Boxing star KSI has revealed the incredible origin story behind his YouTube name, including how it left certain people “fuming” following his superstar success.
KSI, real name Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, exploded onto the YouTube scene and became a hugely popular -- and controversial -- figure thanks to his much-loved FIFA videos.
The 29-year-old Brit’s meteoric rise saw him venture into the music world and KSI became a huge success among his legion of fans.
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KSI also entered the boxing world and kicked off his fledgling career with a TKO victory over fellow YouTuber Joe Weller in 2018.
‘JJ’ then went on to fight ex-YouTube rival Logan Paul in an amateur fight, which ended in a draw, before the pair fought again in a blockbuster rematch in 2019.
KSI has since fought the likes of rapper Swarmz and Mexican boxer Luis Alcaraz Pineda on the same night, picking up back-to-back wins over the pair.
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Despite his success in boxing and his rap career, ‘JJ’ has retained his ‘KSI’ YouTube alias and become much more known for it than his actual name.
According to KSI, the origin of his name came from a Halo clan back from his Xbox 360 days and his desire to become a member of said clan (watch the interview in the video player above).
The YouTuber-turned-boxer revealed he was known as ‘Olajidebt,’ which he initially had on his YouTube brand before dropping it, ahead of adding the KSI part to the beginning.
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KSI kept his clan name even after the whole Halo phase, but he claimed the clan is now “fuming” because people think they are now “fanboys of him.”
Speaking on the origins of his name, he said: “KSI actually came from a Halo clan, so this Halo clan called ‘KSI.’
“I, as a kid, really wanted to join the clan, so my name was just Olajidebt on the Xbox 360.
“I remember going to this chat and being like, ‘Oh, I want to be part of the KSI clan.’ And they were like, ‘Ah, okay, you’re gonna have to change your name to KSI Olajidebt,’ blah, blah, blah.
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“I said, ‘All right, cool, I’ve changed it, oh my God, am I part of the clan?’ And they were like, ‘Yeah, welcome.’
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“And I’m like, ‘Yo, this is sick!’ And then eventually, obviously, the whole Halo phase went and I was just stuck with this name, so I kind of just kept the whole KSI part and just made it my own.
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“And now it’s crazy because that clan is just fuming [laughs] because now they all look like fanboys of me.”
Adnan Riaz