Dog walking, washing cars and thatching roofs: All the OG UK YouTubers’ jobs before fame

Imagine if Phil Lester still worked at WHSmith

4 months ago

There was a time not too long ago when YouTubers were taking over our TV screens, starring on Strictly and various quiz shows. Tweens dreamed of one day following in their footsteps and paid hundreds of pounds to get the chance to meet them. Before the days of TikTok, youngsters spent hours obsessing over trending challenges and haul videos, reading influencer written books and spending all their pocket money on the latest merch releases.

Many of these same YouTubers have taken a step back from the streaming platform, favouring apps like Instagram to share snaps of their lives. But what did this group do before starting the entertainment revolution by filming themselves sniffing candles and throwing whipped creams on their mates? Here’s a rundown of all the OG UK YouTubers and their jobs before finding fame.

KSI

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A post shared by KSI (@ksi)

KSI – aka Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji – registered his first account on YouTube in his early teens. He went on to meet future collaborator Simon Miniminter at school and has since amassed a huge following. He has been nominated for Brit awards, participated in a celebrity boxing match with fellow YouTube star Logan Paul and launched a fast food brand with internet personality group the Sidemen.

Tanya Burr

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Tanya left school and studied to become a makeup artist before working at a beauty counter in Jarrolds – a department store in her home town of Norwich. She soon followed in the footsteps of sister-in-law and makeup artist, Samantha Chapman, and created a YouTube channel. She left the days of Clinique, Laura Mercier and Topshop behind to share her own makeup tutorials with adoring fans.

Alfie Deyes

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Although Alfie planned to go to university after school, by the end of his gap year he decided to continue pursuing his already successful YouTube channel. 15 years later and he is still uploading videos to the streaming platform. Over the years he has swapped trending challenges for lifestyle videos with his two children and fiancee, Zoe Sugg.

Zoe Sugg

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Born in Wiltshire, Zoe left school with A-Levels in art, photography and textiles. But the now fashion and lifestyle mogul knew university wasn’t for her and instead opted for an interior design apprenticeship. While working in New Look she began her YouTube channel after her blog gained popularity. Just four years later she was named as one of “Britain’s most influential tweeters” and she currently has 9.2 million followers on Instagram.

Joe Sugg

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As the younger brother of Zoella, Joe Sugg rose to popularity with his prank and challenge videos. But before the 32-year-old became known across the nation, he was working as an apprentice roof thatcher. Hence his famous handle, ThatcherJoe.

Jim Chapman

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After graduating from the University of East Anglia with a degree in psychology, Jim planned to study a masters. But instead he opted to see where his online career would take him and followed in the footsteps of sisters Samantha Chapman and Nicola Chapman Haste.

Louise Pentland

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A post shared by Louise Pentland : Creator & Author💖 (@louisepentland)

We couldn’t throwback to all the UK YouTubers and their jobs before fame without mentioning this legend.

Before launching her channel, Sprinkle of Glitter, Louse worked a few office jobs after graduating from Liverpool John Moores University with a honours degree in psychology and biology. According to her blog, she began her channel back in 2010 when she and her ex-husband decided to share their creativity online.

Marcus Butler

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Marcus began his career in content creation during college when he started making music and video mixes and edited sports footage. Later he started the YouTube channel Marcus Butler TV at his viewer’s request. He has gone on to write an autobiographical book, host a radio show and now lives in Berlin working in fashion.

Dan Howell

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After graduating from The Forest School in 2009, Dan took a gap year and started posting videos to YouTube as a hobby. He went to the University of Manchester to study law in 2010, but dropped out in 2011 as he wasn’t interested in the subject. He instead started work as a radio presenter, before starting to post vlogs as a full time job.

Phil Lester

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A post shared by Phil Lester (@amazingphil)

Phil presented the Sunday night entertainment show Dan and Phil on BBC Radio 1 from 2013 to 2014, but before making vlogging and radio presenting a full time job, he worked as a dog walker and a car washer.

Phil also worked at a veterinary clinic and at WHSmith. He even appeared in Faintheart, so it’s safe to say he’s got a lot of different experience.

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