Melburnians earning thousands from adults only OnlyFans content
By sharing racy photos and videos on OnlyFans, these Melburnians are making thousands a week — and some have even quit their day jobs.
Victoria
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OnlyFans is the latest social media site to take the world by storm, with 85 million registered users worldwide.
Unlike Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, content on the pay-per-view platform is largely unregulated — meaning users can upload highly explicit, adults only content that’s really ‘Not Safe For Work’.
But it’s not just the barely clad videos raking in the cash with seemingly innocent videos of people eating cereal, working out or moisturising their legs also being shared.
The subscription service has been massive overseas since it began in 2016, and many Melburnians have been earning thousands of dollars on the platform.
We speak to Melbourne-based OnlyFans users about why they joined and how they’re finding it as lucrative as ever.
HOW DOES ONLYFANS WORK?
‘Fans’ pay a monthly fee to view either photos, video, live streams or text conversations from their favourite creators.
Users can charge whatever they want for their content — some charge as little as $5USD a month, while the site’s top-earners, like social media star Blac Chyna, charge $20USD per month.
Australian influencer Gem Wolfie is also one of the sites biggest stars, reportedly earning millions from OnlyFans.
All currency is in US Dollars — this means Australian fans pay more, but creators earn more from their content as well.
The privacy of OnlyFans content creators appears to be one of the platform’s selling points — you cannot search the site for users, like you can on other social media platforms.
Instead, creators must either send you a link to their page or you can access a link via their other social media pages.
Very little content is ‘free’, aside from say the user’s profile picture.
‘Fans’ must have a valid credit card attached to their account to preview or subscribe to content.
OF creators pocket a majority of their monthly subscription fees, with the platform taking a small slice.
Creators can also charge for direct message conversations between their fans, and often fans can request specific images and videos.
Like any business, creators can have sales to lure more customers, with some discounting their monthly subscriptions by 50 per cent to net more fans.
One way people make money from OnlyFans lies in setting high subscriber fees from the beginning, like Blac Chyna, and regularly posting content — meaning, there’s no such thing as making a quick buck on the platform.
WHO IS ON ONLYFANS IN MELBOURNE?
NATH WYLD
Using OnlyFans as a full-time job
Melbourne carpenter Nath Wyld traded his full-time job to make money on OnlyFans.
The aspiring body builder quit his day job after earning up to $2000 a week by sharing explicit images and videos of his “best assets” online.
Wyld, who also works in the adult entertainment industry as a topless waiter and stripper, has no shame in sharing X-rated content with his fans.
“Within three months I was making enough that I didn’t need my job,” he said.
“I quit being a chippy, and was making enough on OnlyFans and by stripping on the weekend. That’s been my job ever since.”
Wyld first joined the platform three years ago, and said like anything, investing more time and effort into his page led to better results.
Sometimes he hosts paid live strip shows on OnlyFans, but other times relies solely on photos to make money.
Wyld says girls usually made more than guys on OnlyFans — as men were more willing to pay whatever amount to see risqué content.
“Girls can charge more, but guys work differently. It really depends on who follows you and what you’re prepared to upload,” he said.
“The bulk (of his earnings) comes from subscriptions to my page, not content.”
The 28-year-old says OnlyFans has given him flexibility to train for body building competitions.
“It’s made it so much for flexible for me to make money off the internet,” he says.
“I don’t need to go to work for eight hours of the day to have an income.”
“This way I can put body building first. I can eat and train when I need to.”
LEXIE GREY
Joined OnlyFans to save for a house
Yarra Valley local Lexie Grey joined OnlyFan’s to save for her dream property.
The 28-year-old works as a stripper and says the platform is liberating, empowering and safe for women.
“I’m not ashamed of it by any means. It’s a side hustle for me, I work in the industry as a stripper and upload to OnlyFans once a week to keep my subscribers interested,” she says.
Grey only uses the platform part-time and can at times make up to $2000 per month.
“I’d make a couple of thousand of dollars a month. It really depends on the content you upload.”
“Women are tight a----, men pay well and the gay men pay even better — and some people will pay higher money if they know what they are requesting is a little taboo.”
The type of content and how often she uploaded impacts her subscriber count.
“One piece of content may get you a few subs, but it’s about maintaining it and making money the next month. During COVID, I put a lot of time and effort into it.”
Grey draws a line at uploading certain photos and videos, but also balances this with the underlying pressure to upload more new and exciting content.
“I would make a lot of money posting more explicit content, but I am not comfortable posting it,” she says.
“My girlfriends (on OnlyFans) don’t want to post full nudes, but then again, people will get sick of seeing you in lingerie.”
Grey says a lot of female sex industry workers were on OnlyFans as it allowed them to share content without having it removed by Facebook or Instagram.
“You have a lot more control and opportunities to create the content you want to do,” she says.
Grey is hoping to save enough money on the platform to one day buy a farm.
ASH
On OnlyFans for fun
Ash, who withheld her surname, joined OnlyFans last year to make some extra cash but swears against posting anything explicit.
“I don’t do sex acts, I just post cheekier photos than what Instagram allows,” she says.
“OnlyFans is what you make of it. When I realised it wasn’t just for sexual purposes, I thought I’d try it out.”
Ash has 44,000 followers on Instagram, and shares similar content on her OnlyFans page.
“I was posting on Instagram, but I thought it was crazy I could make money (on OnlyFans) for the same content I would have posted for free anyway (on Instagram),” she says.
Ash says if she puts in a lot of effort, she can earn up to $3000 a month, while some of her friends who upload riskier content have made up to $12,000.
Ash considers her OnlyFans posts tame compared to some of her friends.
“I mainly post pics, usually of me sunbaking in the backyard. It’s never anything sexual or full frontal. At most, I’ll send a message to my followers where they can see a boob.”
“I have friends that have made $12,000 in a month, but I work full time and play a lot of sport, so I’m not doing it as hardcore as them. But if you want to do it properly it takes a lot of work.”
Ash, 34, says often she makes money in unusual ways on the platform.
“One guy sent me a tip for $300 for no reason. Another person subscribes for $15 a month just to support me,” she says.
While initially worried if she’d regret the decision to join OnlyFans later on in life, Ash is comfortable with the type of content she shares with others.
“Nothing has come back to bite me or nobody has tried to blackmail me,” she says.
“I did have a girlfriend experience revenge porn, where her photos were shared in a lads chat group,” she says.
“You have to prepare yourself for that, and not saying that’s all right by any means, but that’s another reason I didn’t go the hardcore route.”
“People need to understand OnlyFans can be used for whatever you want to do. If you want to upload images of yourself in a wetsuit, there’ll be a niche for it.”
“There’s pages dedicated solely to feet or putting moisturiser on your legs. It don’t need to be sexual or crazy full on.”
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