F2Freestylers

The F2Freestylers, also known as simply the F2, are a British freestyle football duo comprising former semi-professional footballers Billy Wingrove (born 17 December 1982) and Jeremy Lynch (born 28 July 1987).[2][3] They are best known for producing online video content for their eponymous YouTube channel which has a following of over 12 million subscribers.[7][8]

F2Freestylers
Lynch and Wingrove shooting a promotional video for Soccer Aid 2019
Born
  • William Jonathan Wingrove[1]
    (1982-12-17) 17 December 1982[2]
  • Jeremy Alistair Lynch[1]
    (1987-07-28) 28 July 1987[3]
NationalityBritish[3][1]
Occupation
YouTube information
Also known asThe F2[4]
Channels
Years active2011–present
Genre
Subscribers12 million
Total views2.5 billion
Associated actsfreekickerz
Catchphrase(s)"Swaz tekkers"[5]
1,000,000 subscribers 2015[6]
10,000,000 subscribers 2019[6]
Updated May 2020
Websitethef2.com

Early careers

Wingrove and Lynch have been described as "teenage rejects", having been rejected by the academies of professional football clubs in their youths before finding success as influencers and YouTube freestyle footballers.[7]

Wingrove comes from a footballing family, with his father Alan briefly playing in the youth set-ups of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, and his cousin, Greg Lincoln, being part of the first team squad at Arsenal—though Lincoln never actually played for the club.[9][10] Wingrove had a trial for Tottenham Hotspur aged 11, but was told he was too small and therefore not physically strong enough to make it at professional level.[10][7] He began performing freestyle football to earn money while continuing to pursue a footballing career, playing at youth level for Enfield Town and then semi-professionally for Ware from 2004 until 2009.[7]

Wingrove was the first professional freestyle footballer to sign for a Premier League club, signing for Tottenham Hotspur—who had previously rejected him as a youngster—in 2003,[11] for whom he would perform at half-time breaks and corporate events and occasionally fill in for first-team players in advertisements.[7][12]

As a teenager, Lynch played in Arsenal's Academy, but was later released by the club.[13] Lynch claims to have been told, "on the ball, technically, you are the best at the whole club; off the ball, you are the worst."[7] Lynch began learning freestyle skills and tricks in 2000 after watching a Nike commercial featuring Edgar Davids and Denilson Pereira Neves.[8] After being rejected from the Arsenal academy, Lynch began performing freestyle football at a variety of events. He featured in the 2007 documentary film In the Hands of the Gods, and reached the semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent in 2008.[14]

F2Freestylers
The F2 warming up at an event prior to the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final

Eventually, Wingrove and Lynch decided to commit to making a career in freestyle football as a duo, realising they would have more success as a marketable pairing than attempting to pursuing careers as professional footballers.[7]

Together, the duo have been invited to perform at a number of high-profile footballing events, including the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony.[7] They have featured in several charity football events,[15] including Soccer Aid in 2018,[14] where Lynch scored for the England side,[16] and in 2019 in which Lynch scored twice, again for England.[17]

In 2017, the pair led a team of YouTubers and ex-professional footballers competing under the name Tekkers Town in the Wembley Cup against Hashtag United,[18] and in 2018, they entered the competition as F2 FC, winning in the final against Rebel FC.[19]

YouTube
The F2 with Real Madrid's Rodrygo, filming a promotional video for FIFA 20

On 8 April 2011, the duo registered their YouTube channel, F2Freestylers,[6] on which they publish freestyle videos and tutorials to showcase football skills and tricks, often featuring celebrities and professional footballers, as well as videos relating to the FIFA video game series.[7] As of 18 May 2020, their YouTube channel has 12 million subscribers and 2.5 billion views.[6]

As well as earning money from YouTube's ad-revenue monetisation, Wingrove and Lynch's videos feature brand endorsements; previous sponsorship deals include Adidas and Carlsberg.[20][7]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as ambassadors for Santander UK, Wingrove and Lynch produced a series of videos designed to improve numeracy and increase physical activity in line with UK curriculums for students unable to attend school during lockdown.[21]

In 2018, Wingrove and Lynch produced a YouTube original series, titled F2 Finding Football, which was streamed on YouTube Premium.[22] The series, which features a number of celebrity guests,[23] was well received and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for an Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program as well as two Streamy Awards.[24]

Talent agencies

In 2018, Wingrove and Lynch established a football management agency, F2 Talent, despite neither being a licensed intermediary with the FA. The agency courted controversy over the use of a photo publicising a newly-signed young player, violating the FA's policy to not promote players under the age of 15.[20]

Also in 2018, the duo founded F2 Revolution, an agency aimed at recruiting 'social talent'.[20]

Other ventures

Lynch signed a short-term semi-professional contract with Billericay Town in 2017, playing in the Isthmian Premier League.[13] He registered his first goal for the club on 3 October 2017, scoring Billericay's fifth goal in a 6–1 win against Hungerford Town in the FA Cup.[25] After being absent from the team for several matches in late 2017, the club revealed on Twitter that it had been agreed with Lynch that his work as part of the F2Freestylers would take priority over playing for Billericay.[26]

Publications

Wingrove and Lynch have written the following books published by Bonnier Books Ltd:[27]

  • F2 Freestylers (18 November 2016). F2 World of Football: How to Play Like a Pro. ISBN 978-1-911-27444-5.
  • F2 Freestylers (27 July 2017). F2 Football Academy: Take Your Game to the Next Level. ISBN 978-1-911-60008-4.
  • F2 Freestylers (19 October 2017). F2 Galaxy of Football: Attack of the Football Cyborgs. ISBN 978-1-911-60000-8.
  • F2 Freestylers (31 August 2018). F2 World Class: Football Tips and Tricks For The World Stage. ISBN 978-1-788-70026-9.
  • F2 Freestylers (17 October 2019). F2 Ultimate Footballer: Pro Footballers Secret Tips Revealed. ISBN 978-1-788-70258-4.
gollark: <@!257604541300604928> If you don't know, the original Civ or something had a bug with Gandhi.
gollark: Gandhi has nukes.
gollark: Gandhi. Obviously.
gollark: Did you know that in 1700 AZ Rome's riflemen defeated the armies of America in the Battle of Oxford?
gollark: Yes.

References
  1. "F2 REVOLUTION LIMITED - Officers (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Companies House. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. "B. Wingrove - Profile with news, career statistics and history". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  3. "J. Lynch (Billericay Town)". besoccer.com. BeSoccer. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  4. Dickinson, Matt (3 June 2016). "From teenage rejects to YouTube stars". thetimes.co.uk. The Times. Retrieved 18 May 2020. If you are below the age of 18, you will probably not need any introduction to Wingrove or Lynch, aka “The F2”.
  5. Wilson, Scott (30 October 2017). "Frank Lampard silences F2 Freestyler after being told he's lost it". givemesport.com. Give Me Sport. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  6. "F2Freestylers - Ultimate Soccer Skills Channel's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile)". socialblade.com. Social Blade. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  7. Dickinson, Matt (3 June 2016). "From teenage rejects to YouTube stars". thetimes.co.uk. The Times. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  8. "The Sunday Times InfluencerList 2019: meet the UK's top 100". thetimes.co.uk. The Sunday Times. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  9. "Billy Wingrove Biography". Sport England. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  10. Conchie, Peter (4 July 2004). "Living for kicks". independent.co.uk. The Independent. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  11. "Support & Advice". Sport England. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  12. "Spurs juggler happy to be a control freak". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
  13. Lambert, Luke (2 September 2017). "Billericay Town sign free-styling sensation Jeremy Lynch". echo-new.co.uk. Echo. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  14. Coyle, Simon (16 June 2019). "Who is Jeremy Lynch in Soccer Aid 2019?". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  15. Moody, Jenny (21 August 2019). "These Burton Albion legends will return to pitch alongside Love Island stars". derbytelegraph.co.uk. Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  16. Sunderland, Tom (10 June 2018). "Usain Bolt Named Man of Match as England Beat World XI at Soccer Aid 2018". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  17. White, Megan (16 June 2019). "Soccer Aid 2019: World XI managed by Piers Morgan and Harry Redknapp win Stamford Bridge charity match". standard.co.uk. Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  18. Rawle, Tom (17 August 2017). "Footie duo F2 Freestylers to lead team of superstars for Wembley charity match epic". dailystar.co.uk. Daily Star. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  19. Krishnan, Joe (25 November 2018). "The EE Wembley Cup 2018 result: The F2 win as YouTube stars and football legends meet for charity". standard.co.uk. Evening Standard. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  20. "Who are the YouTubers signing Liverpool's Rhian Brewster to their agency?". independent.co.uk. The Independent. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  21. Pharo, Conor (15 May 2020). "The world's most popular football freestylers are helping children 'keepie uppie' with their education". hartlepoolmail.com. Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  22. Spangler, Todd (24 May 2018). "YouTube Premium Sets F2Freestylers' Soccer-Travel Series From Whistle Sports". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  23. "YouTube Explores Soccer in 'F2 Finding Football'". brief.promax.org. Promax. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  24. "Whistle-Produced YouTube Original Series "F2 Finding Football" Receives Daytime Emmy® Awards Nomination for Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program". prnewswire.com. Whistle. PR Newswire. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  25. Robinson, Matt (3 October 2017). "Ricay too much for Crusaders". hungerfordtown.com. Hungerford Town. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  26. Billericay Town FC [@BTFC] (2 December 2017). "Jeremy lynch is still a billericay squad member but it was always agreed with both parties that his F2 work would take priority, and his absence from the team recently is because of that" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. "The F2 books and biography". waterstones.com. Waterstones. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
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