Ethan Leigh Payne (born 20 June 1995), better known as Behzinga, is an English YouTuber, streamer, and Internet personality. 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.

Behzinga
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
Children1
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2012–present
Genres
Subscribers7 million (combined)[3][4]
Total views890 million (combined)[3][4]
Associated actsSidemen
100,000 subscribers2014
1,000,000 subscribers2015
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2012–present
Genre
Games
Followers433 thousands[5]

Last updated: 24 April 2024

Early life and education

Payne 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][7] Payne attended Marshalls Park School,[8] and then studied video games development at South Essex College.[6]

Career

Payne registered the "Behzinga" YouTube channel on 24 February 2012 while he was still in school.[3][9] 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.[9] Over time, his style of content diversified to include football, comedy, and fitness videos.[6][10][11]

 
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.[12] The group produces online videos, most often consisting of challenges, sketches, and video-game commentary, as well as selling exclusive Sidemen merchandise.[13][14]

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.[15]

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.[16] In November 2021, they founded a restaurant chain known as Sides in collaboration with Reef.[17] In October 2022, they launched their own vodka brand known as XIX Vodka.[18] in March 2024, they launched a breakfast cereal brand known as Best Cereal in collaboration with Mornflake.[19]

Gymshark

Payne is sponsored by Gymshark, a British fitness apparel company, as part of the company's brand ambassadors and also the "Gymshark athletes".[20][21]

Growing Paynes podcast

Payne and his girlfriend, Faith Louisa Kelly, created and hosted a podcast together called Growing Paynes in July 2023.[22][23] They posted their first episode on 13 July 2023.[24] The podcast is available on YouTube and Spotify.[25] 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.[22][26]

Personal life

Payne and his girlfriend, Faith Louisa Kelly, have a child together, born in September 2022.[27] On 3 April 2024, the couple announced via Instagram that they are engaged.[28] They currently live together in Essex.[20][29]

Payne is a supporter of West Ham United F.C. and has appeared on the club's YouTube videos and podcast.[9][30]

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.[31][32]

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.[33][34] 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).[34][35][36]

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.[37][38][39]

Philanthropy

Payne became an ambassador for the Teenage Cancer Trust in September 2022.[40][20] A year later, he became the charity's first content icon.[40]

Football charity matches

In August 2015, Payne and the Sidemen participated in the 2015 Wembley Cup football charity match, facing Spencer FC, playing as part of the Sidemen United team. The match ended with Spencer FC beating Sidemen United by five goals to two.[41]

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.[42] The event managed to raise more than £100,000.[43]

Between 2016 and 2023, Payne and the rest of the Sidemen hosted and participated in five charity football events, raising more than £3 million for various charities, including the Saint's Foundation, Childline, Young Minds, Charlton Athletic Community Trust, CALM, Teenage Cancer Trust, Rays of Sunshine, and M7 Education.[44][45]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2018 KSI: Can't Lose Himself Documentary [46]
2024 The Sidemen Story [47]
Web roles
Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2014 The Sidemen Experience Himself Comedy Central UK Main role; 5 episodes [48]
2017 YouTube Rewind YouTube Episode: "The Shape of 2017" [49]
2018 The Sidemen Show YouTube Premium Main role; 7 episodes [50]
2020 MOTDx BBC Three Episode: "05/11/2020" [51]
How to Be Behzinga YouTube Lead role; 3 episodes [52]
Hello 2021: UK Guest [53]
2021 What Should I Watch? Guest presenter [54]
2024 The Chase: Sidemen Edition Special Spin-Off Episode [55]
Inside Host Reality Show created by the Sidemen [56]
Television roles
Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2020 Fighting Fit Himself Sky Sports Episode: "Behzinga" [57][58]
Music videos
Year Title Artist(s) Role Ref.
2015 "Lamborghini" KSI feat. P Money Himself [59]
"Test Me" Jme [60]
"Keep Up" KSI feat. Jme [61]
2022 "Don't Lie" A1 x J1 feat. Nemzzz [62]

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 [63]
2019 Shorty Awards Best YouTube Ensemble Himself (shared with the Sidemen) Nominated [64]

References

  1. ^ a b c The Sidemen (18 October 2016). Sidemen: The Book. Coronet Books. pp. 15–19. ISBN 978-1473648166. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  2. ^ @Behzinga (7 April 2015). "People that think my birthday is June 19th... Don't listen to a silly famous birthdays website. My Birthday is June 20th & I will be 20" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 5 April 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b c d See:
  4. ^ a b "About Behzinga". YouTube.
  5. ^ "Behzinga's Twitch Stats". Social Blade. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "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 28 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Behzinga Takes On The London Marathon". How To Be Behzinga. Season 1. Episode 1. 19 October 2020. YouTube. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021.
  8. ^ Sessions, George (25 November 2016). "West Ham star Michail Antonio delights Marshalls Park pupils during visit". Romford Recorder. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
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  11. ^ Hicks, Jesse (27 February 2020). "Watch What Happened When This Guy Trained Like the One-Punch Man for a Week". Men's Health. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
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  27. ^ Payne, Ethan [@Behzinga] (25 September 2022). "What a weekend, Welcome to the world Olive Ottilie Payne 💚 My heart couldn't be more full, I am beyond proud of @Faithlouisak for everything. Women are super heroes. Forever loving my little family 🫒💚 instagram.com/p/Ci8JtabrI55/…" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022 – via Twitter.
  28. ^ @faithlouisak (3 April 2024). "Easiest, Yes, ever. 🥹💍✨" – via Instagram.
  29. ^ Boomin Property (30 January 2022). INSIDE BEHZINGA'S NEW DREAM HOUSE. Retrieved 20 June 2024 – via YouTube.
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  32. ^ Dingley, Tom (22 February 2021). "Poet is joined by The Sidemen's own Behzinga on a brand new episode of 'The One Po Show'". Link Up TV. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  33. ^ "Anne-Marie, GRM Daily and Sidemen's Behzinga to Be Focus of YouTube Originals' Autumn Documentaries" (Press release). YouTube. The Futon Critic. 19 August 2020. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
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  41. ^ Association, The Football. "It's Spencer FC v Sidemen United in EE's Wembley Cup". TheFA. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  42. ^ Brown, Andy (7 December 2021). "Twitch Rivals hosts charity football stream with some famous faces". NME. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  43. ^ thekickofftg (9 December 2021). "WOW! An incredible £100,000 raised today for the @AlanShearerFndn👏Thank you so much to everybody who watched + donated today, it's fantastic to raise such a big amount for such a great cause ..." Twitter. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
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  60. ^ "Jme - Test Me". 3 September 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2024 – via YouTube.
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