Niko Omilana: YouTube star pays for comedian’s dream trip to US

An up-and-coming comedian has said his life has changed forever after a YouTube star paid for his dream trip for his help during a video.

In the video posted on the NDL YouTube channel, Niko Omilana attempts to travel from Brighton, East Sussex, to Scotland without walking.

Comic Dave Browne offered the use of his car to the 26-year-old and revealed his dream of performing in the United States.

Mr Browne said the offer of an all-expenses paid trip to perform a show at the New York Comedy Club was a “life-changing moment”.

After a chance encounter in East Street, the 37-year-old, who lives in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, drove Omilana and his crew to London and then on to Nottingham the following day.

“I’d been handing out flyers for a Fringe show, and stopped for a Pepsi to re-group as nobody was taking them,” Mr Browne said.

“I’m a fan of saying yes to opportunities. So I thought, ‘am I going to hand out pieces of paper in Brighton on this cold day, or am I going to go on this adventure and see where it leads?’.”

During the trip, Mr Browne revealed dreams of performing comedy in the US and selling out the O2 Arena in London, which he says could be possible thanks to the recent support.

Since the video was published on Wednesday night, the subscriber count on Mr Browne’s own YouTube channel, SmileyDaveUK, has risen by more than 600%.

“When we were filming, I thought it could be massive, but I didn’t realise how huge,” he said.

“I’ve been making YouTube videos myself for 14 years, and only now for the first time, they are getting comments.”

The video has received more than 800,000 views in less than 24 hours.

As a thank you for helping in the challenge, Mr Browne is to travel to New York with his partner and perform alongside world-renowned comedian Akaash Singh, courtesy of Omilana.

“My aim now is to see whether the power of the internet can do something that takes professional comedians decades to achieve and sell out the 02 in five years’ time,” Mr Browne, originally from Berkshire, added.

Mr Omilana has more than 10 million subscribers and 880 million views across his two YouTube channels.

The online star also made headlines in June after he seemingly registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies. He also stood in the London mayoral election three years ago.