I first heard of KSI from my brother when I saw him playing FIFA 14 on his Playstation 4. Don’t ask me about playing video games; not up my alley. I didn’t think much of the whole game till my brother told me about a Nigerian, KSI, making millions playing FIFA video games. I didn’t believe him at first until I googled his name and whoa, I was tripped.
Imagine a 21 year old Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, making millions just waking up everyday to play video games. Far out. He broke the previous world record for ‘the most goals scored against computer’ of 110 goals by scoring a total of 190 goals. As a result, his name appeared in the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition (2013). Recently he was voted the fourth most influential figure among American teenagers in a survey commissioned by Variety.
Better known by his YouTube username, Ksiolajidebt , Olajide is an avid YouTuber, video game commentator, comedian and rapper who lives in the United Kingdom. His videos mostly consist of FIFA gameplay/commentary, whilst playing other games on various platforms with the occasional vlog.
KSI boasts of more than 9 million subscribers across his two YouTube channels (ksi & ksiolajidebthd) and a portfolio of brand endorsements.
KSI started making videos back in 2006 actually but he lost interest after a while. He started making videos again in 2010 and this is went it really took off. According to his website, Youtuber’s such as Weepeler and Hjerpseth inspired him to start his own YouTube career. His main channel is primarily focused on FIFA, although he commentates in other games such as Grand Theft Auto V and other PC based mods on his second channel. Olajide’s family often appear in his videos, especially his younger brother Deji and his father, who have become popular figures in their own right with Olajide’s viewers
Olajide’s business model is simple. He films himself playing video games and uploads these videos on his YouTube pages. He makes up to 40 videos a month. Now when his huge YouTube followers click on adverts displayed on his YouTube pages, he makes money based on his partnership programme with YouTube.
In his recent interview with The Telegraph, “I am living a lifestyle most guys my age would love to lead, playing computer games and earning good money.
“I would say in a year I spend maybe half of that playing FIFA. I love it that much. I think I must have spent 200 hours on the new game already.
The interview goes on to say that there is an innocence about his success, too. The fame and fortune he has attracted (he now lives in a suburban pile in Kent with two highly desirable cars in the driveway) was never part of the plan. He was just having fun.
“I didn’t really want to become huge, I never saw myself as being a big celebrity. I just wanted to do videos because I enjoyed doing it and I saw people were making a bit of money.
His brand affiliation with the FIFA video games has also made it possible for Olajide to play the FIFA game with famous footballers like Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs, Wojciech Szczęsny and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He claims that “the Ox was probably the best I came up against ”
