Vikkstar, a founding member of the Sidemen, addressed KSI’s departure from the YouTube collective publicly for the first time, saying that the remaining six members had no blueprint for continuing without him, per Rolling Out.

Speaking on Paul Brunson’s podcast “We Need To Talk,” Vikkstar, born Vikram Singh Barn, said the group had never planned for this scenario. He acknowledged the Sidemen had once discussed, in the abstract, whether one member leaving could end the group altogether. That theoretical question became real in May. Rather than disband, the remaining members chose to keep going.

Vikkstar named the five continuing alongside him: Simon Minter (Miniminter), Joshua Bradley (Zerkaa), Tobi Brown (TBJZL), Ethan Payne (Behzinga), and Harry Lewis (W2S). He said the six remain committed to making content and that the team supporting the group’s operations is unchanged, with day-to-day work continuing largely as before.

KSI, born Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, announced his exit from the Sidemen in a personal YouTube video, citing his health, family, and work-life balance. “I’ve spent months trying to figure out what the right thing to do is,” he said at the time. “But after a lot of thought, I’ve decided that I will no longer be doing Sidemen videos.” He stressed that no internal conflict drove the decision: “Nothing bad has happened. This decision is completely my own.” May 31 marked his final day with the group.

The Sidemen, formed in 2013, have built one of YouTube’s largest entertainment brands, with more than 23 million subscribers on their main channel and content spanning football challenges, dating series, eating challenges, and comedy. Their most-viewed video, a European holiday challenge, has surpassed 100 million views. The group has also hosted charity football matches raising millions of pounds and launched consumer brands in fried chicken, clothing, alcohol, and cereal. 

In a statement after KSI’s announcement, the Sidemen called his departure “a surprise” but said they “had an amazing time on this journey with him” and have “lots of exciting stuff planned.” KSI, who has more than 18 million subscribers on his personal channel, has also pursued music, boxing, a minority stake in Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club, and a judging role on ITV’s “Britain’s Got Talent.”

Vikkstar offered no criticism of KSI in his comments, describing the situation instead as one the group is navigating without precedent. As he put it, the Sidemen had no on-ramp when they started and no off-ramp when a founding member left.

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