Who is CyclingMikey? YouTuber defying haters and getting millions of views

The Dutch-born London YouTuber, whose real name is Mike van Erp, has clocked up 71 million views for his videos of traffic offences, which have often seen him stand in the way of cars disobeying road directions.

His work, which began in the mid 2000s, has led to more than 1,000 motorists being reported to the police and prosecutions for many, including director Guy Ritchie and boxer Chris Eubank.

Last week, he was in the news after a Fiat he had tried to stop from going past a no-entry sign rammed into his bike.

And on Wednesday, he was back in the headlines after suspect mobile phone thieves confronted him, only for Mr van Erp to pull out a Sharpie in self-defence.

"They do say the pen is mightier than the sword!" he quipped.

It was just another day in the life for the man who is loathed by many online and on the streets, yet continues to draw in millions of viewers and take bad drivers off the roads.

“I started filming because I felt a little powerless,” he told the Guardian of his origin.

“I couldn’t do anything if a bad driver gave me a close pass or risked my life in some way. On the various cycling forums we started talking about cameras, how they were miniaturising and getting better – even though they’re terrible compared with now.”

Every video gets thousands, if not millions, of views, but also a slew of angry comments from motorists telling him to pack it in.

But Mr van Erp is unperturbed, having come a long way already.

He said that police initially had little interest in following up his videos but interest has snowballed following his first conviction in 2018. Now, he thinks that up to half of driver awareness courses can be filled with people caught by camera cyclists.

He added: “I started realising that real prosecutions were happening. And I thought, do you know what, it’s worth doing more than what just affects me, because that will help other people. You hope it will improve other people’s safety.”

Mr van Erp, who grew up in Zimbabwe, moved to the UK to pursue a career in IT but now works as a carer and says he earns a pittance from his video content.

His main motivation, he says, is to make roads safer, and the desire stems from losing his father, who was killed after being hit by a drunk driver’s car while riding a motorbike.

While uploading content for nearly 20 years, the CyclingMikey channel really took off after a video was retweeted by broadcaster Jeremy Vine.

Mr van Erp is usually at work around central London, and it was in Regent’s Park that he had one of his most notable cases in 2021.

A Range Rover being driven by film agent Paul Lyon-Maris collided with Mr van Erp at Gandalf’s Corner, which ended up with the YouTuber on its bonnet. The film agent was cleared of assault and dangerous driving, but Mr van Erp has hardly been out of the headlines since.

“I know that the consequence will come anyway, and I know that I’m filming myself, and it’ll look worse if I behave badly,” he told the Guardian. “And also, the kinder and calmer I am, the worse it looks for the driver.”

His YouTube detractors frequently tell him to “get a life,” but Mr van Erp says he does not go looking for trouble and that he has other hobbies that he is devoted to. He has also called himself out, after running a red light on his bike last year and offering to pay a fine.

Although he is now in his early 50s and as unpopular as ever in the eyes of many, he is set to continue on his self-appointed mission.

“Someone has to stand up against the endemic road crime on our public highways and try to change it for the better,” he wrote on his YouTube bio.

“I'm a driver too, I love cars, but I don't like dangerous driving and people taking risks with vulnerable road users.”

“Thankfully, I'm not alone - there are tens of thousands of us reporting road crime with video.”