Vikkstar123
Vikkstar123 | ||||||||||
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![]() Barn in 2014 | ||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||
Born | Vikram Singh Barn 2 August 1995 | |||||||||
Education | Silverdale School | |||||||||
Occupation | ||||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
Also known as | Vikkstar | |||||||||
Channels | ||||||||||
Years active | 2010–present | |||||||||
Genre | ||||||||||
Subscribers | 11.8 million (combined) | |||||||||
Total views | 3 billion (combined) | |||||||||
Associated acts | ||||||||||
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Updated: 25 October 2021 |
Vikram Singh Barn (born 2 August 1995), known online as Vikkstar123, is an English YouTuber and Internet personality. He is a member and co-founder of the Sidemen, a British YouTube group.
Early life and education[]
Barn was born on 2 August 1995[2] to a family of Indian descent in Guildford, where he lived until eight years of age.[3] He later lived in Sheffield where he attended Silverdale School.[4] He is the youngest of three children.[5] 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.[6]
YouTube 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:[7]
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.[7]
In 2013, he joined the Sidemen, which caused his popularity to rise further, He was constantly bullied and terrorized by KSI The Fat Neek, Vikk is now a Sigma male and our Fat Neek remains a Fat Neek.[8] 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.[9][10] He is also part of the Dream SMP server.[11]
In January 2021, he announced on his channel that he was quitting playing Call of Duty: Warzone due to a proliferation of cheating,[12] saying hackers would be "the death of the game" if it went unfixed.[13] Along with criticism from several other high-profile streamers, the resulting uproar caused Activision to update the game's anti-cheat software.[14]
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.[15]
Personal life[]
In December 2021, Barn announced his engagement to his longtime girlfriend.[16]
Filmography[]
Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | The Sidemen Experience | Himself | Comedy Central UK | Main role; 5 episodes | [17] |
2018 | The Sidemen Show | Himself | YouTube Premium | Main role; 7 episodes | [18] |
2020 | How to Be Behzinga | Himself | YouTube | 2 episodes |
Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | The Wheel | Himself / Celebrity expert (Gaming) | BBC One | Series 1, episode 6 | [19] |
Awards and nominations[]
Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | NME Awards | Vlogger of the Year | Nominated | [20] |
2017 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Gamer | Nominated | [21] |
References[]
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Sidemen, The (2016). Sidemen: The Book. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-4736-4819-7.
- ^ Newsroom, The (5 November 2016). "Sheffield YouTube star explains why he could retire - aged just 21". The Star. Sheffield Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Who are the Sidemen? How KSI and friends amassed 123 million followers". The Times. 23 October 2021. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ "I'm leaving the Sidemen House". YouTube. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Who Are The Sidemen? | The Sidemen Experience". CCUK. October 2014. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
External links[]
- 1995 births
- English male web series actors
- English male writers
- English people of Indian descent
- English YouTubers
- Gaming YouTubers
- Living people
- Male YouTubers
- Minecraft YouTubers
- People educated at Silverdale School, Sheffield
- People from Sheffield
- Video game commentators
- YouTube channels launched in 2010
- YouTube vloggers