‘I’m the highest earner in my family’: The Newc student who dropped out to do Onlyfans
‘I left university and am making 5 times the average graduate salary’
A Newcastle Univeristy student has dropped out to pursue her successful OnlyFans career.
19-year-old Imogen Duffield left Newcastle University in 2019, at the end of her first year. Initially gaining attention from her “very lewd” Instagram page, she made the switch to OnlyFans in early October. Now Imogen is in the top 1% of all creators, and also has over 44k followers on Twitter.
She spoke to The Newcastle Tab about her experience. You can also read more about Imogen on our national site.
“I’m the highest earner in my family now, they can’t really deny that I’m doing alright for myself.”
OnlyFans is a social media service, in which individuals release photos and videos, that are available on a membership fee. However, it is not strictly used by adult performers. Re-subscriptions are the minimum amount each worker will earn every week. Money made on top of that involves completing custom requests, engaging in reductions or promotions and interacting with clients. This uncertainty can be a point of motivation, and an incentive to produce creative, original content according to Imogen.
Imogen told The Newcastle Tab about her experience at university, she said: “I studied linguistics at Newcastle Uni for the first year. My mental health was shocking, and I didn’t even attend my third term”. This lead to her leaving further education, and pursuing OnlyFans. She said: “My friends were upset I was leaving, especially because I live quite far from newcastle, but they understood why.”
According to her OnlyFans website, she has over 1500 fans, and charges $4.95 per month. Uploads include: “Weekly solo videos”, “Surprise custom videos” and “Twerking,” among others. She has also been requested to start paying her student loan back, something most of us don’t think of until our mid twenties.
It must be mentioned that the site is used to promote online engagement with clients, not physical. According to section 10.2.9 C, users must not advertise escort services.
The site gives women control over their body, and the content they make. Ownership is in the hands of the performer, unlike many porn websites. Imogen claims that her natural “trendy slim thick frame” has been a massive part of her success in the industry. She told us she has having always felt “confident and empowered by her body and sexual nature.”
Creators choose where/when to shoot, edit and post their content, so a lot of the magic happens at home, making it a lonely career choice; very different to the hustle and bustle of university. Imogen stated that: “We generally don’t have coworkers we see everyday and socialise with.”
Nevertheless, the sex workers community are extremely supportive of each other, and the majority of promotional work, includes retweets and likes on twitter from co-workers. Imogen says that she’s made some of her best friends within the community. Most of her family are also aware of her career choice, however she chose not to tell one member. Imogen said: “The majority of my family know and are okay with it. We made the decision that telling my 93 year old grandpa would be more hassle than it’s worth.”
“It’s very low stress, I’ve always struggled with my body and this has made it better.”
Social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter are pivotal in promoting a brand, and creating an image to gain subscribers. Imogen asserts that: “Sex work is 1% taking nudes and 99% networking.” Establishing connections and friendships within the industry is crucial, as everyone knows everyone.
Imogen also shoots content with her boyfriend, and he had the initial idea of her developing an OnlyFans site.
Whilst Imogen has made a successful platform for herself, she said that it’s not a “get rich quick” scheme. Sex workers exert long hours, whilst being harassed by trolls behind a keyboard, who are uneducated in the field. She also presses that sex work is a valid, legitimate career choice and worthy of acknowledgement.
She said: “I’ve never met a harder worker than a sex worker. We are doing 11 jobs in one, we are doxxed, harassed, assaulted and even killed. It is WORK. I think it’s important to portray it as a valid and real form of work”.
Imogen told The Tab that she’s happy to do this for the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, it’s hard to predict how the sex worker industry will develop, stating: “Maybe a different site will come along and take prime popularity, but there will never be a shortage of horny people and porn consumers”.
We asked Imogen if she makes enough money to live a comfortable life. She told us: “due to re subscriptions, I already know the bare minimum I will make every week. Everything I earn on top of that is on me to work for.” OnlyFans creators can make extra money from interacting with clients. “I earn the same rough amount each week, but only about a quarter of it is guaranteed from the resubs. I have to bust my ass to earn the rest of it. I like it that way though.”
The industry is still expanding rapidly, and currently there are over 30,000 creators, and four million users globally. If this is the way forward for adult film making, and interactive user-ship, then everyone should know about it.
Imogen is a 19 year old, who has essentially created her own business. She is an entrepreneur, a videographer and a marketer, like many other sex workers. The industry is getting larger, and with people like Imogen normalising sex work, this career path is becoming more widely accepted within society.