| The Sidemen |
The Sidemen Yearbook |
The banner logo used in the group's videos. The full form has silhouettes of sharply-dressed men above the banner.
The Sidemen (formally the Ultimate Sidemen), created on 19 October 2013, are a group of seven British YouTubers who have boosted in popularity throughout the past 5 years. They are all good friends, play video games together and have created a commercial brand from their name.
The name is an allusion to a term to refer to those who are "behind the scenes" and are much less noticed than the main people. Originally, Simon was a "sideman" to JJ and Tobi was a "sideman" to Josh.
From 2018, they have uploaded weekly videos to their group channel under the banner of "Sidemen Sunday".
History
- Main article: The Sidemen Yearbook
From right: Miniminter, KSI, W2S, Behzinga, Zerkaa, TBJZL, Vikkstar123
In 2005, Simon and JJ became friends (aged 12-13). Simon would help him record videos by holding the camera. The two eventually ended up connecting with Zerkaa, who was long-term friends with TBJZL from secondary school. On Josh's birthday, the four were all in a voice hangout and started watching a stream from Behzinga. They then invited him to the group. This group was nicknamed - by Simon - as "The Original Five". Ethan coined the official name of the group.[1]
They started recording and playing GTA together, and then invited Vikkstar123. He was a fit despite not being as invested in FIFA/football as the others - so naturally, he joined the group, as it was an informal group at the time. The Ultimate Sidemen - minus wroetoshaw - officially formed on 19 October 2013. A few months later, in early 2014, they asked Harry to record with them and he too fit in.
In addition to these seven, British rapper JME is considered an official/unofficial member of the Sidemen, since he allegedly played a key part in the group's formation (he was said to be a part of the Sidemen by multiple members in 2016).
In August 2017, KSI "left" the group (he claimed it was "because of Ethan", triggering events known as the "Sidemen War/Beef") triggering a series of diss tracks and online spats. The majority of the "beef" was fabricated - as JJ and Ethan are still friends - and was deemed by some as a ploy to gain more views/attention. In reality, JJ never left the group and the seven are still together as of now.
In 2018, the Sidemen launched a web television series for YouTube Premium called The Sidemen Show. It premiered in June 2018 to positive reviews and reactions. It is unknown as to whether a second series has been commissioned.
The Group
The Sidemen XIX logo, used on the Sidemen Clothing line. XIX is the Roman numeral for nineteen (19), the day in October 2013 when the group formed.
The members of the group are:
- miniminter (2013—present)
- KSI (2013—present)
- wroetoshaw (2014—present)
- Behzinga (2013—present)
- Zerkaa (2013—present)
- TBJZL (2013—present)
- Vikkstar123 (2013—present)
About
Events
As their popularity began to grow, the Sidemen have branched out and started hosting their own events. Appearances at commercial gaming events such as Insomnia, as well as unofficial meet-ups are not counted as there are too many of them:
- 2016 Charity Football Match (June 2016)
- Upload Event #1 (November 2016)
- 2017 Charity Football Match (May 2017)
- Sidemen War/Beef (August 2017)
- Upload Event #2 (September 2017)
- KSI/Weller Boxing Match (February 2018)
- 2018 Charity Football Match (June 2018)
- The Sidemen Show (June 2018)
- KSI/Logan Paul Boxing Match (August 2018)
- KSI/Logan Paul Boxing Rematch (2019)
Fans
The Sidemen at Insomnia with fans.
The Sidemen have a diverse fan base; much to the disbelief of most viewers. As shown in vlogs made by individual Sidemen members, the majority of the fans that show up to events are young teenage males. However, their fans range from all different ages and a large proportion of them are female.
Thankfully, the majority of the fans are loyal and respectful. Not all of them are 12, and the groups content is enjoyed by a wide demographic. However, the surprising number of underage fans makes content creation somewhat difficult.
Luckily, the Sidemen have not conformed to this fact and still include adult themes within their videos (in particular is KSI who regularly references sex and masturbation within his videos - to a somewhat extreme extent). The majority of the fanbase are British (primarily due to the fact that the group themselves are British) although the group has fans from almost every country on the planet.
Accommodation
This is an overview of where each of the Sidemen live, or have lived in together:
| Location | Sidemen |
|---|---|
| First Sidemen House |
|
| Second Sidemen House |
|
| Stratford Halo Tower |
|
| Solo Flat (Unknown Location) |
|
Cars
This is a list of the current and former cars owned by each of the Sidemen. Some of this information may be outdated and therefore incorrect. Additionally, if you can find out some of the blank dates, feel free to fill the gaps in if you have a good source (or leave it in the comments below):
- Nissan GT-R (June 2017—present)
- Mercedes A Class (Unknown)
- Tesla Model X P100D (November 2017—present)
- Range Rover Evoque (Unknown)
- Ford Fiesta (Unknown)
KSI:
- Lamborghini Aventador (2014—September 2017)
- Porsche Cayenne (Unknown)
- Porsche Boxter (Unknown)
- Audi A3 (January 2015—present)
- Tesla Model S P90D (October 2016—present)
- Aston Martin V8 Vantage (May 2015—present)
- Volkswagen Scirocco (May 2013—2016)
W2S:
- Lamborghini Gallardo 50th Anniversary Edition (June 2015—August 2017)
- Range Rover Evoque (September 2014—August 2015)
- Audi A4 (Unknown—unknown)
- Audi TT (Unknown—unknown)
- Audi R8 (December 2016—present)
Supported Football Clubs
| Sideman | Club |
|---|---|
| Behzinga | West Ham United |
| KSI | Arsenal F.C. |
| miniminter | Leeds United |
| TBJZL | Manchester United |
| Vikkstar123 | Sheffield United F.C. |
| W2S | Chelsea F.C. |
| Zerkaa | Millwall F.C. |
Games
All of the Sidemen are fans of association football and FIFA is the main game that is commonly associated with most them. Each member of the group has at least two YouTube channels; one for FIFA and "real life" videos and one for other games such as Grand Theft Auto V and Call of Duty. Vikkstar123 is an exception; his main channel is not FIFA-focused and his second channel is Minecraft-focused (although he also runs a third Let's Play channel and a fourth Call of Duty community channel).
This is a list of video games played by the Sidemen since the groups inception in 2013.
- This list is potentially endless. You can help out by adding any video games we may have missed. Please make sure they are genuine and you have sourced them reliably.
- A game that gains a position on this list must have had AT LEAST two Sidemen playing together (i.e. a video game that miniminter has played on his own would not count towards this list).
List
- Agar.io
- Cards Against Humanity
- Monopoly
- Pinturillo 2
- Draw With Friends
- Draw My Thing
- Rocket League
- FIFA
- Call of Duty
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Tower Unite Minigolf
- Golf with Your Friends
- 3D Ultra Minigolf
- Dead by Daylight
- Garry's Mod (GMOD)
- Trivial Pursuit Live
- Pokémon Go
- Shellshock Live
- Slither.io
- Uno/Uno Rush
- Geoguessr
- H1Z1
- Sniper Elite 4
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands
- Golf It
- Gang Beasts
- Google Feud
- Ratty Catty
- Winning Putt
- Ballistic Overkill
- Slender
- Doom
- Overwatch
- Tom Clancy's The Division
- Last Will
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
- NHL
- WWE 2K
- Plastic Warfare
- Akinator
- Fishing Planet
- NBA 2K
- DiRT 4
- Depth
- VR Pool
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Steep
- London 2012 Olympics
- Skate 3
- Portal 2
- The Forest
- Snow
- Minecraft
- Mount Your Friends
- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
- Fortnite Battle Royale
- Quiz Night Tonight
- Trials
- Skribbl.io
- Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader
- Team Fortress 2
- Peggle
Catchphrases
This is a list of catchphrases often affiliated with the Sidemen. Many of the following catchphrases were popular in 2014-2015, so may be slightly outdated:
- "Got the Boost, Boys!": This catchphrase is usually stated (typically in a high-pitch tone) by any of the seven Sidemen who achieve the boosted launch at the start of a race in Grand Theft Auto V. This catchphrase was started by Ethan.
- "Oh my Days!": Originally exclaimed by wroetoshaw whenever he failed at FIFA, this phrase has since been adopted by the other Sidemen if they make a mistake in a game or if something negative happens to them.
- "You're a Prick!": The derogatory word "prick" is heavily emphasised whenever one of the Sidemen uses this insult. It is usually aimed at each other, particularly at Vikkstar123 when he is "stabilising" in Grand Theft Auto V.
- "Sweg": The mispronunciation of the word "swag" is a common trait amongst the Sidemen. They use it to refer to the slipstream in GTAV, claiming to "get each others' sweg lines".
- "Twice the Wheels, Twice the Fastness": This is typically exclaimed by Vikkstar123 when he chooses a quad-bike instead of a motorbike in Grand Theft Auto V. He claims that this choice of vehicle makes him travel twice as fast as he has twice as many wheels.
- "The Power of Emon": This phrase is said simultaneously by miniminter and Behzinga whenever they perform something exciting together in a GTA race. It is a reference to the fictional sexual relationship between the pair. It's usually sung to the tune of The Power Of Love.
- "'Elmetboy Origins": Usually said by Vik (who leaves the "H" silent) when he gets out of a hard situation in 'Grand Theft Auto V, or if he doesn't die from another Sideman's action.
- "That/this is so AIDS": This controversial remark has lessened in usage over the past few year, but is still said to describe anything negative that happens to the Sidemen in numerous games that they play. Many fans/followers however, suggest that the phrase is in bad taste because, obviously, AIDS is a horrific and life-threatening virus. This is thought to be the reason for them cutting down on its usage. These are commonly used by Zerkaa or Wroetoshaw.
- "Spawn AIDS": A related phrase (also occasionally shortened to "Spaids"), which is said when a Sideman respawns in their GTA vehicle only to immediately fall again repeatedly due to glitches related to the checkpoint they're on, causing him to go into a seemingly infinite loop of respawning.
- "Oooooh, f**k ya mum": When Josh is struggling in a game, such as GTA V, he will use this phrase to express his anger in a unique way.
- "Have a Shot Mate!": This phrase is most often used by Josh in his FIFA videos. Because of this video, the other Sidemen occasionally tease Josh about his constant use of this phrase.
- "I CBA/CBF!": When Harry is pissed off in his FIFA videos, he usually says "I CBA anymore." CBA stands for "can't be arsed." When he gets to be even more frustrated, he says "I CBF..." which stands for "I can't be f**ked."
- "Nooo, bastard!": Usually used by Josh when something doesn't go his way, for example if he's getting killed in Call of Duty.
Trivia
- The group, mainly those living in the Sidemen House, record gameplay all through the night and spend up to 14 hours a day sitting at their desks. Due to this, their sleep pattern/schedule is messed up beyond repair. Vikkstar123 suffers the most from this and has revealed that, in order to sustain his near-constant upload schedule on YouTube, he goes to sleep at around 11:00 am and wakes up at 6:00 pm. This is seen a lot especially when streaming with friends oversea. Since he usually is the one waking up for his friends.
References
External links
- UltimateSidemen.com, an unaffiliated portal fansite
- Sidemen on TV Tropes
 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Behzinga Ethan Payne |
 W2S Harry Lewis |
 Zerkaa Josh Bradley |
 KSI Olajide "JJ" Olatunji |
 Miniminter Simon Minter |
 TBJZL Tobi Brown |
 Vikkstar123 Vikram Barn |