How did Sidemen become so popular? Exploring the British YouTube group's origins

The Sidemen are one of the most popular YouTube groups in the world and were recently ranked #2 on their list of top creators in the UK, with MrBeast taking the top spot. Whether you are a more recent fan of the group or have been following them for some time, the rise of the YouTube ensemble to its current heights reflects a masterclass in content creation.

The group was formed in 2013 and consists of seven core members who are popular creators in their own right. JJ "KSI," Harry "W2S," Simon "Miniminter," Vikram "Vikkstar123," Tobi "TBJZL," Josh "Zerkaa," and Ethan "Behzinga" came together to form the group which is currently going viral every week for their recurring Sidemen Sunday show.

That said, their YouTube empire stretches across three other channels, four counting the Spanish one. They have separate channels for reaction videos and shorts which have five million and 1.8 million subscribers respectively. The MoreSidemen channel, where they upload more frequently, has over seven million subscribers while the main channel currently has 17.4 million.

Let's trace how the seven friends built one of the most popular YouTube channels of all-time.

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Tracing the origins of Sidemen: From friends to YouTube royalty

The story of the formation of the group dates back to 2005 when Miniminter and KSI started to collaborate on making videos. They connected with Zerkaa in 2012 who introduced them to his friend TBJZL. The following year, they invited Behzinga after watching his stream and started playing and recording Grand Theft Auto Online.

Vikkstar123 joined soon after and the six, (wroetoshow joined the next year), formed The Ultimate Sidemen on October 19, 2013. The date is immortalized in the Roman numeral 'XIX' on their logo. According to a 2019 video from their alt channel, the group's name was an intentional joke about how everyone else in the group was a side man to KSI, who had over a million subscribers at the time.

Over the years, the six friends have been making a variety of content ranging from GTA Online, FIFA, reaction videos, sports vlogs, pranks and challenges. They even created their own clothing line, their own liquor and a football team, hosting highly popular charity matches. All the while steadily growing their own channels as the Sidemen brand became a household name around the world.

While many factors played a part in their success, what differentiated their content from most other creators was that they exuded a sense of true camaraderie amongst themselves. They also portrayed a sense of giving their viewers a look into the lives of a group of friends and a glimpse into their daily lives.

Witnessing them watch and do things became content for the masses who were not only invested in the individual creators but also them as a group. The idea was further discussed by KSI and Andrew Schulz on the Flagrant podcast, where the comedian and podcast host commended the YouTuber for turning organic moments between friends into YouTube videos.

"The Tinder thing is great... What I love is like, and you do this very well, you gamify your relationships with your friends and your pleasures."

The Sidemen member was quite surprised when Schulz made the observation, insisting that he was not making online content with the conscious forethought to commodify aspects of their interpersonal relationships. The host later clarified his points:

"You found a way to take the organic interactions that you have with your friends and your online community and then turn it into structured content."

The real-life reality YouTube TV entertainment that Sidemen Sundays regularly provide is no doubt a big appeal to the massive fanbase they have amassed over the years. They are a group that has huge overlaps with fans from their individual channels and also from other creators who frequently collaborate with them.