Stephen TriesComedian, YouTuber, UK Creator

Stephen Tries, born Stephen Lawson on July 9, 1995, in Norwich, England, is one of the UK's most recognisable comedy YouTubers. He launched his channel in April 2013 at just 17 years old, building a style rooted in deadpan humour, grime culture parody, and sharp observations on British life. By 2026, his channel had grown to 1.6M+ subscribers, with several videos surpassing one million views.

His content straddles the line between pop culture commentary and character-based comedy. While he operates independently from the Sidemen group, Stephen Tries is a regular face in the broader UK YouTube ecosystem, appearing at creator events and collaborating with members of the extended scene. He is one of the few British creators to have built a substantial audience through comedy writing alone rather than gaming or reaction content.

Stephen launched his YouTube channel on April 20, 2013, from Norwich — a city not typically associated with viral internet culture — which became part of his appeal. His early content included sketch comedy, commentary videos, and music parodies that spoke directly to British youth culture. The channel grew steadily through the mid-2010s as his "How To Be..." series began attracting larger audiences.

His 2017 upload, "Shape of You (Grime Remix)", accumulated over 2.7 million views and marked a turning point in his reach. The video demonstrated his ability to blend mainstream pop songs with UK grime culture in a comedic format that resonated beyond his existing fanbase. "How To Be Stormzy," another standout, crossed one million views and cemented him as a credible voice in UK grime commentary.

By 2026, he had grown to over 1.6 million subscribers, making him one of the most consistently performing solo comedy YouTubers in the UK. His upload cadence has been deliberate rather than algorithmic, prioritising quality sketches over daily content.

The core of Stephen's content is the "How To Be..." format: a character-based parody series that skewers public figures, cultural archetypes, and internet personalities. The format is precise — he studies mannerisms, speech patterns, and cultural signifiers before recreating them with an exaggerated comedic lens. Subjects have included UK rappers, TV personalities, and internet celebrities.

Beyond the parody series, he produces pop culture commentary, challenge videos, and collaborations with other UK creators. His comedy sensibility is distinctly British: dry, self-aware, and grounded in regional identity. He has spoken about growing up in Norwich and later St. Helens, and how the contrast between those environments shaped his perspective on UK internet culture.

While Stephen Tries is not an official member of The Sidemen, he operates in the same broader UK YouTube world and has appeared alongside members of that circle at creator events and collaborations. The Sidemen, formed in 2013 — the same year Stephen launched his channel — built the architecture for UK group-based YouTube entertainment, and creators like Stephen Tries have grown in their cultural orbit.

He shares audience overlap with Zerkaa, ArthurTV, and other members of the extended Sidemen creator network. His grime-culture comedy also places him in the same cultural space as KSI, who has long bridged UK rap and YouTube entertainment. The Sidemen's Netflix documentary series Inside offers context for the broader UK creator movement Stephen Tries is part of.

The UK YouTube ecosystem in 2026 is one of the most cohesive creator scenes globally, with creators frequently crossing over between channels, live events like the Sidemen Charity Match, and shared audience bases. Stephen Tries fits naturally into this ecosystem as an independent comedy voice with strong cross-audience appeal.

Stephen Tries expanded to TikTok in 2021, bringing his character-based comedy to short-form video. His TikTok account @stephentries repurposes highlights from his longer YouTube content and original short-form sketches designed for the platform. TikTok has allowed him to reach younger audiences who may not engage with longer YouTube videos, creating an entry point to his wider catalogue.

The "How To Be Stormzy" video remains his most-cited piece of work — a precise, affectionate parody of the grime MC that demonstrated Stephen's ability to inhabit a character convincingly. The video earned over one million views and attracted coverage from UK music press. "Shape of You (Grime Remix)" was a different kind of breakout: a music parody that generated 2.7M views and sits among the most-watched parodies of that era.

Both videos illustrate why Stephen Tries has sustained longevity in a competitive space: his comedy is culturally specific and well-researched, rather than generic. Each parody requires understanding the subject deeply enough to satirise them accurately. This approach has made him a respected figure among both fans and fellow creators in the UK scene.

Follow Stephen Tries across his official platforms:

• YouTube: youtube.com/StephenTries
• Instagram: @stephen_tries
• TikTok: @stephentries

Stephen Tries is one of the UK's most enduring solo comedy YouTubers, with over 13 years of consistent content creation since launching at 17 in 2013. His "How To Be..." parody series, grime-culture commentary, and sharp British comedic voice have built him an audience of 1.6M+ on YouTube alone. At 30 in 2026, he remains an active creator across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, connecting audiences who value craft and cultural specificity over algorithmic output.

As part of the extended UK YouTube creator scene, Stephen Tries represents the independent comedy track within a broader ecosystem dominated by group channels and gaming content. His continued growth and loyal fanbase confirm that character-driven comedy has a durable place in UK creator culture.