Cheese (speedrunner)


Allan Alvarez more commonly known as cheese, is a speedrunner and podcast host from Spain known for his Super Mario 64 gameplay. Alvarez held the speedrunning world record for the 120-star category of Super Mario 64 from June 4, 2017 to March 31, 2020.

Personal life

Born in Venezuela, Alvarez moved to Trinidad when he was two years old. His parents divorced early in his life, which proved to be difficult for Alvarez in his speedrunning endeavors, as his step-father wasn't supportive at first. This has since changed. Alvarez now describes his step-father as someone he can recognize as his real father and someone who has taught him in life how to be persistent and disciplined at whichever craft he wants to pursue. He always was a very strict and tough figure towards Alvarez, but Alvarez claims it helped him to be the strong person he is today. Alvarez is openly gay, and grew aware of the anti-gay culture in Trinidad and Tobago and felt he could not live his true life in the country. He felt more inclined to live a city life and decided to move closer to his father's side of the family in Madrid, Spain. Alvarez made the move in February 2016, just before his 21st birthday, and he currently lives with his grandmother and cousin.

Career

Alvarez began streaming his Call of Duty gameplay on Twitch in 2013. In 2014, he started speedrunning and publishing videos to his first YouTube channel. He started uploading to his main channel in 2016. In June 2017, Alvarez was recognized by Red Bull for his gameplay. Alvarez typically streams around midnight in Spain, which is peak viewing hours for the United States.
On February 7, 2018, Alvarez uploaded the first episode of his podcast with speedrunner Ryan Reeves, better known as "Simply", titled Two Dads One Show, a podcast centered on speedrunning and the mentality and work ethic associated with speedrunning. The name was later changed to The Two Dads Podcast. The next day, Alvarez broke the 120-star world record for Super Mario 64. It was later taken by speedrunner Liam on March 31, 2020.
On October 31, 2018, Alvarez officially changed his username from cheese05 to cheese.
In addition to Super Mario 64, Alvarez also speedruns , Super Mario Odyssey, and Celeste.