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    Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ” Olatunji, better known by his YouTube alias KSI, is one of the U.K.’s most successful creators. From co-founding the hugely successful YouTube collective The Sidemen to expanding into boxing, music and entrepreneurship, KSI has spent years turning internet fame into a business empire.

    Forbes named him the second highest-earning creator of 2023, reporting earnings over $24 million that year alone. Since then, KSI has appeared as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, joined the football club Dagenham & Redbridge as a strategic investor, and helped pull in over $1 billion in annual revenue with his drink brand: Prime Hydration. Now, his net worth is estimated at $100 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

    Here’s a closer look at how his content creation and business ventures have made KSI one of Britain’s wealthiest self-made entertainers. 

    Early beginnings 

    Born in London to Nigerian immigrant parents, Olatunji was raised in Watford and went to Berkhamsted School. In 2009, at 16, Olatunji took a leap of faith and started recording and filming videos to post on YouTube. Initially, his channel consisted of faceless commentary videos of the FIFA video game that he filmed from his bedroom in his parents’ house. The YouTube creator sphere was quietly growing, and he was growing with it. 

    Although his parents disapproved at first, KSI navigated their skepticism with proof. By the time he was in sixth form, he was steadily earning ad revenue from his uploads. Convinced that he wanted to pursue YouTube full-time, KSI dropped out of school, doubled down, and by 2012, he had amassed one million subscribers. 

    Related post: How Steven Bartlett Went From College Dropout to Media Mogul

    The Sidemen Collective 

    Before becoming the U.K.’s most lucrative creator collective, the Sidemen were a group of hyper-competitive friends. KSI met co-founder Simon Minter while at Berkhamsted, bonding over their shared obsession with gaming. They regularly played video games online along with Tobit Brown and Joshua Bradley, who also went to school together. Later, they expanded their circle to include Vikram Barn and Ethan Payne, forming a GTA squad called the Ultimate Sidemen in 2013. Harry Lewis joined a few months later, in early 2014.

    Each member of the group made YouTube videos individually; however, KSI was by far the most popular. The name the Sidemen was formed as a joke, leaning into the idea that Minter, Brown, Bradley, Barn, Payne, and Lewis were all KSI’s side-men. Instead of fracturing and becoming resentful over the disparity in followers, the group leaned into the network effect. The Sidemen moved into their first shared house in 2014, filming challenges and skits together. One video would be posted on one member’s channel, and in the description they would promote the other five members’ channels, ultimately extending their reach. 

    They initially hesitated to make a unified channel, but upon seeing the success of other creator collectives, they officially launched the Sidemen YouTube channel in 2016. In just three days, they had over one million subscribers. 

    Managing a single revenue stream and upload schedule across seven independent creators would be highly complex. But rather than endlessly negotiate who would get credit for what, they designed a collective business model that split both responsibilities and revenue seven ways. This equal pay structure was cited by KSI as the main factor behind their long-term success. 

    More Than a YouTube Channel 

    The Sidemen very quickly diversified their revenue stream. In 2014, a year after becoming a collective, they started working on Sidemen Clothing (SDMN), so that fans had apparel to support them. By 2021, they had over 10 million followers on YouTube and decided to offer fans digital memberships. The group invited their subscribers to join Side+, a premium subscription-based fan membership club with behind-the-scenes content and exclusive shows. Side+ has attracted hundreds of thousands of paying subscribers

    Over the next couple of years, they launched a fast-food brand: Sides, a premium vodka label: XIX Vodka, a fast-moving consumer good: Best Cereal, and even delved into venture capital with Upside VC. With their massive following, they successfully used their brand to turn each of these ventures into an additional revenue stream

    After years of creating content and long-form videos, another major success for the group came when their hit reality TV show, Inside, was picked up by Netflix, produced through their existing production company, Sidemen Productions.

    Beyond YouTube and businesses, the Sidemen have also made their mark in the football world. They launched the annual Charity Match in 2016. Since launching, the series has raised over £14.7 million for charity. The most recent edition drew 90,000 fans to Wembley Stadium and peaked at 2.2 million concurrent online viewers. Baller League is another notable event that the Sidemen have taken part in. The six-a-side indoor soccer competition, founded by entrepreneur Felix Starck and footballer Mats Hummels, has taken Europe by storm. Brown and Minter manage teams in the U.K. division while KSI serves as the League’s president. 

    After 13 years of creating content and building businesses, KSI ended his chapter with the Sidemen earlier this year. He announced to the world and his partners that he would be leaving the Sidemen via a YouTube video. He said he felt he no longer had time for himself or his family. Since then, he continued posting videos on his own channel and pursuing collaborations with other creators. 

    Related post: KSI Leaves YouTube Collective Sidemen After 13 Years, Ending an Era

    KSI the Rapper: “All Over the Place” 

    Although KSI made a name for himself as a content creator on YouTube, he’s proven he’s much more than an influencer. During the early days of posting on his channel, he would write comedic rap tracks and parody diss tracks. He started taking music more seriously when he released his debut single, Lamborghini, in 2015. As an independent artist, he dropped two EPs in 2016: Keep Up and Jump Around. Keep Up topped the U.K. R&B charts. In 2019, however, KSI signed with RBC Records and BMG Rights Management to expand his international music career. His official debut studio album Dissimulation came out in 2020 and peaked at number two on the U.K. Albums Chart. The following year, his subsequent release All Over the Place finally earned him number one on the U.K. Albums Chart

    Misfits and Boxing 

    KSI is also the pioneer behind modern influencer boxing, turning YouTube rivalries into massive commercial events. His amateur debut was against fellow YouTuber Joe Weller in 2018, a fight he won by third-round technical knockout (TKO). Riding the high of his first win, KSI called out his next opponent, Logan Paul. This boxing match was the biggest crossover fight YouTube had ever seen. KSI and Logan Paul faced each other at Manchester Arena, an event that was estimated to have generated $11 million through ticket sales and live-stream buyers. The match ended in a majority amateur draw. The rematch in 2020, this time at the Staples Center, marked KSI’s professional debut. The fight went his way by split decision. 

    More than just taking part in massive fights, KSI went one step further. In 2022, he co-founded Misfits Boxing along with Mams Taylor and brothers Kalle and Nisse Sauerland of Wasserman Boxing. But ultimately, in 2026, KSI announced his retirement from the ring

    Related post: 10 Black Creators Who Made The 2026 Mashable 101 List

    Prime Hydration

    While KSI and Logan Paul were fighting each other on screen, behind the scenes they were building something much more impressive. In 2022, the pair launched Prime Hydration, a sports drink that capitalized on their combined following and history as rivals. Prime hit $250 million in first-year retail sales, and went on to top $1 billion in annual revenue by 2023. They landed sponsorship deals with the UFC, the MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers, and Premier League clubs. “We never expected to be as big as it has become,” KSI told Bloomberg. “I know people who don’t know me or Logan. They just know Prime.”

    The Future of KSI 

    Considering that KSI has a portfolio of ventures spanning content, consumer goods, Britain’s Got Talent, music, boxing and football, it’s hard to speculate where the entrepreneur will go next. Long-term fans speculated that he left the Sidemen to try and compete with even bigger creators like MrBeast, who is consistently ranked as the highest-earning creator in the world.

    “I think KSI has given a lot to YouTube. He inspired a lot of the early YouTubers, especially in the British scene,” said Hillary Odhiambo, long-term Sidemen subscriber, exclusively to UrbanGeekz. “As he goes off on his own in this new chapter, this is the first time as fans we are seeing him do something for himself creatively in the YouTube space since 2009. I personally think he has nothing left to prove. If he never reaches the heights of Mr Beast, I hope he’s happy doing this for himself and creating content that he enjoys.”

    Main image: KSI, by Wikimedia Commons 

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    The post From Filming FIFA Videos to a Billion-Dollar Brand: The Rise of KSI appeared first on UrbanGeekz.

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