Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, professionally known as KSI, is a 30-year-old Influencer and rapper turned boxer from England. He began his media career initially with YouTube, meanwhile also showing interest in music. KSI is currently the co-owner of Prime Hydration, XIX Vodka, and the CEO of Misfits Boxing. He also has a restaurant chain named Sides.
KSI stepped into the world of boxing in order to settle a dispute with another YouTuber called Joe Weller in early 2018. The amateur was a six-rounder, and KSI won the bout via technical knockout at 1:30 in the third round. Even though KSI had some serious trash talk against Joe Weller before the fight, his post-fight speech had respect towards his opponent and Weller’s work in raising mental health awareness. Also, he called out Jake Paul, Logan Paul, and Rio Ferdinand after the matchup.
Moving on, Logan Paul accepted the fight call, and later, it was announced to take place on August 25, 2018. Both Youtubers faced each other in an amateur white-collar boxing match, where the contenders without previous boxing history compete publicly. However, the bout ended up in a majority draw decision. After the fight, both of them were ready for a rematch, and the bout was decided upon to be a professional one without head gears. KSI trained with professional boxers for the fight and had a split decision win over Paul on November 9, 2019, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, United States. Hence, KSI’s professional boxing started off with a win.
KSI Full Form
According to KSI, his name stands for Knowledge, Strength, and Integrity. The 30-year-old Youtuber turned boxer has portrayed it through tattoos on his body. KSI has tattooed the terms ‘Knowledge’ on his chest, ‘Strength’ on his left arm, and ‘Integrity’ on his right arm.
However, the idea behind how Olatunji got the name KSI was different. KSI was initially the name of a Halo Clan, which Olatunji wanted to be a part of in his early days of gaming in Xbox 360. When he got to be a part of the clan, the other members asked him to change his gaming name from OlajideBT(initial gaming name) to KsiolajideBT. He immediately changed the name and kept the ‘KSI’ term even after the Halo era was over and owned it in the later ventures in his life.
Did KSI leave Sidemen?
No. Despite the controversies and allegations, KSI is still one of the owners and founding members of the YouTube group Sidemen.
Earlier, KSI published a video on his YouTube channel stating that he is leaving Sidemen because of his clash with fellow Sidemen member Ethan Payne and even released a diss track on Payne. However, things went against KSI when his fellow group member made a diss track on him. Later, KSI claimed that the beef was supposed to be fake but got real over time.
How did KSI get famous?
KSI had his initial breakout through his YouTube channel, which he started off in 2009 by posting gameplay commentaries on the FIFA video game. Later, he slowly grew his channel into more vlog-type content, and by the end of 2014, KSI had more than 3 million subscribers to his YT channel. As of October 3, 2023, KSI’s YouTube channel has more than 24 million subscribers, Instagram with 13.2 million followers, and Twitter with 8.9 million followers.
KSI also grew popular in the UK as a rapper with his debut song ‘Lamborghini,’ which was released in 2015. The music video currently has 126 million views.
*Last updated on October 5, 2023.
FAQs
A. KSI stands for knowledge, strength, and Integrity.
A. No. Despite the controversies and allegations, KSI is still one of the owners and founding members of the YouTube group Sidemen.
A. KSI had his initial breakout through his YouTube channel, which he started off in 2009 by posting gameplay commentaries on the FIFA video game. Later, he slowly grew his channel into more vlog-type content, and by the end of 2014, KSI had more than 3 million subscribers to his YT channel.
A. KSI’s professional boxing record is 4 wins, no losses, and 1 no-contest.
A. KSI will face Tommy Fury in his next fight.