Vikkstar: What It Really Took to Build The Sidemen (we didn’t plan for anyone to leave)

About this conversation

Vikkstar opens up about the extraordinary rise of the Sidemen, the relentless work that built his YouTube career, and what happens when the group you built your life around begins to change. He reflects on KSI’s departure, the future of the Sidemen, and why they never really had an exit plan.

Vik looks back on going from a quiet teenager who never felt like he fitted in to turning down a place at UCL and spending up to 16 hours a day making videos. He reveals how YouTube became his entire identity, why he sometimes went days without speaking to anyone in real life, and how seven gamers accidentally created one of the biggest creator groups in the world.

He also speaks candidly about living with Crohn’s disease, the reality of having an incurable condition, and the impact years of relentless work had on his health and perspective. Vik reflects on criticism, success, money and the point at which he realised he needed a life beyond views, uploads and Vikkstar123.

From scoring at Wembley after being the kid nobody picked for football to building businesses alongside the Sidemen, this is a conversation about obsession, friendship, reinvention and the hidden cost of turning your childhood hobby into your whole life.

Episode summary and show notes supplied by the official We Need To Talk feed.