SideMan All Day on going from Love Island reviews to having his own BBC 1xtra show
David Whitely professionally known as SideMan All Day rose to social media fame after posting a series of highly engaging reviews on the popular ITV 2 show Love Island despite not seeing the show before!
With his unique sense of humour, David has managed to rack up over a million views across all his social media platforms.
His work has been featured on highly rated platforms such as Channel 4 and BBC Radio 1 and as a presenter, he currently has his own BBC 1Xtra show airing on Sundays 10am — 1pm,where he’s had American rapper Cardi B make an appearance!
We caught up with David to hear more about his background, his career journey so far and plans for the future.
DivInc- Tell us a little about your childhood and growing up days. Where were you born, your family and schooling?
David - I was born in Jamaica and grew up there up until the age of about 11, after which I moved to Birmingham. We were a very low income family and most of my life I’ve mainly been connected to my immediate family. That being said, I consider my childhood to have been a happy one, despite the financial instability.
What influenced you to start creating Love Island reviews on Instagram?
An Assistant Producer at BBC contacted me and suggested it would be a good idea, so I thought I would give it a go as I was aware of the shows popularity, although I had never watched it.
Do you think there are equal opportunities for male influencers as there are for female influencers in terms of working with brands?
The short answer to that is no, but it’s based on a whole host of factors. In some instances it can purely be because of the vision of the brand or the demographic they are trying to target or the general social injustice in society that offers less opportunities to women.
As an influencer, a lot of your time would involve being on social media. How do you disconnect and find time to unwind?
Firstly, I treat my social media page as a business page and not as a personal page. I intentionally avoid social media without a purpose and value real life communication with friends far more. So taking a break for me is naturally appealing.
What has been the most rewarding moment in your career so far?
Getting my own show on 1xtra.
What are your goals for the future with BBC 1Xtra?
To have a four day a week weekday show, to create legendary radio moments and to be the voice of the midlands.
What tips would you give to young entrepreneurs when starting their own business?
If you are a young person that has just started to work on your dreams, my advice would be to understand that building a foundation is a difficult thing. Understand that it’s going to be rough at first. Understand that the way life works, there are going to be mad discouragements at the beginning. Know that before you even start, so when those discouragements come, you can plan to push past them. Success is about pushing past failures, pushing past hindrances, pushing past doubters and pushing past self doubt! Most people, when it comes to their career will say that in order to get to where they aimed to be, they had to remain consistent. They kept pushing and kept believing in themselves! Remember to always affirm to yourself that you’re a boss, you got this and NOTHING can stop you!
