When we think of the Olympics, we think of glory and gold medals. But for the majority of the 10,500 athletes estimated to be competing in the 2024 Olympic Games, which kick off in Paris on Friday 26 July, their sporting prowess won’t be transformed into lasting fame – even for those who do win medals. That’s why, many of them are taking financial matters into their own hands (so to speak). This week, it was revealed that six members of Team GB’s male diving team have a side hustle on OnlyFans. Naturally, it’s got people talking.
OnlyFans is a subscription website, best known as a direct way for celebrities, content creators and sex workers to sell content – including adult content – directly to their followers. It’s a hugely popular platform, with over 120 million registered users and $5 billion (£3.8 billion) paid out to creators since it began. In a time of global financial hardship, it’s becoming more and more common for people to start a page and pick up some extra cash.
But despite the website’s ever-increasing ubiquity, it’s still something that still comes with a lot of stigma. When it comes to OnlyFans, people don’t know how to deal with it. That’s why, the revelation that a number of Team GB’s diving squad – Jack Laugher, Noah Williams, Matty Lee, Daniel Goodfellow, Robbie Lee and Matthew Dixon – were also OnlyFans creators was treated as scandalous. ‘Tom Daley’s Team GB diving partners funding Olympic dream through OnlyFans’ said one headline, while one far more judgemental column headline argued, ‘In an age cursed by online porn, the sight of semi-naked Team GB divers selling subscriptions on OnlyFans is a shocking example to set.’
The pearl-clutching is, sadly, expected, but it’s a ridiculous reaction. For one, it’s their body, their choice, right? And two: have you seen how much olive oil costs these days? Living is expensive! People have side hustles of all genres to support their main jobs, and this is no different. Platforms like OnlyFans can be particularly lucrative for people with a bit of fame or a social media following too, with everyone from Love Island stars to rappers to YouTubers selling content on the site. If it’s good enough for Lily Allen to sell her feet pics, why shouldn’t the Olympians?
The judgement largely seems based upon an assumption that Olympic athletes are so successful they wouldn’t need to make OnlyFans content. It’s true that once every four years, the world does get a bit obsessed with the toned athletes of the games, giving them a summer of fame and celebrity. Their team mate Tom Daley has managed to turn Olympic fame into actual celebrity (partly thanks to his knitting content) and years in the spotlight. But he’s the exception. For the majority of Team GB’s 327 athletes, full-time fame won’t follow. They might continue their success on reality shows like Strictly Come Dancing to boost their profile, but these opportunities are few and far between and tend to appeal to athletes at the end of their careers, who can afford to give up all that training time.
Jack Laugher (left), Olympian and OnlyFans model, with Tom Daley ©Imago
As many headlines did mention, OnlyFans can help fund the athletes in getting to Paris in the first place. The Olympics ain’t cheap, and the amount of money earned by Olympians varies wildly. In keeping with the tournament’s origins as an amateur competition, there’s no actual prize money for winning a medal, although athletes can be paid by their respective National Olympic Committee. The majority of opportunities come in sponsorship, which, again, varies massively person to person.
Even those at the top of their game aren’t making big bucks. 29-year-old Jack Laugher, Rio 2016 gold medallist, is one of the OnlyFans Olympians. He’s top three in the world in his sport, yet revealed that he makes £28,000 annually from diving – considerably less than the median UK salary, which is £35,828. ‘It’s obviously a very good salary and it’s a very liveable one, but it’s not a commonly perceived sporting salary, as it were,’ he told The Sun. ‘So yes, I try and make extra money. I’ll do anything to hustle for some more.’
For Laugher, who doesn’t post full-on nudity on his page, what he does for cash is no different to underwear modelling. ‘I know what I’m doing. I’m comfortable with what I’m doing,’ he said. ‘I’ve always liked doing it. I like to show myself off and that’s what I’m doing but this way I can just make myself a little bit of cash and set myself up for the future a bit better.’
So no, there’s nothing shameful about Olympics – or anyone – doing OnlyFans. But critics of the sports stars on the website are forgetting one crucial thing. People get so obsessed with the Olympics in the first place, often, because they fancy its fancying the people involved. When brands sign them up for sponsorships, they’re capitalising on this too. Why should gyms, cereals and supermarkets get to use the Olympians’ hard-trained bodies to sell products, yet they can’t? As Laugher said, ‘Obviously, I’ve got something people want, and I’ll happily cash in on that – I don’t care.’ And why should he? Get that coin, we say.
Isobel Lewis is a news and entertainment writer at Grazia, where she covers TV, entertainment and celebrity. She previously worked as a culture reporter for The Independent, and has written for publications including The New York Times, The Guardian and The i.
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