One day, when I was 16, I went to school and asked my teacher how much he earned. I told him how much I was paid a month for playing video games: £1,200. He was shocked. He said I was earning more than him. So I quit school that day. My parents were devastated. I started playing video games 24/7. It was tough because I was the writer, director, producer, editor and actor on a constant basis. I didn't do anything besides eat, sleep and work. I never went out. I would just eat junk food. My parents were extremely worried. They hid my Xbox and cut off the internet, but it just motivated me to make YouTube work.

"I did it for eight years and there were highs and lows. It was a lot of fun and I loved playing games. Racism was a big low. I got a lot of comments, as well as verbal and physical abuse. YouTube is a hostile place, because drama sells. People want blood. Wroetoshaw wrote that diss track ["KSI Sucks", with lyrics including "You've got a girlfriend now... Did you seduce her with your rape face?"] so I had to defend my grind. It started off as banter but got serious. Similarly, when YouTuber Joe Weller called me a pussy last year I had to defend myself. That's why I'm fighting him in a boxing match this month. Some people think it's fake, but they'll see when I beat the shit out of him. That will teach people not to take the piss out of me.



"Eventually, I lost my head. I got sick of it all. I saw my parents once a year despite the fact they live 90 minutes away. I had no friends outside of YouTube. I was too busy. I burnt myself out and was physically sick. I had been doing it for so long, I felt drained. I was depressed. So I decided to leave. I didn't tell anyone. I just left. I deleted my videos. Everyone freaked out.

"I didn't create content for four months. I travelled instead. I got a girlfriend and that helped. It made my life a lot easier. I worked out. I finally did everything that wasn't YouTube. My last stop was LA, where I hung out with YouTuber and musician RiceGum. After that, I was ready to come back. I was excited by YouTube again and ready to start a music career."