Zerkaa
British YouTuber (born 1992)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joshua Charlie Joseph Bradley (born September 4 1992),[6] better known by his online alias Zerkaa and his stage name Josh Zerker, is an English YouTuber, Twitch streamer, influencer, and Internet personality. He is a member of the British YouTube group, the Sidemen. In 2019, he was listed as the ninth most influential online creator in the United Kingdom by The Sunday Times[1]. In 2022, he was the most watched Twitch streamer in the United Kingdom, with 17.68 million hours watched.[7]
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Zerkaa | |
|---|---|
Josh in 2018 | |
| Born | Joshua Charlie Joseph Bradley[1] September 4, 1992[2] |
| Other names |
|
| Education | Ravensbourne University |
| Occupations | |
| Spouse |
Freya Nightingale (m. 2025) |
| Twitch information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Genre | |
| Games | |
| Followers | 1.4 million[4] |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Genres | |
| Subscribers | 8.4 million (combined)[5] |
| Views | 2.2 billion (combined)[5] |
| Last updated: 19 October 2023 | |
| Signature | |
 | |
Early life and education
Josh was born on September 4 1992 in Bermondsey, London. He attended Bexley Grammar School, where he met future fellow Sidemen member Tobi Brown. He claims to have had an interest in architecture in his early years, and used to love designing houses.[3] As a child, Josh took dance lessons and competed in street dance performances.[8] His parents went through a divorce growing up, which he states led to him playing games. He claims to have played Call of Duty in his room for 8 hours, because he wanted an escape from the stress of his parents' divorce.[9][10] In the Netflix documentary, The Sidemen Story, Josh had mentioned that he suffered from anxiety.[11]
He later attended Ravensbourne University and earned an upper second honours degree in digital film production.[3] Before getting into content creation, Josh tried working in a bank in London with his father, who was a banker himself, but left soon after. He also had a week-long stint at the Sky Sports studio.[3]
Career
In 2009, Josh created his first YouTube channel, Zerkaa,[12] to which he primarily uploaded video game content from games like Call of Duty and FIFA.[13] He has subsequently launched six more solo YouTube channels — namely ZerkaaPlays, ZerkaaReacts, ZerkaaLive, ZerkaaActuallyPlays, ZerkaaGuesses, and ZerkaaCards.
Sidemen
In October 2013, Josh co-founded and became a member of the British YouTuber group, the Sidemen.[14] He is the eldest amongst the seven members of the Sidemen.[15] He lived with three other members of the group — Vikkstar, KSI, and Miniminter — from 2014 until 2018, creating content regularly, after which he moved into an apartment with his girlfriend.[16][17] The Sidemen publishes content around a variety of themes including challenges, sketches and video game commentaries.[16]
In 2018, Josh co-starred alongside the rest of the Sidemen in the YouTube Premium series The Sidemen Show.[18] In 2019, Josh was listed as the ninth most influential online creator in the United Kingdom by The Sunday Times.[1] In a 2021 article discussing gambling issues surrounding the FIFA game series, Josh was cited by The Sunday Times as an example of a YouTuber sponsored by EA to make pack-opening videos.[13]
Twitch Streaming
Josh started streaming on Twitch in 2010. He is also a Twitch partner.[19] In 2022, he was the most watched Twitch streamer in the United Kingdom, with 17.68 million hours watched.[7] He was also cited as a streamer featuring walkthroughs of the 2023 video game Hogwarts Legacy by Guinness World Records.[20] He was nominated for Best Role-play Streamer at the 2022 Streamer Awards.[21]
Other ventures
Sidemen ventures
Josh and the Sidemen have founded multiple businesses throughout their online careers. In 2014, the group launched a clothing brand under the Sidemen Clothing banner.[22] In November 2021, they founded a restaurant chain Sides in collaboration with Reef.[23] In October 2022, they launched their own vodka brand, XIX Vodka.[16] In March 2024, they launched a breakfast cereal brand, Best Cereal, in collaboration with Mornflake.[24] In May 2025, they launched their own venture capital firm, Upside VC.[25] Josh was a Director of the firm but has formally resigned from the position.[26]
Solo ventures
In 2017, Josh launched his own clothing line, ZRK London, selling streetwear apparels like T-shirts, hoodies, and caps.[1][27] In 2023, the clothing line was renamed to Internet Made.[28]
Personal life
Josh has been in a relationship with Freya Nightingale since 2010.[1][16] They were engaged in January 2024,[29] and got married on 6 September 2025 in France.[30][31] The wedding took place at the Chateau De Tourreau in Southern France and lasted over several days.
Josh is a supporter of Millwall F.C. and claims to have a season ticket since he was six years old.[1][3]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | KSI: Can't Lose | Himself | YouTube | Documentary | [32] |
| 2023 | KSI: In Real Life | Amazon Prime Video | Documentary | [33] | |
| The Spy Who Loved Eggnog | Timmy / Undercover Agent / Adolf's Father / Himself | YouTube | Short Film | [34] | |
| 2024 | The Sidemen Story | Himself | Netflix | Documentary | [35] |
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Sidemen Experience | Himself | Comedy Central | Main role; 5 episodes | [36] |
| 2017 | YouTube Rewind | YouTube | Episode: "The Shape of 2017" | [37] | |
| 2018 | The Sidemen Show | YouTube Premium | Main role; 7 episodes | [18] | |
| Formula E Voltage | YouTube | Guest; Episode "2018 Ad Diriyah ePrix" | [38] | ||
| 2020 | How To Be Behzinga | Guest; 3 episodes | [39] | ||
| 2024 | The Chase: Sidemen Edition | Special Spin-Off Episode | [40] |
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–present | Inside | Host | YouTube, Side+,[A] Netflix | Reality show created by the Sidemen | [41] |
| 2025–present | Inside USA | Host | Netflix | American reality show created by the Sidemen | [42] |
Discography
Singles
As Lead Artist
Charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [46] |
UK R&B [47] |
UK Ind. [48] |
NZ Hot [49] |
SCO [50] |
IRE[51] | ||||
| "The Gift"[52] (as part of Sidemen featuring S-X) |
2019 | 77 | 40 | 11 | 27 | 26 | — | Non-album singles | |
| "This or That" (as part of Sidemen) |
2023 | — | — | 23 | 14 | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Gift"[C] | 2019 | Sidemen, S-X | Non-album single |
| "Tommy T"[B] | 2021 | Wiked | Golden Boy |
| "This or That"[C] | 2023 | Sidemen | Non-album single |
| "How Many Times"[B] | 2024 | Eli Porter, Wiked, SparkKNE | The Vault |
| "Jump Out Gang - Remix"[B] | Eli Porter, Pixel Money |
Music videos
| Title | Year | Director(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| As lead artist | |||
| "Told You" (with Big Toe) |
2022 | Unknown | [53] |
| "Here To Stay" (with SparkyKNE) |
[54] | ||
| As featured artist | |||
| "The Gift" (as part of Sidemen featuring S-X) |
2019 | Konstantin | [55] |
| "Tommy T" (Wiked featuring Tommy T) |
2021 | Unknown | [56] |
| "This or That" (as part of Sidemen) |
2022 | Himself Miniminter Behzinga W2S |
[57] |
| "How Many Times" (Eli Porter featuring Tommy T, SparkyKNE and Wiked) |
2024 | Unknown | [58] |
| "Jump Out Gang - Remix" (Eli Porter featuring Tommy T and Pixel Money) |
2025 | [59] | |
Bibliography
| Year | Title | Publisher | ISBN identifier | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Sidemen: The Book | Coronet Books | ISBN 978-1473648166 | [60] |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | British Book Awards | Non-Fiction: Lifestyle Book of the Year | "Sidemen: The Book" (shared with the Sidemen) | Nominated | [61] |
| 2019 | Shorty Awards | Best YouTube Ensemble | Himself (shared with the Sidemen) | Nominated | [62] |
| 2022 | The Streamer Awards | Best Role-Play Streamer | Himself | Nominated | [21] |
World Records
| Publication | Year | World record | R. Status | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guinness World Records | 2022 | Most viewers for a charity sports match live stream on YouTube | Record | [63] |
Listicles
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sunday Times | 2019 | UK's Top 100 Influencer | 9th | [1] |
Notes
- 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+
- As part of Sidemen
