Vikkstar123

Vikram Singh Barn (born 2 August 1995), better known as Vikkstar123, is an English YouTuber and Internet personality. He is a member and co-founder of the Sidemen, a British YouTube group.

Vikkstar123
Barn in 2022
Personal information
Born
Vikram Singh Barn

(1995-08-02) 2 August 1995
Guildford, Surrey, England
EducationSilverdale School
Occupations
Spouse
Ellie Harlow
​
(m. 2023)​
[1]
YouTube information
Also known asVikkstar
Channel
Years active2010–present
Genres
Subscribers12.1 million (combined)[2][3]
Total views3.8 billion (combined)[2][3]
Associated actsSidemen
100,000 subscribers2012
1,000,000 subscribers2013
Last updated: 5 April 2023

Early life and education

Barn is of Indian descent[4] and was born on 2 August 1995[5] in Guildford, Surrey, England,[6] where he lived until eight years of age.[7] He later lived in Sheffield where he attended Silverdale School.[8] He is the youngest of three children.[9] Barn was offered a place to study natural sciences at University College London, but he ended up declining the offer in order to pursue his YouTube career full-time.[10]

Career

Barn joined YouTube in 2010; having played games with his friends he got into watching YouTubers and making videos of their own. Eventually he decided to launch his own channel, stating:[11]

I got involved thinking I might be able to do a little bit better than they were doing, and get involved and have some fun with it. I started recording myself playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. I started making tutorial videos that people could watch – some of them were for knives and how you could throw them across the map. I made videos showing places where you could throw a knife or tomahawk and get a kill. I thought it would be cool to show off these ridiculous kills.

As his popularity increased, he began to take it more seriously, branching out into Minecraft.[11]

In 2013, he joined the Sidemen, which caused his popularity to rise further.[12] He would later move in with three other members, sharing a house with them from 2014 to 2018, when he announced he was moving out of the Sidemen House.[13][14] He is also part of the Dream SMP server.[15]

In January 2021, he announced on his channel that he was quitting playing Call of Duty: Warzone due to a proliferation of cheating,[16] saying hackers would be "the death of the game" if it went unfixed.[17] Along with criticism from several other high-profile streamers, the resulting uproar caused Activision to update the game's anti-cheat software.[18]

Other ventures

Barn is an investor in esports teams and has spoken about how he has invested in London Royal Ravens, a Call of Duty team, speaking of his desire to 'build a blueprint' for the wider popularisation of the sport.[19]

On 28 September 2023, Barn released a single with Alan Walker and Dash Berlin titled "Better Off (Alone, Pt. III)" on digital platforms.[20]

Personal life

In December 2021, Barn announced his engagement to his longtime girlfriend.[21] They got married in 2023.[22]

Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2023 KSI: In Real Life Himself Documentary; Cameo
Web roles
Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2014 The Sidemen Experience Himself Comedy Central UK Main role; 5 episodes [23]
2018 The Sidemen Show YouTube Premium Main role; 7 episodes [24]
2020 How To Be Behzinga YouTube 1 episode [25]
Television roles
Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2021 The Wheel Himself / Celebrity expert (Gaming) BBC One Series 1, episode 6 [26]

Discography

Singles
Title Year Album
"Better Off (Alone, Pt. III)"[27]
(with Alan Walker and Dash Berlin)		 2023 Non-album single

Music videos
List of music videos
Title Year Director(s) Ref.
"Better Off (Alone, Pt. III)"
(with Alan Walker and Dash Berlin)		 2023 Mads Neset [28]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Result Ref.
2016 NME Awards Vlogger of the Year Nominated [29]
2017 Teen Choice Awards Choice Gamer Nominated [30]

References
  1. "Mr & Mrs 🤍". Twitter.com. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  2. See:
  3. "About Vikkstar123". YouTube.
  4. @Vikkstar123 (10 May 2013). "... Ethnicity and Nationality are two completely separate things, I've lived in England for all my life. My ethnic background is Indian" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. Barn, Vikram [@Vikkstar123] (2 August 2020). "25 years on this big rock. Super happy & grateful. Thanks for all the Birthday wishes!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2021 – via Twitter.
  6. Which of the Sidemen knows Vik the best? (video). MoreSidemen. 23 July 2019. Event occurs at 14:44. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021 – via YouTube.
  7. Barn, Vikram [@Vikkstar123] (21 April 2015). "It's always nostalgic coming back to Guildford. I lived here until I was 8" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 April 2021 – via Twitter.
  8. Roberts, Alana (20 December 2019). "YouTube star encourages students to work hard during visit to his old school in Sheffield". The Star. Sheffield Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  9. Sidemen, The (2016). Sidemen: The Book. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-4736-4819-7. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  10. Newsroom, The (5 November 2016). "Sheffield YouTube star explains why he could retire - aged just 21". The Star. Sheffield Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  11. Reiner, Andrew (30 April 2015). "An Interview With YouTube Sensation Vikkstar123". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  12. 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 20 February 2021.
  13. "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.
  14. "I'm leaving the Sidemen House". YouTube. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  15. Çakır, Gökhan (1 January 2021). "Who is a part of the Dream SMP Minecraft Server?". Dot Esports. GAMURS Group. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  16. Criddle, Cristina (1 February 2021). "Gamer Vikkstar quits Call of Duty: Warzone over cheating". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  17. Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (2 February 2021). "'Call of Duty: Warzone' Bans More than 60,000 Cheaters". Vice. Vice Media. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  18. Criddle, Cristina (3 February 2021). "Call of Duty: Warzone 'enhances' its anti-cheat software". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  19. Powell, Steffan; Pandey, Manish (7 January 2021). "Vikkstar on his plans for growing Call of Duty esports". BBC News. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  20. Smith, Carl (28 September 2023). "New Releases". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  21. Vikram, Barn [@Vikkstar123] (22 December 2021). "We're engaged! These years together have been magical, here's to many more" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021 – via Twitter.
  22. Vikram, Barn [@Vikkstar123] (26 September 2023). "Mr & Mrs 🤍" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023 – via Twitter.
  23. "Who Are The Sidemen? | The Sidemen Experience". CCUK. October 2014. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  24. White, Peter (2 June 2018). "'The Sidemen Show': YouTube Debuts First Trailer & Dates Premium Reality Challenge Format". Deadline. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  25. "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)
  26. "Michael McIntyre's The Wheel – Series 1: Episode 6". BBC iPlayer. 2 January 2021. Archived from the original on 3 January 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  27. "Better Off (Alone, Pt. III) – Single by Alan Walker, Bash Berlin & Vikkstar". Apple Music. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  28. "Alan Walker, Dash Berlin & Vikkstar - Better Off (Alone, Pt. III) - Official Music Video". Retrieved 28 September 2023 – via YouTube.
  29. Britton, Luke Morgan (17 February 2016). "NME Awards 2016 with Austin, Texas full winners list". NME. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  30. Rubin, Rebecca; Knapp, JD (13 August 2017). "Teen Choice Awards 2017: 'Riverdale,' Fifth Harmony Shut Out Competition". Variety. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.