Joshua Bradley (born 4 September 1992), better known as Zerkaa and his stage name Josh Zerker, is an English YouTuber, streamer, and Internet personality. He is a member of the British YouTube group known as the Sidemen. In 2022, he was the most watched Twitch streamer in the United Kingdom, with 17.68 million hours watched.[7] As of October 2023, his main YouTube channel has over 4.6 million subscribers and over 800 million video views.[4]

Zerkaa
Bradley in 2018
Born
Joshua Bradley[1]

(1992-09-04) 4 September 1992 (age 32)[2]
London, England[3]
Other namesJosh Zerker[1]
EducationRavensbourne University
Occupations
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2009–present
Genres
Subscribers8.4 million (combined)[4][5]
Total views2.2 billion (combined)[4][5]
Associated actsSidemen
100,000 subscribers2010
1,000,000 subscribers2015
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2010–present
Genre
Games
Followers1.4 million[6]

Last updated: 19 October 2023

Early life and education

Joshua Bradley was born on 4 September 1992 in Bermondsey, London. Bradley attended Bexley Grammar School, where he met future fellow Sidemen member Tobi Brown. He later achieved an upper second honours degree in digital film production at Ravensbourne University.[3]

Career

In 2009, Bradley created his first YouTube channel, Zerkaa, to which he primarily uploaded video game content from Call of Duty and FIFA.[8] In October 2013, Bradley co-founded and became a member of the British YouTuber group known as the Sidemen.[9] He lived with three other members of the group from 2014 until 2018, after which he moved into an apartment with his girlfriend.[10][11] Bradley also launched his own clothing line, named ZRK.[1]

In 2018, Bradley co-starred alongside the rest of the Sidemen in the YouTube Premium series The Sidemen Show.[12] In 2019, Bradley was listed as the ninth most influential online creator in the United Kingdom by The Sunday Times.[1] In a 2021 article discussing gambling issues surrounding the FIFA game series, Bradley was cited by The Sunday Times as an example of a YouTuber sponsored by EA to make pack-opening videos.[8] He was also cited as a streamer featuring walkthroughs of the 2023 video game Hogwarts Legacy by Guinness World Records.[13]

Personal life

Bradley is a supporter of Millwall F.C. and has had a season ticket since he was six years old.[1][3] He has been in a relationship with Freya Nightingale since 2010.[1][10] They were engaged in January 2024.[14] In The Sidemen Story, he said that he had anxiety.[15]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2018 KSI: Can't Lose Himself Documentary [16]
2024 The Sidemen Story [17]
Web roles
Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2014 The Sidemen Experience Himself Comedy Central Main role; 5 episodes [18]
2017 YouTube Rewind YouTube Episode: "The Shape of 2017" [19]
2018 The Sidemen Show YouTube Premium Main role; 7 episodes [12]
Formula E Voltage YouTube Guest; Episode "2018 Ad Diriyah ePrix" [20]
2020 How To Be Behzinga Guest; 3 episodes [21]
2024 The Chase: Sidemen Edition Special Spin-Off Episode [22]
Inside Host Reality Show created by the Sidemen [23]
Music videos
Year Title Artist(s) Role Ref.
2022 "Don't Lie" A1 x J1 feat. Nemzzz Himself [24]

Discography

Charted songs

List of charted songs, with selected chart positions and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[25]
UK
R&B

[26]
UK
Ind.

[27]
NZ
Hot

[28]
SCO
[29]
IRE[30]
"The Gift"[31]
(as part of Sidemen featuring S-X)
2019 77 40 11 27 26 Non-album singles
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards and nominations

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 [32]
2019 Shorty Awards Best YouTube Ensemble Himself (shared with the Sidemen) Nominated [33]
2023 The Streamer Awards Best Role-Play Streamer Himself Nominated [34]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "The Sunday Times Influencer List 2019: meet the UK's top 100". The Sunday Times. 8 September 2019. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  2. ^ @ZerkaaHD (4 September 2015). "Happy 23rd Birthday to myself. Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes!" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 June 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b c The Sidemen (18 October 2016). Sidemen: The Book. Coronet Books. pp. 11–13. ISBN 978-1473648166. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b c See:
  5. ^ a b "About Zerkaa". YouTube.
  6. ^ "Zerkaa's Twitch Stats". Social Blade. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  7. ^ Mcneil, Daniel (30 December 2022). "Most watched Twitch streamers in 2022 from the United Kingdom revealed - including Sidemen founder Zerkaa". The Star. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b Das, Shanti (21 March 2021). "YouTube stars 'lure Fifa gamers into gambling'". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ Fogarty, Paul (17 September 2019). "YouTube: Get to know all seven Sidemen members – Ethan, Tobi, Harry!". HITC. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Who are the Sidemen? How KSI and friends amassed 123 million followers". The Times. 23 October 2021. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  11. ^ "I'm Moving Out Of The Sidemen House". YouTube. 2 December 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  12. ^ a b White, Peter (2 June 2018). "'The Sidemen Show': YouTube Debuts First Trailer & Dates Premium Reality Challenge Format". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  13. ^ Punt, Dominic (15 February 2023). "Hogwarts Legacy becomes most viewed game ever on Twitch". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  14. ^ Kapoor, Atharv (21 January 2024). "Fans react to Sidemen member Zerkaa getting engaged to long-time girlfriend". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  15. ^ Monaghan, Becca (14 February 2024). "Five things we learned from Netflix's Sidemen documentary | indy100". www.indy100.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  16. ^ Hale, James (10 August 2018). "KSI Releases Documentary 'Can't Lose' Ahead Of Logan Paul Boxing Match Up". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  17. ^ Shah, Furvah. "Sidemen's Netflix documentary: Release date, trailer, cast and more". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Who Are The Sidemen? – The Sidemen Experience". ComedyCentral.co.uk. October 2014. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  19. ^ "YouTube Rewind: The Shape of 2017". Retrieved 4 April 2024 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ "KSI & Zerkaa | Formula E Voltage Global | 2018 Saudi Ad Diriyah ePrix". YouTube. 15 December 2018. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  21. ^ "How To Be Behzinga". YouTube. October 2020. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  22. ^ "ITV's The Chase to face major format shake-up for epic special episode". EXPRESS.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  23. ^ Copson, Josie. "YouTube gameshow with staggering £1,000,000 prize fund rivals traditional TV". Metro. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  24. ^ "A1 x J1 - Don't Lie (Official Video) ft. Nemzzz". Retrieved 17 March 2024 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ "UK Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. 26 December 2019. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  26. ^ "UK R&B Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. 26 December 2019.
  27. ^ "UK Independent Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. 26 December 2019.
  28. ^ "New Zealand Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 23 December 2019. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  29. ^ "Scottish Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. 26 December 2019.
  30. ^ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  31. ^ "The Gift – Single by Sidemen". Apple Music. 15 December 2019. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  32. ^ "Hachette and Penguin Random House lead British Book Awards Books of the Year shortlists". The Bookseller. 15 March 2017. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  33. ^ "11th Annual Influencer Nominees". Shorty Awards. 28 January 2019. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  34. ^ Polhamus, Blaine (20 February 2023). "All 2023 Streamer Awards nominees". Dot Esports. Gamurs. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.