Behzinga

English YouTuber (born 1995) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Behzinga

Ethan Leigh Payne (born 20 June 1995), better known as Behzinga, is an English YouTuber, streamer, and influencer. He produces videos on gaming, football, comedy, and fitness and is a co-founder and member of the British YouTube group Sidemen. In 2019, Payne was listed as the 31st most influential online creator in the United Kingdom by The Sunday Times.[6] As of September 2021, his main YouTube channel had over 4 million subscribers and 500 million video views.[3] He is the co-owner of XIX Vodka, Sidemen Clothing, restaurant chain Sides, and cereal brand Best Breakfasts.

Quick Facts Personal information, Born ...
Behzinga
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Payne in 2023
Personal information
Born
Ethan Leigh Payne

(1995-06-20) 20 June 1995 (age 29)[1][2]
London, England
EducationSouth Essex College
Occupations
Spouse
Faith Kelly
(m. 2024)
Children1
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2012–present
Genres
Subscribers7 million (combined)[3][4]
Views890 million (combined)[3][4]
Associated actsSidemen
Silver Play Button100,000 subscribers2014
Gold Play Button1,000,000 subscribers2015
Twitch information
Channel
Genre
Games
Followers433 thousands[5]

Last updated: 24 April 2024
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Early life and education

Ethan Leigh Payne[7] was born on 20 June 1995 in London and was raised almost entirely by his mother Ruth, who had cancer during his childhood. His biological father left before he was born and his stepfather, whom he had met when he was six months old and believed was his actual father, left when he was thirteen, due to drug addiction and debt.[1][8] Payne attended Marshalls Park School,[9] and then studied video games development at South Essex College.[6]

Career

Summarize
Perspective

Payne registered the "Behzinga" YouTube channel on 24 February 2012 while he was still in school.[3][10] He explained that the name comes from one of his favourite television series, The Big Bang Theory, in which Sheldon Cooper often uses the catchphrase "Bazinga!"; Payne altered the spelling.[1] His early content primarily featured video game commentaries on the Call of Duty and FIFA video game series.[10] Over time, his style of content diversified to include football, comedy, and fitness videos.[6][11][12]

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Payne in 2014

On 19 October 2013, Payne and four other British YouTubers formed the entertainment collective Ultimate Sidemen, later shortened to simply Sidemen. Since 2014, the group has consisted of seven British YouTubers: Vikram Barn (Vikkstar123), Joshua Bradley (Zerkaa), Tobi Brown (TBJZL), Harry Lewis (W2S), Simon Minter (Miniminter), JJ Olatunji (KSI), and Payne.[13] The group produces online videos, most often consisting of challenges, sketches, and video-game commentary, as well as selling exclusive Sidemen merchandise.[14][15]

In September 2019, Payne was listed as the 31st most influential online creator in the United Kingdom by The Sunday Times.[6] That November, he provided commentary for KSI vs. Logan Paul II for Sky Sports Box Office.[16]

Other ventures

Business ventures

Payne and the Sidemen have founded multiple businesses throughout their online careers. In 2014 the group launched a clothing brand under the Sidemen Clothing banner.[17] In November 2021, they founded a restaurant chain known as Sides in collaboration with Reef.[18] In October 2022, they launched their own vodka brand known as XIX Vodka.[19] in March 2024, they launched a breakfast cereal brand known as Best Cereal in collaboration with Mornflake.[20]

Gymshark

Payne is sponsored by Gymshark, a British fitness apparel company, as part of the company's brand ambassadors and also the "Gymshark athletes".[21][22]

Growing Paynes podcast

Payne and his girlfriend, Faith Louisa Kelly, created and hosted a podcast together called Growing Paynes in July 2023.[23][24] They posted their first episode on 13 July 2023.[25] The podcast is available on YouTube and Spotify.[26] The podcast went viral in September 2023, after a clip of the podcast gained attention in which Payne and Kelly were debating about women taking their partner's surnames after marriage.[23][27]

Personal life

Summarize
Perspective

Payne and his girlfriend, Faith Louisa Kelly, have a daughter together, born in September 2022.[28] On 3 April 2024, the couple announced via Instagram that they are engaged.[29] They later got married in December 2024.[30] They currently live together in Essex.[21][31]

Payne is a supporter of West Ham United F.C. and has appeared on the club's YouTube videos and podcast.[10][32]

Health

Payne has become an advocate for mental health and has talked about the importance of sharing feelings and breaking down the stigma surrounding mental illness in men.[33][34]

In October 2020, he starred in the three-episode YouTube Originals documentary series How to Be Behzinga about his struggle with depression and his path towards running the London Marathon to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.[35][36] He revealed that he had previously been suffering from alcoholism and wanted to take his own life, but with support from his fellow Sidemen members, he was able to overcome his challenges. Also, during a stretch of time between 2018 and 2019, he had lost 36 kilograms (79 lb).[36][37][38]

Payne is asthmatic. On 24 April 2024, he tweeted that he had suffered from a life-threatening asthma attack during a Sidemen YouTube video recording and was hospitalised on 22 April 2024.[39][40][41]

Philanthropy

Payne became an ambassador for the Teenage Cancer Trust in September 2022.[42][21] A year later, he became the charity's first content icon.[42]

In December 2021, Payne participated in a five-a-side football tournament hosted by YouTuber and sports commentator, True Geordie and Twitch, raising money for the Alan Shearer Foundation.[43] The event managed to raise more than £100,000.[44]

On 14 February 2025, Payne participated in "Match for Hope 2025", a football charity event hosted in Doha, Qatar, as a player for team AboFlah & KSI, facing off against team Chunkz & IShowSpeed. The match ended with team AboFlah & KSI's 6-5 victory over team Chunkz & IShowSpeed. The event managed to raise more than $10.7 million for charity.[45][46]

Filmography

More information Year, Title ...
Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2018 KSI: Can't Lose Himself Documentary [47]
2022 Talk to Me Uncredited; archival footage [48]
2023 KSI: In Real Life Documentary [49]
The Spy Who Loved Eggnog Victor / Bartender / Petunia's Father / Himself Short Film [50]
2024 The Sidemen Story Himself Documentary [51]
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More information Year, Title ...
Web roles
Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2014 The Sidemen Experience Himself Comedy Central UK Main role; 5 episodes [52]
2017 YouTube Rewind YouTube Episode: "The Shape of 2017" [53]
2018 The Sidemen Show YouTube Premium Main role; 7 episodes [54]
2020 MOTDx BBC Three Episode: "05/11/2020" [55]
How to Be Behzinga YouTube Lead role; 3 episodes [56]
Hello 2021: UK Guest [57]
2021 What Should I Watch? Guest presenter [58]
2024 The Chase: Sidemen Edition Special Spin-Off Episode [59]
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More information Year, Title ...
Television roles
Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2020 Fighting Fit Himself Sky Sports Episode: "Behzinga" [60][61]
2024–present Inside Host YouTube, Side+[A], Netflix Reality show created by the Sidemen [62]
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More information Year, Title ...
Music videos
Year Title Artist(s) Role Ref.
2015 "Lamborghini" KSI feat. P Money Himself [63]
"Test Me" Jme [64]
"Keep Up" KSI feat. Jme [65]
2022 "Don't Lie" A1 x J1 feat. Nemzzz [66]
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Discography

Charted songs

More information Title, Year ...
List of other charted songs, with selected chart positions and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
Ind.

[67]
NZ
Hot

[68]
"This or That"
(as part of Sidemen)
2023 2314 Non-album single
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Guest appearances

More information Title, Year ...
List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"This or That"[69] 2022 Sidemen Non-album single
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Awards and nominations

More information Year, Award ...
Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2017 British Book Awards Non-Fiction: Lifestyle Book of the Year "Sidemen: The Book" (shared with the Sidemen) Nominated [70]
2019 Shorty Awards Best YouTube Ensemble Himself (shared with the Sidemen) Nominated [71]
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Notes

  1. Series 1 was shown on the Sidemen and Moresidemen YouTube channels with extras and unseen moments being shown on Side+. Series 2 onwards will be exclusively on Netflix with companion shows being shown on Side+

References

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