New Zealand Olympic rower Robbie Manson has candidly discussed the financial reasons he’s joined subscription site OnlyFans.
The openly gay athlete, who came out in 2014 and has represented New Zealand at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, announced the move last week.
Robbie told his Instagram followers he hasn’t “gone rogue and started a secret adult film career”. But he wrote he would be posting “artistic pictures that celebrate the human form in a tasteful and respectful manner.”
The Kiwi hunk is currently in training for the Paris 2024 Olympics. He’s explained that the life of a professional athlete is a full-time job that pays less than people might think.
“[Training is] really expensive. There’s a lot of support for the tour costs, and we do get a grant to help us train full-time,” he told the New Zealand Herald.
“But what I’m currently on is less than the minimum wage of a full-time job. Rowing is a full-time job.
“We’re physically training for 20 to 25 hours a week, but that doesn’t include warming up and cooling down.
“We also have meetings and other obligations and all the things that go into being an athlete. It’s definitely a full-time job.
“We’re lucky that we get to do what we do full-time. It’s a massive privilege. But it’s also hard to live week to week.”
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Robbie Manson said on an earlier hiatus from his sport, he experienced suddenly finding himself with no income.
“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves, and there’s a lot of aspects to athlete mental health. But I think the financial struggle is one of them,” he said.
“The cost of living has gone up massively. [OnlyFans is] also to help set me up for the future, beyond rowing.”
Robbie said while he’s also done online coaching in his free time, there were limits to how much he could do with his training schedule.
“The scalability of OnlyFans as a business, it doesn’t matter if I have one subscriber or a thousand subscribers,” he told Newstalk ZB.
“It’s the same amount of work, so it fits in really well with training.
“Would I be putting myself out there if money wasn’t an issue? Probably not, but the possibility of what can come from [OnlyFans] is huge.”
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Robbie Manson says Matthew Mitcham’s OnlyFans inspired him
Robbie Manson said retired Australian diver Matthew Mitcham, who joined OnlyFans earlier this year, inspired the OnlyFans move.
“It’s hard to know the success of other content creators but I know Matthew Mitcham is doing it similar to what I’m doing,” Robbie said.
“He’s what made me think this is something that could work.
“It’s fun and creative and I guess a little bit of a cheeky way to raise a little bit more money so I can afford to support myself.
“I’m posting artistic nude photography on there. It’s nothing I haven’t before. I’ve done a photoshoot in the past with the Worldwide Roar, formerly the Warwick Rowers.
“I’m not doing sexually explicit content but the controversial nature of OnlyFans has raised the publicity.”
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OnlyFans is known for its sexually explicit content, Robbie Manson said, but added the platform is simply “social media with a paywall” and he’s been “clear” about his reasons for joining and what he’s offering.
“It was a big and scary step, but the reaction has been more positive than I was expecting,” he said.
“There will be people who will want to see more, but it’s just about sticking to what I’m doing, being clear about what I’m doing so people know what to expect.
“It’s exceeded expectations in the last week and a half or so. If it grows from where it is now, it could be life-changing.”
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