British Canoeist Says He’s Being Forced to Choose Between Olympics and OnlyFans: ‘It’s a Tough Decision’

Kurts Adams Rozentals finds himself with a difficult decision to make over his “spicy content page.” 

The British canoeist is being forced to choose between going for his “ultimate dream” at the Olympics or continuing his OnlyFans account, according to BBC Sport and the athlete’s own claims on Instagram.

In April, Paddle UK’s governing body removed Rozentals from the UK Sport’s lottery-funded initiative, which supports athletes in their journey to the Olympics, the outlet reported on Thursday, May 29.

Paddle UK has since launched an investigation following “allegations” related to Rozentals’ social media accounts. The governing body has not clarified the specifics surrounding the allegations, but Rozentals has some ideas of his own, the outlet and a lengthy statement posted to Instagram.

Rozentals said he created an OnlyFans account in January for the purpose of raising money to fund his athletics. He uses his Instagram posts to funnel online traffic to the subscription website, which is known for its adult content.

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“I have been posting videos [on Instagram] that are consciously made to be edgy in order to drive conversions to my ‘spicy content page’ [on OnlyFans] to fund this ultimate dream of going to the Olympics,” Rozentals told BBC Sport. 

Paddle UK reportedly provides their athletes with an annual grant of £16,000, but Rozentals said that’s nowhere close to covering his training costs. “I don’t know how much you need but it’s certainly not £16,000,” he claimed.

Noting that most full-time athletes are living in London, Rozentals said they are responsible for covering all of their food, rent and travel which adds up on top of training. “They’re very fortunate to have parent backing — I wasn’t,” Rozentals said about his personal finances in relation to other competitors.

He added, “I never had the ability to move to London because of financial struggles so I was always doing the travel from the East Midlands, where I live, to London, back-and-forth, back-and-forth.”

On Instagram, he noted that he “was sick of worrying how to pay rent” and “sick of being on the verge of homelessness.”

Rozentals, who competes in the individual canoe slalom, has since published 39 videos and over 100 photos to his OnlyFans account in addition to clips on Instagram. In that time, the athlete told BBC Sport that he gained well over 10,000 likes on his posted content as well as pocketed over £100,000.

However, in April, Rozentals recalled receiving a call from a Paddle UK representative informing him that he was suspended from the program while also warning him to cease all contact with the program’s staff and athletes.

Additionally, on Instagram, he claimed that Paddle UK “banned [him] from competing at the 2nd and final part of GB team selections.”

“I kind of froze and I couldn’t believe the words I was hearing because this is what I put my life into this is everything I do,” Rozentals told the outlet, explaining, “My personality at this point, my identity, is sport and I want to be a professional athlete chasing my Olympic dream.”

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An investigation is now being conducted by an independent investigative service called Sport Integrity, the governing body said, telling BBC Sport that while the suspension was not a disciplinary action, it was an “interim action” and a “neutral act designed to protect all parties.” 

Paddle UK said they aim to “safeguard other athletes, staff and volunteers due to the nature of the allegation.”

According to Paddle UK’s Athlete Disciplinary Policy, which was last updated in October 2022, an athlete’s participation in “gross misconduct” can lead to disqualification in the program. “Offensive use of social media” and “indecent, offensive or immoral behaviour” are listed as examples of gross misconduct.

Yet, Rozentals isn’t too quick to give up his OnlyFans account to earn back his spot with the Paddle UK program and a chance to compete for a spot on Team GB, calling it the “hardest decision that I’ve ever faced in my life.”

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“I came to the realization about why I started doing this last winter after years of struggle, years of living on the edge, my mum working 90 hours-a-week, having bailiffs at the door,” Rozentals explained to BBC Sport.

He added, “I’m going to find a way where we don’t have to struggle, where my mum can enjoy her life and I’m able to put everything into this sport because when you’re thinking about how to pay the rent this month and you’re standing at the start line, that’s not very conducive [to performing well].”

However, at this time, the athlete’s future with Paddle UK remains uncertain.

“It’s a tough decision but unless something changes in the way athletes are paid I don’t see a way of working with Paddle UK,” the athlete said,

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