KSI revealed he was earning more than his own teachers at school, despite failing his A-levels, after finding success on YouTube.
The social media star, 31, came to fame making videos on the platform from 2009, beginning with gaming content before moving towards more vlog and comedy style videos.
KSI – whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji but goes by JJ – now has 41.6 million subscribers combined over his three channels.
He reportedly has amassed a staggering £20 million fortune and last week was listed in the Sunday Times’ inaugural top 30 Gaming Rich List, alongside creators behind games like Candy Crush and Grand Theft Auto.
Appearing on Thursday’s This Morning on GCSE results day, KSI gave hope to any teenagers who were disappointed by their grades.
KSI revealed he was earning more than his own teachers at school, despite failing his A-levels, after finding success on YouTube
The social media star, 31, came to fame making videos on the platform from 2009, beginning with gaming content before moving towards more vlog and comedy style videos
KSI – whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji but goes by JJ – now has 41.6 million subscribers combined over his three channels and reportedly has amassed a staggering £20 million fortune (pictured November)
He explained how he had failed his A-levels, but after learning he was already earning more money that his teachers, decided to leave school and pursue a career in entertainment.
The influencer has expanded beyond YouTube and made ventures into boxing, music, television and his own energy drink.
Speaking to hosts Rochelle Humes and Joel Dommett, KSI recalled starting out making videos, saying: ‘I remember in 2009, this was around the time I was doing my A-levels and I failed, I flopped it.
‘I was getting to a point like what do I want do with my career and I was just enjoying YouTube. I never expected to be in the position I’m in today, but I just worked hard and enjoyed it and became obsessed with it.
‘I learned everything about it from the editing, to how to be comfortable in front of the camera, how to just be myself. And then after time more opportunities came from that, like the boxing, the music, all these things just happened.’
Reflecting on his time in education, he said: ‘I’m living proof that not everyone is academic. In school I wasn’t very good at maths or English, but for me entertainment was my field.
‘It took a while to get to that point, but you have to try stuff. I feel like a lot of people are scared to try new things.
‘This is the time, especially when you’re young to try stuff. Figure out what you like, figure out what you don’t like and use that to guide your career. It feels the end of the world but you’ve got so much time.’
Appearing on Thursday’s This Morning on GCSE results day, KSI gave hope to any teenagers who were disappointed by their grades
He explained how he had failed his A-levels, but after learning he was already earning more money that his teachers, decided to leave school and pursue a career in entertainment (pictured in 2016)
He revealed his teachers had even encouraged him to leave school after discovering how well he was doing online.
KSI recalled: ‘I do remember, I was making around £1,500 a month from YouTube and I told my teacher and he was like, “Wow, that’s more than me! Why are you here?”
‘And then I was like, “You know what, why am I here?” And then I left and I was like YouTube 100 percent, let’s go!’