and field coach John Fidalgo tells USA Today: “The kids all know him by name. The Gill name is everywhere in our locker room and record board.”

• Online persona. Known on Reddit as “DeepF—ingValue” and on YouTube as “Roaring Kitty,” Gill often sports a “samurai-esque” headband and a cat-themed T-shirt, per the New York Post. He operates a YouTube channel from his Boston suburbs basement “behind a desk littered with used cups, assorted tech gear, sports hats and Uno cards.”
• Buying GameStop. In September 2019, Gill posted a portfolio screenshot to the Reddit group WallStreetBets showing that he had invested $53,000 in GameStop and had already netted a $46,000 profit, Reuters reports. On Wednesday, per the Post, he shared a screenshot showing about a $20 million daily gain in GameStop shares.
• Athletic aspirations. Gill was a promising runner in high school and blossomed in college, according to the Journal. However, he was “trapped in a boom-and-bust cycle as he battled injuries.” In 2008, he set a Stonehill College record, running a 4:03.43 mile. But Achilles tendinosis finally put an end to his running dreams.
• Newfound wealth. With huge potential earnings on the horizon, Gill tells the Journal that he has just one big purchase on his wish list: funding an indoor track facility in Brockton. “Now it looks like I actually could do that,” he tells the paper.

(More GameStop stories.)