Does criticism like that fuel you?
“Nah, I’m already fuelled. I’ve already got a lot of fuel in the engine, bro. Not long ago, my YouTube channel wasn’t really performing that well. The views weren’t the best. A lot of people said I was washed. Cool. And now I’m destroying everyone. To stop my drive, you’re going to have to kill me.”
For an unfathomably successful man, it’s telling how often KSI talks about his haters. Perhaps this is simply the nature of the internet culture in which he was stewed, a world of ceaseless noise and infinite counter-narratives, where someone is always out to drag you or rattle you. “My secret sauce is just proving people wrong,” he says. “I love when people doubt me and underestimate me. It just gives me that fire.
“Literally, you couldn’t say anything that would affect me. I’ve been in this industry for 15 years, the highest highs and lowest lows. Like when I got cancelled, or when I’ve made mistakes in my life, losing to [boxer] Tommy Fury and feeling like absolute shit, feeling depression. I’ve seen the other side, and I’m still here. I’m so secure in myself that nothing can faze me.”
“I already see Wrexham as a rival. The idea of beating Ryan Reynolds FC. Me versus Ryan Reynolds, face-off. Sick.”
KSI
A matter of days after taking control of Dagenham & Redbridge, KSI realised the club had to sack the manager. “Lee Bradbury was a really nice guy,” he explains. “But he didn’t really fit the vision. His style of play was too defensive. We’re not trying to survive. We’re trying to get promoted, reach new levels.” Bradbury was temporarily replaced by the former England striker Andy Carroll, but the Daggers have since appointed Lee Allinson as permanent manager, relieving the former Liverpool and Newcastle forward from his duties.
At this level, the sixth tier of the footballing pyramid, the margins between success and failure are wafer-thin. A little investment can go a long way. KSI says one of the first priorities is a new shirt sponsorship deal that can capitalise on the early wave of attention and help pay for the new players and infrastructure they hope will propel them up the divisions.
But of course the further you rise, the more rarefied the air becomes. The awesome financial power of the Premier League means that even teams who get relegated benefit from solidarity payments for years afterwards. Wrexham, after three consecutive promotions from the fifth-tier National League, have found the going tougher this season, coming up against some of the giants of English football. Even Tottenham Hotspur could find themselves in the Championship next season. Given all this, how realistic is it to expect a club attracting gates of around 2,000 on a good week to reach the promised land? A promotion or two, possibly. But the Premier League?
“That’s just the British mindset,” argues KSI. “Whereas I’m like: why not? You could argue Dagenham & Redbridge is going to have more attention than a lot of Championship sides. Think of a random Championship team…”
At this point, he pulls his phone out of his pocket to scroll through a league table. “Like, Oxford United!” he says eventually. “I bet more people know about Dagenham & Redbridge than Oxford United. For me, I already see Wrexham as a rival. The idea of beating Ryan Reynolds FC. Me versus Ryan Reynolds, face-off. Sick.”
