There is one group that I have watched over their 10 years on YouTube — the Sidemen — and I have enjoyed every single moment.
The Sidemen are a group of seven British YouTubers, Miniminter, KSI, Vikkstar123, Zerkaa, Behzinga, TBJZL and W2S, who created a joint channel in 2015 after each had their own distinct channels mostly focused on video games, such as the FIFA franchise and GTA V.
JJ Olatunji, known as KSI, is the most famous of the group. He has been a YouTuber the longest, amassing 25 million subscribers on his main channel and 16 million on his second channel.
KSI has expanded his fame beyond YouTube; diving into the music industry and the influencer boxing space. He has produced songs with artists including Offset, Anne-Marie, Rick Ross, Waka Flocka Flame and Lil Wayne. While he still makes YouTube videos here and there, KSI has performed at concerts such as Jingle Bell Ball 2024 and Hits Radio Live 2024, both in England.
In recent memory, KSI has shaped a new era of influencer boxing. What once started as a one-time deal turned into influencers entering into the boxing ring.
KSI was one of the first influencers to box when he faced off against fellow British YouTuber Joe Weller in February 2018. Videos of the bout on each of their channels amassed more than 20 million views in the first three days, according to The Independent.
This bout opened the door for KSI to take on bigger opponents such as Paul. The two fought twice with the first ending in a draw, which sparked social media influence to push for a rematch which KSI won on a split decision in November 2019 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
While the other six members haven’t branched out as successfully as KSI, their YouTube following remained strong. The six members combined have 67.5 million subscribers, averaging around 11.25 million per member. Though their individual accomplishments are notable, it’s their group accomplishments outside of YouTube where the group succeeds.
The biggest achievement for the Sidemen is creating the Sidemen Charity Match, a soccer event where the group capitalized on the roots that brought them to this point.
On March 8, the Sidemen hosted their biggest charity match at the famous Wembley Stadium selling it out within three hours, drawing 90,000 spectators.
The first match was held in 2016 and featured two teams primarily of British influencers, but have expanded to involve U.S. influencers such as Logan Paul, MrBeast, Kai Cenat and iShowSpeed. The two teams of influencers compete in a friendly soccer match while raising funds for various British charities. Across the six charity matches, the Sidemen have raised over £8.5 million for the charities.
The event has been held on six occasions since 2016: once at Premier League club Southampton FC’s St Mary’s Stadium, three times at EFL Championship club Charlton AFC’s The Valley, once at London Stadium and once at Wembley Stadium.
All matches have been live streamed on their YouTube. The fourth match, held in 2022, is recognized by Guinness World Records for the highest live viewership on a YouTube charity sports live stream, peaking at over 2.5 million viewers.
While YouTube may be the best way to interact and view the Sidemen group’s work — whether it’s their YouTube videos or their charity matches — they’ve also transitioned into reality television.
The group created a show called “InSide” where 10 contestants are selected to stay in a house for a week and compete in various challenges. Failure challenges results in the loss of money from the final prize and contestants could also spend money from the pot in a shop where the cost of the products was taken from the prize fund.
One example saw British YouTuber and streamer AngryGinge buying a dart set for £5,000 and eliminating himself to watch his favorite soccer team, Manchester United, play in the FA Cup Final.
The first season was released with seven episodes on their group’s main and secondary YouTube channels, with episodes one and seven on the main channel and two through six on the second. This series was a massive success, garnering around six million views each episode, with the first reaching 15 million, as of publication. It became such a huge production that the second season was released on March 18, 2025, on Netflix.
The series adds to the Sidemen’s portfolio, along with their clothing brand, Sidemen Clothing, their exclusive streaming service, Side+, a food brand, Sides and their own vodka brand, XIX Vodka.
I’ve watched every single video that the Sidemen have produced, growing up alongside them as they’ve become the most well-known influencers in the United Kingdom.
