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KSI on going sober: ‘Alcohol changes me as a person’

“When it comes to alcohol, I realised it changes me as a person, and it’s detrimental to my body as well,” the social media star tells Rolling Stone UK

By Nick Reilly

KSI wears sleeveless top by ICECREAM at MATCHESFASHION, trousers by Moschino, trainers by Christian Louboutin, necklace KSI’s own (Picture: BLACKKSOCKS/Styling: Joseph Kocharian)

KSI has opened up on quitting alcohol in a bid to achieve further success in the worlds of sport and music.

The multi-talented YouTube star, rapper and boxer opened up on his decision to ditch the bottle in Rolling Stone UK’s October cover story, which you can read in full here.

Outlining his decision to stop boozing at the start of the year, KSI explained how he stopped in order to maintain a strong physique for boxing, but also because he found his personality would change after a night out drinking.

“When it comes to alcohol, I realised it changes me as a person, and it’s detrimental to my body as well,” he said.

“But every time I drink, I end up doing something I regret the next day. I just totally move out of character. I got to the point where I was like, ‘You know what? I need to stop.’ But it did make things easier: being able to just remember stuff, or to really see how I was feeling. Whereas with alcohol you either black out or just forget or just feel like shit… you’re not able to home in on what you want to feel or how you want to put something out.”

As for his music, KSI explained how his latest single ‘Summer Is Over’ was directly inspired by his experiences of a recent break up.

“Yeah, yeah, I had a — yeah. Break-up. One of those that really… fucks with you,” he said of the break-up, which occurred in October last year.

“I guess it’s like, I don’t think anything really hit me like that before. Obviously, I’ve had previous relationships not work out, but it didn’t really hit me that much. I was just like, ‘Ah, OK, another one bites the dust.’ Whereas this one, it was… yeah, it was deep. I’d known her for so long. And then for me to just not be with her anymore, it really psychologically fucked with me. I think that’s why I felt like I had to just make music in order for me to be able to really process it all.”

But all of his success, he further admitted, is all down to his fans.

“Sometimes I guess I take it for granted, how privileged the position I’m actually in is,” he said.

“Anything I put out, they’re just like, ‘Yes: sick.’

“As long as it’s good, obviously. If it’s shit, they’re going to tell me.”

For a limited time only, you can get 60 per cent off a digital subscription of Rolling Stone UK using the code KSI60.