The Irish Fans Behind Ireland’s OnlyFans

The site is only going from strength to strength.

In 2021, users of internet content subscription service Only Fans, which acts in large part as a marketplace for adult performers, noted record profits as subscribers spent a staggering €4.8 billion paying to unlock exclusive content from their favourite creators, with the main attraction being pornography.

Statistics from September of 2022 note that OnlyFans has 2.1 million registered creators who sell content, whilst there’s over 188 million users – known as subs, who buy the content, paying extra for private chats, images and videos from their favourite performers.

Here in Ireland, many creators have forged a very successful career off OnlyFans, citing earning of over €50,000 a month, with one popular OnlyFans creator Niamh O’Connor (known as “Keevo”) taking to her Instagram story in 2021 to celebrate her newfound millionaire status solely thanks to the earning she made from the app.

But the earnings do come with a price, as Kneevo admitted on Charleen Murphy and Ellie Kelly’s podcast ‘Hold My Drink’. Speaking on the episode, Kneevo confessed that starting out on OnlyFans was “really rough” as her images were screenshot and uploaded onto “popular porn sites” as well as sent to members of her family. Sharing advice, the 25-year-old said: “You shouldn’t go into something like OnlyFans if you aren’t prepared to every person in your life to see you naked.”

For Kneevo, however, she admits that doing OnlyFans just felt like the right move for her, and now as one of the top Irish creators on the subscription service, she has garnered tens of thousands of subscribers, creating herself a large fanbase in Ireland, the UK, and the US.

Intrigued to know more and talk to those who remain anonymously on the other side of the platform, STELLAR spoke with some Irish subscribers of OnlyFans. Spending as little as €6 a month on a single performers’ subscription fee to upwards of a thousand, and accessing personalised content and exclusivity behind paywalls, we got their insight into what makes OnlyFans so good, that they can’t help but go back for more!

TREVOR*, 42 SAYS …

“I subscribe to 11 creators every month and I pay yearly, which brings down the cost quite a good bit as I get some great discounts for showing my continued support. When it comes to paying, I have no absolutely no issue spending money on the content I like. Similar to paying for Netflix, Amazon Prime or wherever you get entertainment from. Those I subscribe to vary from explicit performers to one or two celebrity accounts. To be honest, I see no issue with using OF and I’ve found that those who do have never actually used the app. I just know that when it comes to entertainment – especially that of the adult genre, I’d rather pay for quality than get it for free off some dodgy link or website.”

JOHN*, 29 SAYS …

“If they cater to a particular fetish (for me it’s a foot fetish), it’s a good way to get content that specialises to specific interests without feeling embarrassed by it. Also, I personally like the fact you can interact with the creators.”

TARA*, 22 SAYS …

“My best friend is an OnlyFans creator! I subscribe to her channel to show my love and support. I don’t look at any of her posts, but I’m extremely proud of her for choosing to work in an industry that makes her so happy! Unfortunately, the downside to the job is that she’s lost touch with a few close friends and family members over her want to pursue OF as a career. I know she finds that extremely challenging at times and sometimes I think it might be the reason she will eventually pack it all in. From chatting to her it sounds like quite an isolating job, especially if you don’t have friends in the same industry and without her family’s support I’d be surprised if she continues into 2023. But regardless of what she decides, I’m her to support and that’s what I do!”

SEAMUS *, 40 SAYS …

“I love the personalised elements to OF, it’s really what makes the service great. Getting to talk to creators as well as pay for specific content takes the experience to a whole other level. Similar to the likes of Instagram or Twitter, OnlyFans is always making changes and updates to make the service better and more user friendly. It’s clear that they care a lot about our input as subscribers, and having talked to a lot of creators too, it seems all the updates benefit us both which is great. ”

CIAN*, 29 SAYS …

“Porn sites can be extremely repetitive and most of them don’t look like they’ve been updated since the year 2000! I’d rather pay and get great content than watch the same video 1,000 times for free. Plus, when I see what some of these OnlyFans content creators are making, I respect the hustle massively!”

DANIELLE*, 33 SAYS …

“I subscribe to both men and women for adult content. I do from time to time find myself struggling with whether I believe the app is empowering or exploitative – an age-old problem when it comes to the porn industry. For me, I try to do as much research as possible on the people I follow. I see how OnlyFans is a great way for creators to control their image and share what they want unlike traditional sex work and pornography routes where they might be led out of their comfort zones and/or into danger. I just think it’s important that creators join the app to control their narrative.”

* Some names have been changed. 

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