TBJZL
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Tobit John Brown (born 8 April 1993), known professionally as TBJZL (/ˈtoʊ.biː.ˈjɪ.zəl/ TOH-bee-JIH-zəl), 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. As of January 2025[update], 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, London, into a working-class Nigerian family. He attended St. Dominic's Catholic Primary School from 1997 until 2004, and then attended Bexley Grammar School in Welling, where he met future fellow Sidemen member, Josh Bradley (Zerkaa). 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), JJ Olatunji (KSI), Ethan Payne (Behzinga), and Tobi Brown (TBJZL). 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". 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.
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
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Talk to Me | Himself | Uncredited; archival footage | |
| 2023 | KSI: In Real Life | Documentary | ||
| The Naughty List | Fros T | Short Film | ||
| 2024 | The Sidemen Story | Himself | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Edition | Special Spin-Off Episode |
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Tackling Racism | Himself | Sky Sports News | Episode: Grassroots | |
| 2024–present | Inside | Host | YouTube, Side+, Netflix | Reality show created by the Sidemen | |
| 2025–present | Inside USA | Netflix | American reality show created by the Sidemen | ||
| 2025–present | Baller League UK | Himself | Sky Sports Mix | Six-a-side football league |
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 / EMT | |
| 2022 | "Don't Lie" | A1 x J1 feat. Nemzzz | Himself | |
| 2025 | "365" | Talia Mar | ||
| "Crush" | AJ Tracey feat. Jorja Smith | |||
| "Chemical" | Vikkstar, Adalaide Adams |
As director
Music videos
| Year | Title | Release date | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Chemical | 5 May 2025 | Vikkstar, Adalaide Adams |
Discography
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK R&B | UK Ind. | IRE | NZ Hot | SCO | |||
| "Destined for Greatness" (with Manny featuring Janellé) | 2020 | 31 | 12 | 3 | 33 | 18 | 18 | Non-album singles |
| "Rhythm & Vibes" (with Manny) | 2021 | 47 | 16 | 6 | 59 | — | — | |
| "Just Do It" (with DTG) | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Keeper" (with Manny) | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I Wanna" (with Not3s) | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Where We Go" (with Day1 and BLESSED) | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Awards and nominationsg that did not chart othat territory. |
As a featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK R&B | UK Ind. | NZ Hot | SCO | |||
| "Wake Up Call (Yoshi Remix)" (KSI featuring Trippie Redd, Tobi and P Money) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album remix |
| "This Year" (P Money and Silencer featuring Tobi) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | Untraditional |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Gift" | 2019 | Sidemen, S-X | Non-album single |
Other charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK R&B | UK Ind. | NZ Hot | SCO | IRE | |||
| "The Gift" (as part of Sidemen featuring S-X) | 2019 | 77 | 40 | 11 | 27 | 26 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Christmas Drillings" (as part of Sidemen featuring Jme) | 2022 | 3 | — | 4 | 7 | — | 25 | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Music videos
| Title | Year | Director(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| As lead artist | |||
| "Destined For Greatness" (with Manny featuring Janellé) | 2020 | Konstantin | |
| "Rhythm & Vibes" (with Manny) | 2021 | ||
| "Just Do It" (with DTG) | 2022 | Paul Akins | |
| "Keeper" (with Manny) | Lux London | ||
| As featured artist | |||
| "The Gift" (as part of Sidemen featuring S-X) | 2019 | Konstantin | |
| "This Year" (P Money and Silencer featuring Tobi) | 2021 | Chas Appeti | |
| "Christmas Drillings" (as part of Sidemen featuring Jme) | 2022 | Konstantin |
Bibliography
Awards and nominations
| Year | AwardCategory | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | British Book Awards | Non-Fiction: Lifestyle Book of the Year | "Sidemen: The Book" (shared with the Sidemen) | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Shorty Awards | Best YouTube Ensemble | Himself (shared with the Sidemen) | Nominated |
World Records
| Publication | Year | World record | Record holder | R. Status | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guinness World Records | 2022 | Most viewers for a charity sports match live stream on YouTube | As member of the Sidemen | Record |
Listicles
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sunday Times | 2019 | UK’s Top 100 Influencer | 38th |