Athletes have been joining OnlyFans at an accelerated pace in the last couple of years because it offers the kind of freedom that most athletes need. Thanks to their grueling training schedules, most athletes can’t hold down traditional jobs. And yet they need income outside of their sports, because unless they are at the top of a very popular sport like football, basketball or baseball, athletes are not paid well for their skill.

That’s why British swimmer Jack Laugher joined the subscription-based platform as he trained to compete at the Paris Olympics in 2024. The diver took home bronze, and he could not have done it without his OnlyFans supporters.

In an interview about his OnlyFans experience, Laugher said: “For me, it’s been an absolute lifeline.”

The $10 a month support he received from subscribers was essential to allow him to focus on his sport and compete at that level — and he’s not the only one. Other Olympic athletes have turned to OnlyFans, including New Zealand rower Robbie Manson, Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman, and divers Timo Barthel and Diego Belleza Isaias.

Yet fellow Brit Kurts Adams Rozentals was just banned from competing in his event thanks to his OnlyFans account. Rozentals is a talented who was banned from competing in the individual canoe slalom earlier this year by Paddle UK, the governing body for his sport, regarding “allegations” about his posts on social media. Rozentals was also removed from the World Class Programme, UK Sport’s lottery-funded initiative to help athletes prepare for the Olympics.

While Paddle UK didn’t explicitly say OnlyFans was the reason, Rozentals is fairly confident it is.

“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 explained in an interview.

The canoeist also shared that he had made more £100,000 in the few months he had been on the platform. Not only did that money allow him to focus on becoming an even better athlete, it offered him a level of freedom that is hard to come by — but it seems it comes at a cost. The suspension is not only keeping him from competing in his sport, but also from contacting any of the staff or athletes on the programme.

Rozentals said he froze when he heard the news.

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

PaddleUK’s investigation has kept pretty quiet about the situation, only sharing: “The investigation has been referred to independent investigation service Sport Integrity. Paddle UK is committed to ensuring a safe and open environment for all, and interim action under the Athlete Disciplinary Policy is only taken where necessary and proportionate.”

For now, Rozentals is stuck waiting for them to decide his fate. Because if he is asked to choose, he’s going to pick OnlyFans. While he says it would be hard, he has to make that choice.

“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. 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].”

It’s hard to blame the athlete for choosing financial stability over a possible Olympic dream, given the current state of the world and the economy.

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