West Ham United welcomed Brazilian YouTube royalty to Rush Green last month in the form of The Banheiristas.
Known as the second-most watched sports channel on Brazilian YouTube, with eight million subscribers, the name Banheiristas derives from the Brazilian word for ‘bathtub’, which in football terms is used to describe a striker who never leaves the opponents’ penalty area, lives on the verge of offside and never tracks back to defend.
The Banheiristas, who were founded in 2016 and are run by brothers Caio and Vitor Lo, with the flair of Brazilian players, thrill audiences on and off the pitch. They also participated in The Soccer Tournament (TST) in 2024, and were given exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to both London Stadium and Rush Green.
After arriving at the Club’s training ground, the Banheiristas met with fellow Brazilian - our No10 - Lucas Paquetá, who took part in their renowned ‘imposter challenge’ on the Rush Green pitches and, at the end of an action-packed day, reflected on their afternoon in east London.
Welcome to West Ham! Tell us about the Banheiristas and how it all started?
“It started as a joke during the holidays. We recorded a crossbar challenge video, and the first video was very successful, because it was during the Sidemen's heyday, when they had the Sidemen Crossbar Challenge, and we copied them, and it worked really well.”
The name Banheiristas is fascinating. Can you tell us a little more about how you came up with it? Where did it come from?
“When we created it, we said it had to be a name that would stick, a name that represented who we are, which is football, fun and entertainment. Banheiristas is the guy who stays in the bathroom and scores the goal, gets caught offside, and gets all mixed up. He doesn't come back to defend, he just stays in attack.”
Can you talk about how Banheiristas became the group it is today, with more influencers and more creators, and how it grew? Who are the other guys who are part of Banheiristas?
“Well, I think Banheiristas, even though we joke that we're YouTubers and not real footballers, have really become a team.
“So we have the same team flow. We have the player who scores the most, the one who dribbles the most, and the one who shoots the most, and in the end it's really the Banheiristas family that's growing like a football team, and the unity is the same style.
“We call our friends to film, because it's much more fun to film with friends, besides the fact that they know us. The Banheiristas family is literally a family.
“And now Lucas Paquetá is welcome too!”
It's been an incredible journey for Banheiristas. Today, you are the second-largest sports channel on YouTube in Brazil, with eight million subscribers. How has that journey been so far?
“It's been a lot of work, a lot of fun. We've had our ups and downs, but we've achieved more and more, and now we're enjoying it here, even playing on a Premier League pitch.
“We didn't think we were going to become famous like this. We did everything naturally.
“We want to reach as many people as possible and make them play better than us and have fun playing sport, have fun watching us play and really encourage the public to have fun and play football.”
You've been to London a few times before with Banheiristas, but how was the experience this time? What did you think of coming here to the city and experiencing these football-mad fans?
“Seeing people here coming to watch football was when we really understood that London is a football city, a capital with a lot of football teams with very passionate fanbases. I also think that of all our trips, this was the coolest, especially with this meeting with Lucas Paquetá at West Ham. For us, it was really very rewarding.
“And it was certainly unforgettable. It's a childhood dream, that's it.”
You know Luis Guilherme. What can you tell us about him? Where did your relationship come from?
“We are Palmeiras fans, and he is a good lad. We forget that we are older than several players, and then I saw on social media that he had sent me a message when he was younger, just a child, and today I am a fan of his, of his football. He plays very well. I hope he continues to shine here.”
You went to London Stadium for an exclusive Club event and had the experience of visiting some incredible places inside the stadium. What impressed you the most? What did you like the most about this experience?
“The stadium is simply beautiful. Besides making you want to play, you can see that West Ham is a giant Club with a lot of history and that every year it has everything it needs to improve.
“West Ham is very famous because of Paquetá, and now there are many Palmeiras fans who support them because of Guilherme. I'm also a big fan of Jarrod Bowen, a very good left-footed player.”
Midfielder Paquetá was thrilled to welcome the Banheiristas to east London, and highlighted the importance of having his fellow Brazilians at Rush Green.
He said: “It was very good [to have them here]. They’re lads who always bring joy and inspiration to the Brazilian youth, and participating in their channel was very cool.
“I think they're representing our country very well. And having them here is also very important for the Club, for West Ham, for them. I think it's a visibility that they’ve been dreaming of reaching. And I'm happy for them.
“They are an example of dedication, of the work they do, bringing joy to everyone. And today, here, working with West Ham, I think that for people who watch their videos it can be an inspiration to dream of having an experience like this.”
