Columbian-British personality Yung Filly wears many hats - a Youtuber, entertainer, show presenter and musician. At 28 years old, Yung has over 1.75 million followers who look forward to his loud, funny and vibrant content.
As a person of color and a Colombian refugee settled in Britain, Yung is also an inspiring personality with a "rags-to-riches" story.
YouTuber Yung Filly
Early life and Family
Yung Filly's birth name is Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos. He was born in August, 1995, in Cali city in Columbia. When he was around two years old, he moved to South London as a refugee.
He was raised by his mother, Maria Barrientos, a single parent, and has mentioned that his father was not available for him in his growing years. Maria did odd cleaning jobs to run the family, and feed her kids, Yung and his sister Diana Valencia.
Yung recalls being poor as a child, and credits it for letting him appreciate the smaller things in life. At one point, he says his family had to live on top of the fast food chain, Morley’s.
He studied in Conisborough College, and says he got poor grades. When Yung was around 11 years old, he moved back to Columbia for a few years. His mother Diana mentioned that he was sent back home since he could not understand why he didn’t live with his father.
Upon his return to London, he was more appreciative of her parenting, she said in an interview. Yung has said that his father is from Tulua in Columbia, and that his dad’s family is pagan.
Before he launched his career on social media, Yung was a trader. After achieving success in his career, Yung had Maria retire when she was 51 years old.
Yung is a practicing Christian, and helped build a church in Panama in 2020.
In December, 2023, it was rumored that Yung and Tasha Jay could be in a romantic relationship. This was after Tasha released pics of the duo at a party on her Instagram. Yung is thought to be single. He claimed to be 6 ft 2 tall on his Instagram.
As Youtuber
Yung started off with posting content on YouTube in 2013. Around 2016, he shared his dating experiences as Sunday Stories on Snapchat. His video about how he was cheated in a relationship went viral, and got more than 1 million views in a couple of days on Facebook. This was his first experience with internet stardom. Today, his videos have nearly 100 million views.
With more social media exposure, he was becoming a familiar face. He was also building his career as a musician, and launched his debut single in 2017.
Yung often collaborates with his friends and popular Youtubers. His outings with Beta Squad, the British collective of content creators, in 2019, made him a household name. His loud laughter, funny anecdotes, realistic content and antics made him popular among youngsters.
While not being a part of any group, he often collaborates with ‘Beta Squad’, British YouTube group ‘Sidemen’, comedy group ‘The Wall Of Comedy’, and streetwear brand ‘Footasylum’.
Some of his popular YouTube segments include Asking Awkward Questions, and conducting street interviews. Yung and rapper Chunkz also jointly host a podcast, The Chunkz and Filly Show.
As TV show presenter
From being an internet star, Yung also set out to make a name as a presenter on TV. In 2018, he hosted the dating show ‘Hot Property’ on BBC Three. His episode in the celeb edition of the show with TV personality Chloe Ferry was immensely popular.
In 2022, he was part of an episode of ‘Would I lie to you?’, a British comedy panel show on BBC One. The same year, he also participated in Season 5 of The Great Celebrity Bake Off on Channel 4. He hosted three episodes of the celebrity game show on BBC Three, Yung Filly’s Celeb Lock In.
In sports
Yung Filly has been a football fan since childhood. He hosted the FIFA 20 edition launch. In 2020, Yung was part of Soccer Aid for UNICEF. He played and scored at the charity game played by Britain’s celebrities and soccer legends. During the game, £11 million was raised for UNICEF.
In March this year, he and Youtuber Ginge started Girth and Turf, a pro clubs team on EA Sports FC 24, comprising influencers, music and sporting stars. They won Division I in the football-themed simulation video game and now play in the Elite Division, as of May 2024.
As musician
Yung Filly is also popular for his music, and has a dozen singles to his credit. His music and lyrics embrace his Columbian heritage while also acknowledging his South London influences.
His debut single, Take Time, was released in 2017. In early 2024, he released a single, Grey, and followed it up with a remix version along with rapper Aitch. Grey and Hold with Chunkz featured in the UK Top 40 Singles by Official Charts.
Yung Filly with rapper Aitch
He collaborates with his friends and music personalities, Aitch, Ginge and Chunkz.
He is slated to perform at the Sundown Festival in Norwich later this year.
Awards
Chunkz and Yung won the Best Media Personality Awards at the MOBO (Music Of Black Origin) Awards, 2021. The duo hosted the next edition of the awards, in 2022.
Yung Filly and Chunkz with the Best Media Personality Award
Social Media
On Social media and its influence on him, he says it has been both positive and negative. Yung is happy for becoming the popular personality he is, because of his social media visibility.
He has also been candid about having panic attacks and anxiety, caused by this recognition he got.
Yung Filly has 3 million followers on Instagram. He has 1.77 million subscribers on YouTube. Yung has 182k followers on Spotify.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yungfilly/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3OEJ7D4RwbnNFuG9JczKEa
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq3xWfTdDRjgyd7_WOK94Fg