It’s been almost two years since Matthew Mitcham started his side hustle as an Onlyfans model, now the trend is taking off with many current Olympic competitors.

In a column published by The Telegraph the former Australian Olympic champion opens up about his decision and defends the new wave of athletes following his pathway.

Olympians turning to Onlyfans to supplement their income

As the Paris Olympics kicked off this week the competiton has recieved plenty of attention both on and off the playing field.

After the opening ceremony got tongues wagging world wide attention turned to the competition.

Only a few days into the competiton British diver Tom Daley took out his fifth Olympic medal, but many members of the Great Britain diving team were catching plenty of attention elsewhere.

Five of the current and former team have taken up the popular side hustle as Onlyfans models. Divers Jack Laugher, Noah Williams, Matty Lee, Daniel Goodfellow and Mathew Dixon have all taken to the platform garnering plenty of attention.

With much attention drawn to the work of these athletes former Olmpic champion Matthew Mitcham has stepped in to defend them.

Matthew Mitcham on pioneering Olympic Onlyfans trend

Mitcham, who came out as gay ahead of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and made history as the first out gay man to win an individual Olympic gold medal.

In 2023 he opened up about joining the platform, even revealing that he sells his old underwear to fans.

“The world can be very prudish. It feels like people like to shame athletes who show off their bodies” he wrote in this column for The Telegraph.

But he is adamant the platform is a worthwhile and viable option for earning extra money for current and former athletes.

“It’s a useful way of supplementing income” he said.

“After all the hours and sacrifice we’ve put in, we athletes have more than earned the odd side-hustle.”

For Mitcham it has become more than just a side hustle he reveals.

“Since I retired from diving in 2016, my income has slowed down. I am doing corporate speaking and have worked in a few other roles, but the money I’m collecting from OnlyFans helps me get by.”

Reflecting on his earnings as an athlete and that of those in the industry he reveals there isn’t as much money in the sport as it may seem.

“My personal earnings as an athlete dipped and climbed unpredictably”

“Funding was based entirely on how you performed at the benchmark event of the previous year, whether that be the Olympics or World Championships, and if you didn’t compete because of injury, or you had one bad dive and didn’t medal, then things could get very difficult.”

Onlyfans: “My body, my choice”

When facing criticism about his choice he maintains it is just that, his choice.

“I’ve invested a lot of time and effort in my body. If people want to see it, I’d be stupid to give it away for free. Yes, some might ask “Why give it away at all?” But my answer to that would be ‘my body, my choice’” he affirmed.

Like many of the other athletes Matthew Mitcham maintains he’s not doing anything pornographic, although his content has become increasingly more risque in recent months.

“I still haven’t shown any full-frontal nudity on my page” he maintains.

“When it comes to nudity, my personal philosophy around it is “If I can defend this as artistic rather than obscene then I will share it.” Because when it crosses the line into pornography, that’s when people can start taking issue, and it would almost certainly start to impact my mainstream opportunities.”

But Mitcham maintains that despite the stigma, it’s all about choice and how comfortable you are putting yourself out there.

“I admit that there is a stigma attached to modelling on OnlyFans, and you have to weigh it up carefully.”

“Ultimately, you can play safe and stay within the system, or you can decide to be a maverick – one of those people who steps outside the system and changes it.”

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