Things you didn’t know about KSI
Ahead of his huge Misfits Boxing showdown with Tommy Fury on on October 14 in Manchester, below are a whole bunch of facts you didn’t know about 30-year-old entrepreneur-turned-boxer, KSI.
KSI was born as Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji on June 19, 1993, in Watford, Hertfordshire.
His nickname, “JJ”, comes from “Jide Junior”.
“KSI” stands for “Knowledge Strength Integrity”.
He went to Berkhamsted School, which is where he met future collaborator, Simon Minter. Founded in 1541, the school has a rich history with other notable alumni including Winston Churchill’s wife; author Graham Greene; actress Talulah Riley, who married Elon Musk; Antiques Roadshow’s John Bly; radio presenter, Ronan Kemp; and ex-Watford goalkeeper, Jonathan bond, who plays for LA Galaxy now.
He is the CEO of Misfits Boxing; Prime Hydration; XIX Vodka; and restaurant chain, Sides.
He is the co-founder and member of the British YouTube group, Sidemen.
His younger brother, Deji Olatunji, is also a successful YouTuber. The two of them together were voted ‘UK’s Most Influential YouTube Creators’ in 2015. In 2020, KSI was named ‘The Times’ biggest influencer in Britain.
His YouTube pages have had over 11 billion views with over 42 million subscribers (across his three YouTube channels). He first started in 2009, posting gaming videos of FIFA, which expanded to include vlogs and comedy-style videos, then just continued to diversify from there. He has been listed within the top five highest paid YouTubers in the world.
He dropped out of sixth form college in 2010 to pursue his YouTube career once he started earning a steady monthly revenue, which was around £1,500 per month.
He formed the group known as ‘Sidemen’ in 2013, they now have shops selling their clothing wear in locations around the UK. He left the group in 2017 after falling out with member, Ethan Payne.
He started making music in 2015 and his debut studio album, ‘Dissimulation’, reached No.2 in the UK Albums Chart in 2020. His second album, ‘All Over the Place’, went straight in at No.1. He has since had 14 Top 40 hits and seven in the Top 10.
The entrepreneur is also an actor, appearing in 2016 British comedy, ‘Laid in America’. In a review, Movie Talk called the film, “Crass and witless”, scoring it 1 out of 5.
He published his biography in 2015, the book was titled, ‘KSI: I am a Bellend’.
His boxing nickname is “The Nightmare”.
His first ever boxing fight was an amateur bout against fellow youTuber, Joe Weller, in 2018. He then had an amateur bout with Logan Paul in Augist 2018, and their second was a professional bout in February 2019. He hs since fought against British rapper, Swarmz, and Mexican pro boxer, Luis Pineda, both in the same night; as well as FaZe Temperrr, and pro boxer Joe Fournier.
He has had seven fights to date, Tommy Fury will be his eighth bout.
KSI made an appearance at WrestleMania 39 joining Logan Paul on his ringwalk, then interfered in the match until he was frog splashed by Paul by mistake!
With all of this fame inevitably comes some controversy. KSI was widely criticised for his self described “rape-face”, which was a repeated joke on his channels during 2012-2013. In a Eurogamer event in 2012, there were sexual assault accusations, which saw Microsoft cut all ties with him thereafter, although spokesmodel, Brandy Brewer, was quick to defend him. KSI had to apologise publicly for any offence caused, however. In March 2021, he faced criticism for trnsphobic slurs, which he again apologised for. Then, very recently in April 2023, he used a racial slur in a Sidemen video, which led to the BBC cancelling a mainstream TV project involving him. The video has since been removed and he announced he would be taking a break rom social media after issuing yet another apology.
The football fan is a lifelong supporter of Arsenal FC.
He describes himself as ‘Agnostic’.
Career Earnings:
$900,000 minimum purse from Logan Paul rematch, which increased to well over £1 million in total
$4.5 million in earnings by 2015, according to Forbes
£75,000+ cost to advertise on KSI’s social media channels
£250,000 potential earnings in advertising revenue from one YouTube video
£10 million property portfolio
£12-25 million yearly earnings in total
Article sponsored by HÖRFA