Question: You’re playing football at Wembley in front of 90,000 fans. Is your name A: Pelé or B: Simon Minter?
Answer is B. Simon Minter, a.k.a. Miniminter, of course. (Pelé’s most notable Wembley appearance was as a spectator.)
So, how come Minter – an ex-Hull University criminology student – got to tread the hallowed turf in front of a capacity crowd?
Our story begins with a group of UK YouTubers who first built individual audiences online, mostly gaming, playing FIFA and Grand Theft Auto. In 2013, some of them formed an entertainment collective – The Ultimate Sidemen, later shortening the name.
According to influencer net worth database Worthypedia, The Sidemen now have estimated annual earnings of $30 million, while their most famous member – KSI – having an estimated personal fortune of $100 million (Source: Celebrity Net Worth).
Consumer marketers have taken note.
Gen Z-focused brands like Footasylum have helped drive the group’s success by leveraging their ingenious ability to turn products into cultural moments. Just one example being The Sidemen vs YouTube All Stars 2025 charity football match, in which Minter played. The fashion and footwear retailer was its major sponsor.
According to marketing magazine The Drum, the event “garnered 18 million views on YouTube, raised over £4.7m for charity…selling out the stadium.” A rumoured 250,000 fans were unable to get tickets.
The seven Sidemen – KSI, Miniminter, Zerkaa, TBJZL, Behzinga, Vikkstar123, and W2S – are now a marketing phenomenon. They have 23 million YouTube subscribers. A new video can see 2.1 million views in just a few hours. “With numbers like these,” says Think with Google, “they’re eclipsing traditional TV shows like Love Island and Britain’s Got Talent.”
Now, the seven have launched their own ventures, including a fashion brand and a fast-food chain. And, as social media consumption continues to develop at a dizzying pace, The Sidemen always seem to be ahead of the curve.
As Erica Probst, head of YouTube’s ads business in the UK, told The Drum, “The landscape is rapidly evolving. YouTube creators aren’t just thinking about short or long videos; they’re also making content for TV screens. Take the Sidemen, a staggering 45% of their YouTube watch time now comes from connected TVs. This shift encourages a more unified approach. Advertisers can now maximise their social strategies and their impact across all screens and formats with Google AI.”
Jordan Schwarzenberger, co-founder of Arcade, The Sidemen’s ventures company, told Think with Google, “Our strategy is a carefully crafted blend of formats…Long-form videos, like Sidemen Sunday, MoreSidemen, and SidemenReacts, remain the cornerstone of our deep connection with our audience. We use YouTube Shorts to drive viral moments, extracting highlights from our long-form content to generate mass awareness.”
Question: What’s next for The Sidemen? A: World domination or B: World domination plus partnering with Elon Musk to become the first influencers on Mars. At this point, both options seem feasible.