behzinga

          

Beh2inga (gaming channel)
YouTuber Information
Profile	Beh2inga
Style	Gaming
Date joined	August 19, 2013
Videos	2.3K
Schedule	Unscheduled
Status	Active
Username	Behzinga
Channel trailer
Minecraft n00b Turns Professional
Most viewed video
TRY NOT TO LAUGH CHALLENGE WITH SIMON
First video
Behzinga Plays F1 Race Stars 1 w Zerkaa, TBJZL, MiniMinter

Behzinga VODs (void channel, formerly Behzinga Shorts)
YouTuber Information
Handle	@BehzingaVODs
Style	Variety
Date joined	October 20, 2021
Videos	7+
Status	Active
Channel trailer
Most viewed video
First video

“	Howdy ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another Behzinga video, today...	”
―Behzinga's Intro

Ethan Leigh Payne (born: June 20, 1995 (1995-06-20)) better known online as Behzinga (or simply Behz), is an English YouTuber and Twitch streamer. He produces videos on gaming, football, comedy, fitness, and is a co-founder and member of the British YouTube group, Sidemen.

Early life

Ethan was born in a hospital in London that was very close to Upton Park. Ethan's parents divorced when he was very young so his mother, Ruth Payne, brought him up by herself. It is unknown of the current whereabouts of Ethan's biological father who is often joked about in videos. Ruth has appeared in many of Ethan's videos and he bought her a brand new car when his YouTube career took off.

In his official documentary, How to Be Behzinga, Ethan talks about how his biological father disappeared once his mother became pregnant with him. He also tells that he had a step-father, whom his mother met when he was six months old, but that he left when Ethan was 13 due to drug addiction and debt. Ethan explains that he believed his step-father was his real father until he discovered his parent's divorce papers. Ethan also revealed that during his childhood, his mum had cancer which ended up being one of the reasons he trained and ran the London Marathon for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Ethan attended Marshalls Park, a school in Romford, East London. He was once suspended for a week after getting into a fight and embarrassing himself after his trousers fell down when he stood on the teacher's desk. He admits he was always the kid in school who messed about and was constantly getting into trouble. Ethan's old learning mentor described him as "a bit disruptive, destructive" and that "school didn't work for him." He gained a C in GCSE Applied Science, which he claims is "the only C he got" (implying that all of his other grades were above or below this). He confirmed in a video on his channel that was the only GCSE he didn't fail.

After finishing school at 16 in 2011, Ethan moved to Essex and enrolled in South Essex College to study games development. He passed the course and has this qualification to fall back on should YouTube ever fail. As Ethan spent a lot of his early life in Essex, he has often been stereotyped as "the dumb Essex boy", as demonstrated by his poor performance during general knowledge games such as Trivial Pursuit.

YouTube Carrer

Ethan uploaded his first YouTube video on 5 May 2012. As mentioned in The Sidemen Book, the name "Behzinga" came from The Big Bang Theory - one of Ethan's favourite TV shows growing up. Sheldon Cooper often shouted "BAZINGA" when he was being sarcastic and Ethan took the name and altered the spelling slightly.

The whole concept of creating the Sidemen group was originally Ethan's idea. He is one of the five original Sidemen (along with Zerkaa, Miniminter, KSI, and TBJZL), having been there since their creation in 2013. Ethan joined the others on Josh's 21st birthday, after they watched his stream and invited him to a voice hangout with them. The group officially formed the following month and Ethan came up with the name for their call group, which went on to become the name of their YouTube group and brand.

In the early videos of the Sidemen, Ethan was widely known for his uncontrollable high-pitched laughter. He was usually the butt of the many recurring jokes within the Sidemen, which in the past heavily involved homosexuality or his weight. Jokes centred around Ethan's missing father figure also cropped up in their regular group gaming videos in the mid-2010s.

Ethan created his second channel in late-2013 and called it Beh2inga. Like all the other Sidemen, their second channel was used to post regular gameplay videos. Ethan uploaded daily for many years until his schedule and interests changed in the late-2010s. He began posting to his second channel less often until it reached a point where he was only posting a few videos a year. In an interview in 2020, Ethan said that his second YouTube channel was to become a "relic" as he had pretty much abandoned it.

From 2016, Ethan was earning enough money from YouTube to live in the Stratford Halo in his own flat. In September 2017, Ethan moved out of this flat and moved into a new apartment close to the O2 Arena. He stated multiple times that he lived with his friend Charlie who frequently assisted in editing his videos and filming for the Sidemen. In 2020, Ethan moved once again to another apartment in London, in which he filmed an apartment tour for.

In the 2020s, Ethan's YouTube presence reverted to more of a hobby for him. He posts videos on his personal channel much more infrequently as his interests moved more towards fitness and lifestyle. Like all the other Sidemen, his YouTube presence is primarily in the videos across the main Sidemen channels.

Payne and his girlfriend, Faith Louisa Kelly, created and hosted a podcast together called Growing Paynes in July 2023. They posted their first episode on July 13, 2023. The podcast is available on YouTube and Spotify. The podcast went viral in September 2023, after a clip of the podcast gained attention in which Payne and Kelly were debating about women taking their partner's surnames after marriage. On July 25, 2024, Payne and Kelly announced that they are ending podcast due to schedule issues.

Sidemen Diss Track Season

On 3 August 2017, KSI made a series of tweets announcing his disengagement with the Sidemen. Following this, he uploaded a short YouTube video on August 6, 2017 confirming his decision to leave the group. He claimed that the reason he was leaving was primarily due to Ethan, stating he "can't stand him". JJ ended the video with a segment of him "rapping" which included disses against the Sidemen, in particular Ethan.

The same day (August 6), Ethan uploaded a video titled "REPLACING KSI IN THE SIDEMEN HOUSE". In the video, Ethan joked that he was taking JJ's place in the Sidemen House, and proceeded to mess with JJ's room. The following day, Ethan uploaded a full length "diss track" targeting JJ regarding their current drama, simply titled "Drama".

On August 9, KSI uploaded a video of his reaction to the aforementioned diss track created by Ethan. He confirmed he was working on his own diss track. The track titled "Earthquake" was uploaded on 12 August to KSI's main channel, and featured American YouTuber RiceGum. Ethan posted his own reaction video to the song less than 24 hours later.

Aside from a few quips, not a lot happened between Ethan and KSI for the following week - though Ethan confirmed he was working on a response to JJ's track "Earthquake". On August 18, he uploaded "Finished" and announced it'd be the last diss track he'd create. KSI uploaded a reaction video the following day (19 August) and said he was still deliberating whether or not to respond.

Ethan later stated in a vlog that his relationship with JJ can still be rebuilt and the diss tracks were just banter. It is believed that, with KSI not making another diss track on Ethan, this part of the drama had concluded. KSI uploaded a video on August 28 called "CONFRONTING BEHZINGA" showing that the two of them were very clearly still friends and that the drama was mainly just a joke.

Personal life

In 2018, Ethan lost over 25 kilograms in weight. In 2018, he stated in a podcast that he went through a period of depression and heavy drinking as a result of being seriously unhappy with his life and posting videos nearly every day. He went on to say that he no longer feels that way, is more content with himself and is in a better place now. This was also discussed in How To Be Behzinga, and in a video on his channel where he talked about a time in his life in which he was depressed and had gotten to a point of having suicidal thoughts.

Ethan holding his newborn baby named Olive Ottilie Payne.

Ethan was in a relationship with Emily Geere from 2016 to 2018. He then began dating Faith Louisa Kelly in 2021. Ethan announced in 2022 that his partner, Faith, was pregnant. They held a gender reveal partner, which was filmed and uploaded to Behzinga's YouTube channel, and revealed they were having a baby girl. Their baby was due in October 2022. She was then born on September 25, 2022 (2022-09-25). On April 3, 2024, it was announced the couple were engaged via Instagram. They later got married in December 2024.

Ethan has an XIX tattoo on one of his index fingers (XIX is the Roman Numerals for "19", which was the day in October 2013 when the Sidemen was formed). KSI also has an XIX tattoo on his wrist. Ethan got two full tattoo sleeves done in the late-2010s, which can be seen in the gallery below.

Controversies

Beef with RiceGum

Behzinga tweets at RiceGum

On 7 December 2016, Behzinga made a tweet saying "RiceGum is a dickhead" because RiceGum made a tweet complaining about not being featured in that 2016's YouTube Rewind. The "drama" got featured on Scarce's channel. On 14 December 2016, RiceGum made a diss track for Behzinga. Then, on 22 December 2016 Callux replied with a diss track aimed at RiceGum. Many people suggested this was better than any diss track RiceGum has ever done.

Behzinga responds to RiceGum

On 2 April 2021, Behzinga tweeted saying "you’ll do nothing if I’m in LA RiceGum, stop talking nonsense and keep it moving." because RiceGum reacted to the "SIDEMEN RATE USA YOUTUBERS" video, when he was complaining about being in the SMH (Shake My Head) tier, and threatening to fight him on his livestream.

Rafe Young Drama

In the SidemenReacts video titled "Sidemen React to Sidemen Reddit", from May 9, 2021, a fan made a Reddit post featuring Phil (better known as Rafe Young) asking why he wasn't in Sidemen videos anymore. KSI responded with he will no longer appear in a Sidemen videos because of Ethan. Rafe made a response video where he claimed Ethan takes himself too seriously and calls him out for being unprofessional during the "Sidemen Back To School 2" video where he left.

Ethan and JJ Twitter Beef

The backlash caused Ethan to tweet out; "Phil threat: recently I've got a lot of stick for apparently 'stopping Phil from appearing in Sidemen videos. Firstly this wasn't just a solo vendetta, grudge or ego getting in the way as assumed. I was wrongly thrown under the bus as a solo reason for him not appearing again."

KSI jokingly responded to the tweet; "Either you gotta do a diss track, or just be his assistant for a day looool." Ethan would respond to JJ with; "Or you should, for wrongly throwing my name under the bus, I'm not made to do anything for you giving someone an assumption to run with and make a 6 minute abusive video." Ethan would later delete those tweets and him and JJ spuash the beef.

Ethan's friends and Sidemen members Miniminter and Zerkaa came to the defence of Ethan. The feud would end between Ethan and Phil, in the "Sidemen Extreme Cook Off", where Phil would be nice to Ethan and jokingly mean to the rest of the Sidemen and guests of the video Niko Omilana, Chunkz, Callux and Randolph.

Statement on Sidemen

In July 2023 on an episode of Sidecast, Ethan explained why he views the other Sidemen members as colleagues first and friends second. “You lot are my colleagues,” he put bluntly in conversation with Josh, Tobi, and Harry. “I said in the chat the other day, they’re not my friends anymore, they’re my colleagues.” “That’s a horrible thing to say,” Harry responded right away as both Josh and Tobi disagreed with Ethan’s statement as well. “That’s sad,” Tobi added. “In the capacity I see you lot now, it’s way more of a work colleague than it is a friend,” Ethan continued. “Every time I speak to you it’s about work.” “I don’t think it’s one or the other, I think you’re both,” Ethan countered, with Josh then adding, “We’re friends who work together, it’s very different I think.”

Ethan’s apologized to those who may have been upset by his ‘colleague’ discussion earlier. “Apologies to everyone so pressed over the ‘colleagues’ comment. I would simply enjoy seeing my friends outside of a work setting more often. Businesses grow, lines become more blurred, and sometimes [I] miss the simple days of just laughing with the boys. [It] ain’t that deep, just miscommunicated my feelings.”

Boxing career

Amateur career

Cancelled Nick Crompton fight

In 2018, Behzinga called out American YouTuber Nick Crompton to a boxing match on the undercard of the KSI vs. Logan Paul event. Crompton responded accepting the bout, however, he would pull out of the fight for unknown reason.

Professional career

Cancelled Joe Weller fight

In July 2023, The Sidemen had a discussion on who Ethan should box with on name being English YouTuber Joe Weller. On October 14, 2023, Ethan was called out by Weller to a boxing match on a future Misfits card. On October 19, Behzinga confronted on the Growing Paynes Podcast that he is down to fight Weller on Misfits in 3 or 4 months time. Ethan followed up with; "I do think I can [fight him]. I do think I could [win]. I think it would be a headliner. It has to be its like two massive UK YouTubers it has to be a headliner there's no way it could be." Weller responded to this on Twitter saying "LET’S GOOOOOO BEHZINGYYY BOYYYY". Many YouTubers including True Geordie, Fangs and many others said that they wanted to see Behzinga vs. Joe Weller. On October 29, Weller did a call out video on Behzinga.

During the MF & DAZN: X Series 11 broadcast, Behzinga was officially called out by Weller to a boxing match at Wembley Arena. In December 2023, Ethan declined the initial offer presented from Misfits to fight Weller. Behzinga emphasized that he believes his value is higher and desires more favourable terms. According to Kalle Sauerland, Behzinga vs. Weller is closing in. Ethan stated on SideCast that it’s not Misfits fault, but down to breakdown in communication with DAZN, as they aren’t paying him what he deserves.

Ethan has confirmed he may still fight Weller, depending on if the offer changes. On February 8, 2024, Mams Taylor gave an update on Behzinga vs. Weller; “Very soon you’ll have an update either way. I think it's got to make sense for the both of them and I think Im finally in a place where I can make it make sense.” In April 2024, KSI conformed that Ethan and Weller will no longer be happen due to failed negotiations despite MFB offering what Behzinga wanted.

Trivia

• Ethan has amblyopia.
• He is an ambassador for Gymshark and Bulk Powders.
• Ethan trained to run the 2020 London Marathon but instead ran the equivalent after the event was cancelled due to coronavirus.
• He is 5'8 ft.
• After prolonged teasing from the rest of the Sidemen and their fans, Ethan passed his driving test after numerous attempts. He is also a current owner of a Nissan GT-R (one of his dream cars). It is seen in various videos.
• On some videos, he was shown to dress up in a Mr. Tumble costume due to being referred as similar looking to Mr. Tumble, a character from a CBeebies show.
• "Emon" is the name that Josh gave to the fictional "relationship" between Ethan and Simon in the early days of GTA in 2014 and 2015.
• He is a supporter of West Ham United F.C and has appeared on the club's YouTube videos and podcast.
• Ethan is 1.1% Nigerian.
• In 2019, Ethan was listed as the 31st most influential online creator in the United Kingdom by The Sunday Times.
• In November 2019, he provided commentary for KSI vs. Logan Paul II for Sky Sports Box Office.
• In March 2024, Ethan signed with Yung Filly and Angryginge13's pro clubs team Girth N Turf FC.
• Ethan was initially supposed to be a part of Big Wedge Golf but dropped out to prioritize his family.
• Ethan is asthmatic. On April 24, 2024, he tweeted that he had suffered from a life-threatening asthma attack during a Sidemen YouTube video recording and was hospitalised on April 22, 2024.
• He became Teenage Cancer Trust first content icon.
• Ethan suffers with claustrophobia.

Gallery

References

Attribution

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