The F2Freestylers, also known as simply the F2, are a British freestyle football duo comprising former semi-professional footballers Billy Wingrove and Jeremy Lynch. They are best known for producing online video content for their eponymous YouTube channel which has a following of over 12 million subscribers.
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. 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. 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. He began performing freestyle football to earn money, but continued to pursue a footballing career, playing at youth level for Enfield Town and then semi-professionally for Ware from 2004 until 2009. 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, for whom he would perform at half-time breaks and corporate events and occasionally fill in for first-team players in advertisements. As a teenager, Lynch played in Arsenal's Academy, but was later released by the club. 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." Lynch began learning freestyle skills and tricks in 2000 after watching a Nike commercial featuring Edgar Davids and Denilson Pereira Neves. After being rejected from the Arsenal academy, Lynch began performing freestyle football at a variety of events. He featured in the 2007 documentary filmIn the Hands of the Gods, and reached the semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent in 2008.
F2Freestylers
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. Together, the duo have been invited to perform at a number of high-profile footballing events, including the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony. They have featured in several charity football events, including Soccer Aid in 2018, where Lynch scored for the England side, and in 2019 in which Lynch scored twice, again for England. 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, and in 2018, they entered the competition as F2 FC, winning in the final against Rebel FC.
YouTube
On 8 April 2011, the duo registered their YouTube channel, F2Freestylers, 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. As of 18 May 2020, their YouTube channel has 12 million subscribers and 2.5 billion views. 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. 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. In 2018, Wingrove and Lynch produced a YouTube original series, titled F2 Finding Football, which was streamed on YouTube Premium. The series, which features a number of celebrity guests, was well received and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for an Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program as well as two Streamy Awards.
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. Also in 2018, the duo founded F2 Revolution, an agency aimed at recruiting 'social talent'.
Other ventures
Lynch signed a short-term semi-professional contract with Billericay Town in 2017, playing in the Isthmian Premier League. 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. 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.
Publications
Wingrove and Lynch have written the following books published by Bonnier Books Ltd:
