Man behind Yung Filly online persona – from real name to home town

Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, better known as Yung Filly, was reportedly arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman in a Perth, Australia, hotel after a nightclub performance

British star Yung Filly, real name Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, has reportedly been arrested in Australia over allegations of sexual assault.

Born in Cali, Colombia in 1995 before moving to the UK at two-years-old and settling in Bromley, south-east London, he started making waves on video sharing platform, YouTube, as a teenager.

He started his channel in 2013, mainly posting comedic Q&As and short skits. In 2017, he started sharing music. His channel currently boasts more than 1.84 million subscribers where he amassed a staggering 118,774,106 views across 82 videos.

In addition to this, Filly has put in regular stints on trainer and clothing company Footasylum's YouTube channel. He stars in its dating series Does The Shoe Fit, and also appears on Pro:Direct Soccer's YouTube.

Yung Filly also scored a goal for England when he made an appearance for Soccer Aid 2020. He also featured in the debut episode of a football rivalry series with fellow YouTuber Chunkz, which was broadcasted on BBC Sport.

Filly regularly works with Beta Squad, a comedy YouTube group operated by British content creators Chunkz, Niko Omilana, AJ Shabeel, Sharky and KingKennyTV. He also appeared in videos with the Sidemen, made up of KSI, Miniminter, Zerkaa, TBJZL, Behzinga, Vikkstar123, and W2S.

In early 2024, the 29-year-old gained even more fame after collaborating with British rapper Aitch on the song Grey, which racked up more than 2.5 million views on YouTube and 10 million streams on Spotify.

The performer has gone on to cultivate an enviable CV in recent years, hosting a medley of shows on the BBC including Hot Property and Yung Filly's Celeb Lock-In. He also made an appearance on Channel 4's much-loved The Great Celebrity Bake Off.

Presenting and taking part in television programmes hasn’t been his only source of popularity, though. The rapper has also collaborated with major fashion brand ASOS, advertising outfits for ‘date nights’ and more, as well as luxury streetwear brand, Perplex Clothing, which saw a limited edition range of items including hoodies, trackpants, T-shirts and more.

In addition, Yung Filly has worked with global companies like McDonald's, British fashion chain Primark, and Captain Morgan rum.

Just recently, he made headlines after his arrest in Brisbane, Australia, before being extradited to Perth on Wednesday. He was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s in his Perth hotel on September 28 after a performance at Bar1 Nightclub in Hillarys the night before.

The rapper, who garnered more than three million followers on Instagram, had performed at Havana Nightclub on the Gold Coast two days before his arrest. He has been charged with four counts of sexual penetration without consent, three counts of assault, and one count of impeding a person's normal breathing or circulation by applying pressure to their neck.

He is set to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on October 10. The event at Bar1, where he performed before the alleged incident, was promoted as the 'ultimate evening escapade' by MoshTix.

It was described as a mix of spontaneity, humour and music which would be the talk of the town for weeks. Filly’s Australian tour began in Perth, followed by performances in Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast, where he played four shows.