Tobit John "Tobi" Brown (born 8 April 1993), known professionally as TBJZL ( , "Tobjizzle"), is an English YouTuber, streamer, and influencer. He is a member and co-founder of the British YouTube group the Sidemen. He is the co-owner of XIX Vodka, Sidemen Clothing, restaurant chain Sides, and cereal brand Best Breakfasts.
In 2019, Brown was listed as the 38th most influential online creator in the United Kingdom by The Sunday Times. , his main YouTube channel had over 5.01 million subscribers and 567 million video views. Brown has also released music mononymously, and in 2020, he released his debut single "Destined for Greatness", which peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart and number 33 on the Irish Singles Chart.
Early life Tobit John Brown was born on 8 April 1993 in Hackney, an area of London, to a working-class family of Nigerian heritage. He attended St. Dominic's Catholic Primary School from 1997 until 2004, and then attended Bexley Grammar School, where he met future fellow Sidemen member Josh Bradley. Brown later completed an honours degree in computing at Coventry University.
YouTube career Brown joined YouTube in 2011 while at university after he saw Josh gaining traction on the platform and then decided to become a full-time YouTuber after university. He uploads video game commentaries, most notably of the FIFA and NBA 2K video game series, as well as football challenges, vlogs, and comedy-style videos.
On 19 October 2013, Brown 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), Josh Bradley (Zerkaa), Harry Lewis (W2S), Simon Minter (Miniminter), Ethan Payne (Behzinga), Tobi Brown (TBJZL) and formerly JJ Olatunji (KSI). The group produces online videos, consisting of challenges, sketches, and video-game commentary, as well as selling exclusive Sidemen merchandise.
In September 2019, Brown was listed as the 38th most influential online creator in the United Kingdom by The Sunday Times. Music career
In December 2019, Brown released "The Gift" with the rest of the Sidemen, reaching number 77 on the UK Singles Chart.
Brown released his debut single, "Destined for Greatness", with his brother Manny featuring his sister Janellé on 7 February 2020. The song charted at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart, making it Brown's first UK top 40 single. Elsewhere, "Destined for Greatness" debuted at number 18 in New Zealand and on the Scottish Singles Chart, and peaked at number 33 on the Irish Singles Chart. He later featured in a remix of his fellow Sidemen member KSI's song "Wake Up Call" by producer Yoshi with American rapper Trippie Redd and British rapper P Money, which was released on 6 March 2020.
Brown was featured on "This Year" by P Money and producer Silencer, which was released on 19 March 2021. Brown released his second single, "Rhythm & Vibes", also with his brother Manny, on 20 August 2021.
In March 2022, he featured in rapper DTG's song "Just Do It" as well as released "Keeper", alongside his brother Manny, on August 19. On 5 December 2022, Brown, KSI, and Vikkstar123 released a Christmas-themed single titled "Christmas Drillings" under the Sidemen banner featuring British rapper Jme, which charted at number 3 in the UK.
On September 7, 2023 Brown uploaded a video to his YouTube channel titled "Making a Song in 24 Hours!!! (ft. Not3s)" in which Brown and British singer-songwriter Not3s created a song in 24 hours. The song, "I Wanna", was released on streaming platforms a day later on September 8, 2023. On May 5, 2024 Brown uploaded another video making a song in 24 hours, this time with Australian rapper and singer Day1. The original song they created in the video featured a sample used by Kyle Richh meaning the song could not be cleared. Brown and Day1 made another song in the video with Australian singer Blessed. The song, "Where We Go" with Day1 and Blessed, was released on streaming platforms three days prior to the video on May 2, 2024.
During his Twitch Subathon in April 2026, Brown created a song with Not3s and Big Shaq (character created by British comedian Michael Dapaah) on stream. The stream segment of the trio making the song was uploaded to Brown's clips channel on April 4, 2026. The song "Villain", would not officially release on streaming platforms until June 9 2026.
Other ventures
Sidemen businesses
Brown and the Sidemen have founded multiple businesses throughout their online careers. In 2014 the group launched a clothing brand under the Sidemen Clothing banner. In November 2021, they founded a restaurant chain known as Sides in collaboration with Reef. In October 2022, they launched their own vodka brand known as XIX Vodka. in March 2024, they launched a breakfast cereal brand known as Best Cereal in collaboration with Mornflake.
ILLVZN In June 2018, Brown founded a streetwear brand called ILLVZN, with the official launch in February 2019.
Baller League UK In November 2024, it was announced that Brown would manage one of the 12 teams in the upcoming Baller League UK, a six-a-side football competition set to be broadcast on Sky Sports. In March 2025, it was revealed that Brown would manage a team named VZN FC. The team played its first match on 24 March 2025, losing 6–3 against Deportrio.
Family Ties podcast In May 2025, Brown announced Family Ties, a podcast produced by The Fellas Studios. He hosts the podcast with his two brothers, Manny and Jedidiah.
Personal life Brown is a supporter of Manchester United F.C. and plays Sunday league football for Under The Radar FC, a team formed by his brother and fellow YouTuber Manny Brown. In 2019, he discussed the issue of racism in football in an interview with Sky Sports News.
He is Christian.
Charity On 14 February 2025, Brown participated in "Match for Hope 2025", a football charity event hosted in Doha, Qatar, as a player for team Chunkz & IShowSpeed, facing off against team AboFlah & KSI. 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.
Filmography + Film Year Title Role Notes 2022 Talk to Me Himself Uncredited; archival footage 2023 KSI: In Real Life Documentary The Naughty List Fros T Short Film 2024The Sidemen StoryHimselfDocumentary
+ Web roles Year Title Role Network Notes 2014 The Sidemen Experience Himself Comedy Central UK Main role; 5 episodes 2017 YouTube Rewind YouTube Episode: "The Shape of 2017" 2018 The Sidemen Show YouTube Premium Main role; 7 episodes 2020 Live Show From Lausanne 2020 Olympic Channel Guest; 1 episode How To Be Behzinga YouTube Guest; 3 episodes 2024 The Chase: Sidemen EditionSpecial Spin-Off Episode
+ Year Title Role Network Notes 2019Tackling Racism HimselfSky Sports NewsEpisode: Grassroots 2024–present Inside Host YouTube, Side+, Netflix Reality show created by the Sidemen 2025–presentInside USANetflixAmerican reality show created by the Sidemen2025–presentBaller League UKHimselfSky Sports MixSix-a-side football league 2026 SideMenu Contestant YouTube, Amazon Prime Video Cooking show created by the Sidemen 2026-present Outside Host Netflix Spin off series of Inside, created by the Sidemen
+ Music videos Year Title Artist(s)Role 2015 "Lamborghini" KSI feat. P Money Himself "Man Don't Care" Jme feat. Giggs "Test Me" Jme 2019 "Real Name" KSI, Randolph, Talia Mar Pastor / EMT2022 "Don't Lie" A1 x J1 feat. Nemzzz Himself2025"365" Talia Mar "Crush" AJ Tracey feat. Jorja Smith "Chemical" Vikkstar, Adalaide Adams
As director Music videos Year Title Release date Artist(s)2025Chemical5 May 2025Vikkstar, Adalaide Adams
Discography Singles As lead artist + List of lead singles with selected chart positions and year released Title Year Peak chart positions Album UKPeak positions for Tobi's singles in the UK:
UKR&BPeak positions for Tobi's singles on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart:
UKInd.Peak positions for Tobi's singles on the UK Independent Singles Chart:
IREPeak positions for Tobi's singles in Ireland:
NZ HotPeak positions for Tobi's singles in New Zealand: SCOPeak positions for Tobi's singles in Scotland: "Destined for Greatness" 2020 31 12 3 33 18 18 rowspan="7" "Rhythm & Vibes" 2021 47 16 6 59 — — "Just Do It" 2022 — — — — — — "Keeper" — — — — — — "I Wanna" 2023 — — — — — — "Where We Go" 2024 — — — — — — "Villain" 2026 — — — — — — Awards and nominationsg that did not chart othat territory.
As a featured artist + List of featured singles with selected chart positions and year released Title Year Peak chart positions Album UK UKR&B UKInd. NZ Hot SCO "Wake Up Call (Yoshi Remix)" 2020 — — — — — "This Year" 2021 — — — — — Untraditional "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Guest appearances + List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists Title Year Other artist(s) Album "The Gift" 2019 Sidemen, S-X
Other charted songs +List of other charted songs, with selected chart positions and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Album UK UKR&B UKInd. NZHot SCO IRE "The Gift" 2019 77 40 11 27 26 — rowspan="2" "Christmas Drillings" 2022 3 — 4 7 — 25 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Music videos + List of music videos as lead and featured artist, showing directors Title Year Director(s) As lead artist "Destined For Greatness" 2020 Konstantin "Rhythm & Vibes" 2021 "Just Do It" 2022 Paul Akins "Keeper" Lux London As featured artist "The Gift" 2019 Konstantin "This Year" 2021 Chas Appeti "Christmas Drillings" 2022 Konstantin
Bibliography +YearTitlePublisherISBN identifierRef.2016Sidemen: The BookCoronet Books
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryRecipient(s)Result 2017 British Book Awards Non-Fiction: Lifestyle Book of the Year "Sidemen: The Book" (shared with the Sidemen) 2019 Shorty Awards Best YouTube Ensemble Himself (shared with the Sidemen)
World Records + Publication Year World record Record holder Guinness World Records 2022 Most viewers for a charity sports match live stream on YouTube As member of the Sidemen
Listicles PublisherYearListicleResultThe Sunday Times2019UK’s Top 100 Influencer38th
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