Tobit John "Tobi" Brown (born 8 April 1993), known professionally as TBJZL (/ˈtoʊb.ˈjɪ.zəl/TOHB-JIH-zəl, "Tobjizzle"), 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 January2025[update], his main YouTube channel had over 5.14 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, to a working-class family of Nigerian heritage. He attended St. Dominic's Catholic Primary School from 1997 until 2004, and then attended Bexley Grammar School, where he met future fellow Sidemen member Josh Bradley. Brown later completed an honours degree in computing at Coventry University.
YouTube career
Brown joined YouTube in 2011 while at university after he saw Bradley 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), Ethan Payne (Behzinga), Tobi Brown (TBJZL) and formerly JJ Olatunji (KSI). 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.
In December 2019, Brown released "The Gift" with the rest of the Sidemen, reaching number 77 on the UK Singles Chart.
On 7 February 2020, Brown released his debut single, "Destined for Greatness", with his brother Manny and featuring his sister Janellé. 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 19 August 2022, he released "Keeper", alongside his brother Manny. 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.
On 7 September 2023, Brown uploaded a video to his YouTube channel titled "Making a Song in 24 Hours!!! (ft. Not3s)", in which Brown and British singer-songwriter Not3s created a song in 24 hours. The song "I Wanna" was released on streaming platforms a day later on 8 September 2023. On 5 May 2024, Brown uploaded another video making a song in 24 hours, this time with Australian rapper and singer Day1. The original song they created in the video featured a sample used by Kyle Richh, meaning the song could not be cleared. Brown and Day1 made another song in the video with Australian singer Blessed. The song, "Where We Go" with Day1 and Blessed, was released on streaming platforms three days prior to the video on 2 May 2024.
During his TwitchSubathon in April 2026, Brown created a song with Not3s and Big Shaq (a character created by British comedian Michael Dapaah) on stream. The stream segment of the trio making the song was uploaded to Brown's clips channel on 4 April 2026. The song "Villain" would not officially release on streaming platforms until 9 June 2026.
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 named 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.
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 raised more than $10.7 million for charity.
↑Brown was also previously known by the alias Tobi Lerone, a play on the chocolate brand, Toblerone.
↑Series 1 was shown on the Sidemen and Moresidemen YouTube channels with extras and unseen moments being shown on Side+. Series 2 onwards will be exclusively on Netflix with companion shows being shown on Side+.
↑"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)
