Who is John Nellis? Meet the air traffic controller turned Youtube content creator

JOHN Nellis swapped a high-pressure career directing aircraft for a life travelling the world making football videos. And now he’s taking to the dancefloor after joining the cast of Strictly Come Dancing 2026. John Nellis has more than 15 million subscribers on social media Credit: BBC He’s part of the Strictly Come Dancing class of 2026 Credit: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Ray Burmiston/Artwork – BBC Creative The Northern Irish YouTuber has become one of the biggest sports content creators, building an audience of more than 15 million subscribers and racking up billions of views. His videos have brought him face-to-face with some of football’s biggest names, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Zinedine Zidane and Gareth Bale. Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! Here’s everything you need to know about him. Who is John Nellis? John Nellis grew up in Newcastle, County Down, where he attended Shimna Integrated College. He played youth football for Tollymore United and Bryansford. Before finding online fame, he worked a string of very different jobs around his hometown. These included raking bunkers at Royal County Down, as well as jobs as a kitchen porter, barman, ice cream server, pizza maker, science technician and social worker. John now makes what he describes as “football side quests”, combining challenges, interviews and unusual experiences with some of the biggest stars in the game. Most read in TV In one video he reviewed Pep Guardiola’s restaurant, while others include innovative experiments such as trying to grow vegetables in a football. In December 2024, he won Sport Creator of the Year at the inaugural TikTok Awards. After being shortlisted, the winners were decided by a public vote. John posted a video titled ‘That moment when you win TikTok sports creator of the year’ showing his beaming smile when he won the award. He captioned it: “I cannot believe it! Thank you all so much, I couldn’t have done any of this without you.” Was John Nellis an air traffic controller? For eight years John pursued a career as an air traffic controller. In 2014, he moved to Cork after a cousin encouraged him to consider the profession and began working at Cork Airport soon after. While still doing the job, he took his first steps towards content creation in 2019, launching a fantasy football podcast and uploading video versions of the episodes on YouTube. The project gradually developed into purpose-made YouTube content, and John later teamed up with Alex Emery. In 2022, the pair took the gamble of leaving their jobs to concentrate on making videos full-time – John had 7,431 subscribers when he made the leap. He later said: “I really enjoyed that job, and I never thought content creation would become a thing for me, but it did. I just went all in and started learning content inside out.” When is John Nellis on Strictly Come Dancing 2026? John is among the celebrities competing in Strictly Come Dancing 2026. He said: “I’m still in disbelief that I’ve been selected for Strictly and, if I’m honest, I’m a little nervous as I’ve never danced before. “It’s such an incredible opportunity and I’m going to throw myself into every moment. “I can’t wait to meet everyone, learn a new skill and, hopefully, be much better at family parties by the end of it!” The new series launches on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday, September 19. Comment now