Last year, as a mark of millennial success, English YouTuber KSI used his internet stardom to break into amateur boxing. After challenging fellow YouTuber Jake Paul to a bout, KSI ended up fighting Jake Paul's controversial brother Logan Paul, twice, and that second bout brought in close to $3.5 million and 17 million YouTube views. That fight became the largest YouTube streaming event ever. (Boy, we’ve come a long way since the “Evolution of Dance.”)
KSI (born Olajide Williams Olatunji) first climbed to the top of British YouTube after posting FIFA video game commentary to his channel. The 26-year old has since mixed in comedic and blog-styled videos as well as raps. Last year he signed a record deal and his first album featured a track with American rapper Rick Ross. (His Youtube channel includes weekly posts and some 20 million subscribers).
With so much viewer and subscriber success, you might wonder just how much the 26-year-old rakes in through YouTube, i.e., his day job. His first paycheck, he says—which came from Machinima, a now-defunct online entertainment network—was $100, which he spent on an Armani blazer. “There’s a track called ‘Game Over’ by Tinchy Stryder, and he’s wearing this Armani blazer,” KSI remembers. “And I thought: SO. SICK. I was like: I have to get that Armani Blazer.”
See the video from Men's Health.
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