KSI revealed payment structure that has kept Sidemen going for 13 years
KSI has decided to hang up his Sidemen boots after over a decade of posting videos with his best mates.
The boxer/singer/entrepreneur - he's really done it all - announced on Sunday (31 May) that he is leaving the YouTube collective after 13 years.
With 23 million subscribers, fans of the group, consisting of Miniminter (Simon Minter), Zerkaa (Josh Bradley), W2S / Wroetoshaw (Harry Lewis), Vikkstar123 (Vikram Barn), TBJZL (Tobi Brown) and Behzinga (Ethan Payne), watch them week-in-week-out.
Opening up about how it worked financially between the seven members, KSI said splitting earnings equally was the 'main factor driving' factor behind becoming so successful.
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"I'd say everyone being equal. Equal pay all around. No one has a high percentage. You know, we're good friends," he told JasonTheWeen earlier this year.
"We've been doing this for a very, very long time and, you know, obviously, we've had the ups and downs. But at the end of the day, I think it helps that we've had seven of us."
KSI confirmed that it was still the case 'even on the second channel'.
"We got a deal where one of our editors has a percentage," he explained.
"So he's there like, s**t, bro. I wanna work harder and harder and harder.
"So it's good. It's a good system. Bro, you gotta think of it like this, man. It's all about being fair in this industry. The more fair you are, the more successful you are."
Vikkstar123 also told LADbible that one of the reasons for their longevity was that everything was split.
"We weren't manufactured. The second point is that we share everything equally. So all financial earnings, or businesses, everything is equally divided between the seven of us," he said.
KSI leaves The Sidemen
Taking to YouTube on Sunday, KSI said: “This is honestly the hardest video I've ever had to make in my life.
“I’ve gone back and forth on this decision for a very long time. I’ve spent months trying to figure out what the right thing to do is.
“But after a lot of thought, I’ve decided that I will no longer be doing sidemen videos. Today, 31st of May, will be my final Sidemen video.
“Even saying those words out loud doesn’t feel real. The Sidemen have been such a huge part of my life for over 12-13 years.
“For almost half my life, this Sidemen has been my second family. We’ve grown up together. We’ve travelled the world together.
“We built something that none of us ever thought was possible especially back then when we were making random videos together and playing GTA.”
Anish Vij