The Sidemen is a British collective consisting of

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

influencer A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...

s and internet personalities

KSI Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji (born 19 June 1993), better known by his online alias KSI, is an English influencer, professional boxer and musician. He is a co-founding member of YouTube group the Sidemen, the CEO of Misfits Boxing a ...

, Miniminter, Zerkaa, TBJZL, Behzinga,

Vikkstar123 Vikram Singh Barn (born 2 August 1995), better known as Vikkstar123 or simply Vikkstar, is an English influencer. He is a member of the YouTube group the Sidemen. Barn's YouTube career started in 2010, primarily focusing Call of Duty: Modern W ...

, and W2S. The group produce videos of various challenges, sketches, and video game commentaries across their YouTube channels, which have a combined total of over 155 million subscribers . Beyond their YouTube content, the Sidemen have expanded into various business ventures. They launched Sidemen Clothing in 2014, followed by the restaurant chain Sides and the

subscription service The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a Product (business), product or Service (business), service. The model Publication by subscription, was pioneer ...

app Side+ in 2021, their own alcoholic beverage line XIX Vodka in 2022, and their cereal brand Best Cereal in 2024. The group has also further extended their influence into web series and documentary filmmaking. In 2018, they starred in '' The Sidemen Show'', a

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series featuring celebrity guests and global challenges. In 2024, the

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documentary ''The Sidemen Story'' was released, detailing their decade-long journey and the impact they have had on internet culture. Later that year, they created their own reality game show, ''Inside''. The Sidemen have also been actively involved in philanthropy, organizing Sidemen charity football matches since 2016, which have collectively raised over £8.5 million for charitable organizations in the United Kingdom.

Members

The group has the following members: * Olajide "JJ" Olatunji – known online as KSI * Simon Minter – known online as Miniminter * Joshua Bradley – known online as Zerkaa * Tobit Brown – known online as Tobjizzle or TBJZL * Ethan Payne – known online as Behzinga * Vikram Barn – known online as Vikkstar123 * Harry Lewis – known online as Wroetoshaw or W2S

History

2013–2020: Origins and initial popularity

Some of the members knew each other before the group was formed. Bradley and Brown both attended Bexley Grammar School in London and Olatunji and Minter both attended Berkhamsted School in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. The group originates from a Rockstar Games Social Club group made on 19 October 2013 in '' Grand Theft Auto Online'', called "The Ultimate Sidemen", which included all the members except for Lewis. In January 2014, Bradley met Lewis while at a ''

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

'' gaming event in New York City and invited him to join the group. Describing the group name, Minter said in a video that "A sideman is basically someone's bitch who just follows them around ..I was basically JJ's bitch that followed him around." In February 2014, Olatunji, Minter, Bradley, and Barn moved into a house together near London, which they referred to as the "Sidemen House", which allowed them to collaborate more often. In 2016, Olatunji, Minter, Bradley, and Barn moved into another "Sidemen House", living in a 15,000-square-foot, $8.5 million mansion in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

, London. In November 2016, the Sidemen collaborated with ''

Rocket League ''Rocket League'' is a 2015 vehicular Association football, soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix for various home consoles and computers. A sequel to 2008's ''Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars'', ''Rocket League ...

'' to release an in-game SDMN FC community flag that users can get for free inside the game. The group's official YouTube channel, launched for the inaugural Sidemen Charity Match that year, became the fastest channel to reach one million subscribers. On 1 December 2020, the group's eponymous YouTube channel surpassed 10 million subscribers. Each member of the group was awarded their own Diamond Play Button by YouTube to mark their milestone. In March 2020, the Sidemen released a twenty-minute YouTube video titled "#StayHome". The video featured the Sidemen and more than one hundred other YouTube video creators and other celebrities raising awareness of the UK's "stay at home" campaign which aimed to reduce the spread of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in the UK. All of the advertising revenue generated from the video was donated to the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

2021–present: Expanded content and continued growth

In August 2021, the Sidemen signed with a London-based digital talent management company called Arcade Media. In April 2023, the Sidemen garnered controversy when Olatunji said the racial slur " Paki" in a ''Sidemen Sunday'' video published on 2 April; a parody of the British game show '' Countdown''. The Sidemen group were criticised on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

after a clip of Olatunji speaking the slur went viral, including criticisms from DJ and presenter Bobby Friction and comedian Guz Khan among others. Hours later, Olatunji tweeted an apology for the slur and announced that he would be taking a break from social media. The Sidemen Twitter account also released a statement the following day apologising for the slur, with the statement reading, "We stand against racism and discrimination of any kind and we failed to do that." The full video in question has since been privatised. In an interview held before the 2023 Sidemen Charity Match, Barn told the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

regarding the slur that the group had "very serious meetings" about the acceptability of what they joke about, saying, "We had to acknowledge that things are different to when we first all started platforms and the world has changed as a place. We saw it as a lesson and moved on from there and I think people were very understanding of that and allowed us to carry on doing what we're doing with a better sense of responsibility." In July 2023, the group invested in The Fellas Studios, a production company founded by YouTubers Callum Airey and Joshua Larkin. On 3 July 2023, the group participated in a collaborative

hide-and-seek Hide-and-seek (sometimes known as hide-and-go-seek) is a children's game in which at least two players (usually at least three) conceal themselves in a set environment, to be found by one or more seekers. The game is played by one chosen playe ...

challenge video with Paradise Wildlife Park, a

-based zoo. This initiative was part of a broader partnership aimed at supporting the zoo's conservation efforts. On 26 September 2023, the Sidemen signed with

United Talent Agency United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. ...

, an American talent agency, for their representation in all areas of North America. On 17 August 2024, the group appeared and was ranked 21st on ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'''s list of "The UK’s top 30 richest gamers and creators in 2024", estimating £50 million in fortune shared among the group.

YouTube channels

The group has five YouTube channels, Sidemen, MoreSidemen, SidemenReacts, SidemenShorts, and Side+ across which it publishes a variety of videos including challenges, sketches and video game commentaries. , the Sidemen channel has over 22 million subscribers and 6.9 billion views, MoreSidemen has over 9 million subscribers and 5.2 billion views, SidemenReacts has over 5.7 million subscribers and 3.3 billion views, SidemenShorts has over 2.1 million subscribers and 1.9 billion views, and Side+ has over 377 thousand subscribers and 281 million views.

Other ventures

Sidemen Clothing

Since 2014, the group has sold and distributed Sidemen Clothing merchandise. In October 2021, Sidemen Clothing collaborated with Ellesse, an Italian sportswear brand, and launched an AW21 collection of co-branded clothing. On 15 July 2023, they opened their first physical store in the

Bluewater Shopping Centre Bluewater Shopping Centre (commonly known simply as ''Bluewater'') is a large out-of-town shopping centre in Stone, Kent, Stone (postally Greenhithe, Kent, Greenhithe), Kent, England, just outside the M25 motorway ring, east south east of London ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. On 4 October 2024, they opened their second physical store in Bull Ring, Birmingham. The group also announced their partnership with

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

to produce a ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

''-themed Sidemen apparel line.

Side+

In September 2021, the Sidemen launched a

app known as Side+, where they would post behind-the-scenes content from their YouTube video recordings and other extra contents. On 14 January 2022, they announced that the app is now available on

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

Sides

In November 2021, the Sidemen partnered with Reef, the world's largest operator of virtual restaurants and delivery kitchens, to launch a

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

known as Sides. The restaurant is serving a menu of chicken and plant-based sandos, sliders, and

salads A salad is a Dish (food), dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments called ''salad dressings'', which exist in a variety of ...

that come in flavours including

chipotle A chipotle ( , ), or chilpotle, is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex and Southwestern United States dishes. It comes in differen ...

, classic buffalo, BBQ, Korean BBQ,

teriyaki ''Teriyaki'' is a cooking technique in which foods are grilling#Overhead grilling, broiled or Grilling, grilled with a Glaze (cooking technique), glaze of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Although commonly associated with Japanese cuisine, Fish ...

, garlic mayo, and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Other dishes include mac and cheese bites, waffle fries, slaw, onion rings, and cheese poppers. On 24 February 2022, the restaurant launched its first physical branch in

Boxpark Boxpark is a food and retail park made out of refitted shipping containers in Britain. It was founded by Roger Wade, who described it as the "world's first pop-up mall". The first Boxpark was launched in Shoreditch in 2011, another was built ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

, attracting over three-hour queues on its debut day. As of September 2022, the restaurant had over 80 dark kitchens across the UK and 20 in the UAE. On 29 September 2022, the restaurant launched its second physical branch in Boxpark

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

. In October 2022, the restaurant unveiled its new partnership with Farnham Town F.C., a semi-professional football club based in

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, to become the football club’s front-shirt sponsor of the newly released 2022/23 away kit.

XIX Vodka

In 2022, the Sidemen founded and launched their own

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

brand known as XIX Vodka.

Bright Side charity

In 2023, the Sidemen founded grant-making charity Bright Side, seeking to "support charities and organisations that help people find and maintain a safe place to call home and help young people access the education, spaces and opportunities that every person deserves."

Book

On 18 October 2016, the group released a book titled ''Sidemen: The Book'', published by

Coronet Books Coronet Books was established in 1966 as the paperback imprint of Hodder & Stoughton. The imprint was closed in 2004 but then relaunched in 2010, publishing fiction and non-fiction in hardback and paperback, including works by Chris Ryan, Lorn ...

, and embarked on a UK-wide promotional tour. A number one best-seller in the UK, the book sold 26,436 copies within the first three days of its release.

Documentary and web series

On 18 June 2018, the group released a

web television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable te ...

series titled '' The Sidemen Show'', available exclusively on

. It comprises seven 30-minute episodes filmed around the world alongside a number of celebrity guests. On 14 February 2024, a documentary film about the Sidemen called ''The Sidemen Story'' was released on

. The film was directed by Luke Hyams, a former Head of Originals for YouTube EMEA. In June 2024, the Sidemen created a reality competition series called ''

Inside Inside may refer to: Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 film), a Canadian prison drama film * ''Inside'' (2006 film), an American thriller film starri ...

''. The series features ten celebrity guests who compete in challenges to secure a prize fund totalled at £1 million, with everything they buy or do costing money from the prize fund. The series first aired on 2 June 2024 on their YouTube account, Sidemen, and last aired on 9 June 2024. In November 2024, a second series, as well as ''Inside USA'', was announced, which would be shown on Netflix.

Best Cereal

In March 2024, the Sidemen and British oat producer Mornflake launched a cereal brand called Best Cereal. It debuted with two flavours, Choco Crunch and Caramel Gold.

Upside VC

In May 2025, the Sidemen and businessman Jamie Elliott announced they had co-founded

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

firm Upside VC. The company is described as "backing consumer tech start-ups", with Sidemen member Bradley noting they were "looking mostly at tech" due to the "scale and speed" at which these projects can grow.

Charity football matches

Wembley Cup

In August 2015, all of the Sidemen members except Olatunji and Barn participated in the 2015 Wembley Cup

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

charity match, facing Spencer FC, with Minter captaining the Sidemen United team. The match ended with Spencer FC beating Sidemen United by five goals to two.

Sidemen Charity Match

The Sidemen Charity Match is a recurring football

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

run by the Sidemen to raise money for various charitable causes. They have been held since 2016, barring a four-year hiatus between the third and fourth matches, while the sixth match is being held eighteen months after the fifth. In all matches so far, the group's seven members and various affiliated YouTubers competed as the Sidemen Football Club, while various other YouTubers competed as the YouTube Allstars. The first match, on 3 June 2016, was held at

St Mary's Stadium St Mary's Stadium is a seated but also safe-standing football stadium in Southampton, Hampshire, England, which has been the home stadium of club Southampton since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 32,384 and is currently the largest footbal ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, raising over £110,000 for the Saints Foundation.

Discography

Publications

Awards and nominations

Awards

World Records

Notes

References

External links

* {{Vikkstar123 21st-century British philanthropists 2013 establishments in England English YouTube groups British comedy YouTubers English-language YouTube channels English gaming YouTubers Let's Players Sports-related YouTube channels Surreal comedy Video game commentators Vlogs-related YouTube channels YouTube channels launched in 2016 British YouTube vloggers World record holders