Minter's YouTube career started in 2012, primarily focusing on FIFAgaming videos. Over time, he diversified his content, incorporating vlogs, challenges, and collaborations with other YouTubers.[3] In 2016, he was ranked 17th on Business Insider's list of "The 19 biggest British YouTube stars". As of January 2025, his main YouTube channel has over 10.4 million subscribers and over 4.1 billion views.
Early life and education
Simon Edward Minter was born on 7 September 1992 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, to British parents.[4] He is the youngest of three siblings.[5] He attended Berkhamsted School, a private boys' school, where he first encountered Olajide "KSI" Olatunji. Although the two initially disliked each other, they later became close friends.[6] During the early stages of KSI's YouTube channel, Minter contributed as a cinematographer and assisted in creating content before starting his own channel.[7][8]
Minter briefly studied criminology at the University of Hull but left his studies to pursue a full-time career in YouTube content creation.[4][9]
Internet career
Minter created his first YouTube channel, Miniminter, in February 2008, though he did not upload his first video until December 2012.[9] He stated that the "mini" part of his username "miniminter" was a reference to his height when he was young and is also a reference to him being the youngest of three.[5] Inspired by his friend JJ Olatunji, Minter began creating content while still a university student. Shortly thereafter, he decided to quit university to pursue YouTube full-time.[10] His early content primarily consisted of FIFA gameplay, vlogs, challenges, and football videos featuring his friends.[11][12]
In September 2013, Simon Minter launched his second YouTube channel, MM7Games.[10] A month later, he along with KSI, Josh Bradley (Zerkaa), Tobi Brown (TBJZL) and Ethan Payne (Behzinga) formed the Rockstar Games Social Club group the Ultimate Sidemen via Grand Theft Auto Online, later simplified to Sidemen.[13] By 2014, the group had expanded to seven members, adding Vikram Barn (Vikkstar123) and Harry Lewis (W2S). The Sidemen are known for their collaborative content, including weekly uploads of challenges, gameplay, and vlogs.[14][15] Minter's channel gained rapid popularity in 2014, achieving 100,000 subscribers in March[16] and one million subscribers in November.[17]
In 2016, Minter and the Sidemen organized the Upload influencer event, a gathering that allowed fans to interact with the Sidemen and other web video creators. The second and final Upload event took place in September 2017.[18]
In September 2016, he reached five million subscribers.[19] Later in November 2016, he was ranked 17th on Business Insider's list of "The 19 biggest British YouTube stars".[5] He reached 10 million subscribers in May 2022.[20]
Minter and the Sidemen have founded multiple businesses throughout their online careers. In 2014 the group launched a clothing brand under the Sidemen Clothing banner.[21] In November 2021, they founded a restaurant chain known as Sides in collaboration with Reef.[22] In October 2022, they launched their own vodka brand known as XIX Vodka.[23] in March 2024, they launched a breakfast cereal brand known as Best Cereal in collaboration with Mornflake.[24]
What's Good podcast
In November 2018, Minter and fellow YouTuber Randolph created a podcast called What's Good podcast.[25] The podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.[26][27]
Investment
In July 2023, it was revealed that Minter had invested in notwoways, an East London sneaker brand owned by YouTuber Callum "Callux" McGinley.[28][29]
Baller League
In November 2024, it was announced that he's set to manage one of the 12 teams in the upcoming Baller League, a six-a-side football league.[30][31]
Personal life
In February 2014, Minter moved into the "Sidemen House" with fellow Sidemen members KSI, Zerkaa, and Vikkstar123.[32] In 2019, they left the second Sidemen House and moved into a London flat with Olatunji, where they lived together until 2022.[33][34]
Minter has been in a relationship with singer and internet personality, Talia Mar since 2017. They moved in together in February 2022.[35] On 24 June 2022, it was announced the couple were engaged via Instagram.[36] The couple later got married on 3 June 2023 in Italy.[37]
In October 2019, he donated $10,010 to Team Trees, a project organized by MrBeast and Mark Rober, that plants one tree for every dollar donated.[40]
On 9 June 2024, Minter participated in Soccer Aid 2024, a football charity match held at the Stamford Bridge stadium in London, England, where he played for team England XI.[41]
M7 Education
In December 2018, Minter co-founded M7 Education, a non-profit organization, with his brother. The organization focuses on providing students with visual learning experiences through field trips, fully funded by M7 Education, instead of traditional classroom-based methods.[42][43][44]
