In a recent podcast episode featuring both founders of Creators Spicy Tea, Cesar a buyer and community leader, and Alley a veteran creator, we discussed our journeys in the community and wider industry of adult content. We mentioned in that episode that we had reached out to some of the members of our communities, both buyers and creators, to learn and share their stories as well. This resource will be sharing the creators perspective and stories.
Note: All participants will remain anonymous to protect their privacy. Creators Spicy Tea wants to send a huge thank you to all who contributed and shared their story
What led you to decide that you wanted to look into providing fetish content/services online?
The drive for income:
A common theme we saw arise from this question was similar to what I had stated in the podcast above:
“I was living only on disability and surrounded by all this creativity and I decided, well, fuck, I want to try something that has something to do with creativity. I want to be able to make some fucking money from it because at the time, again, living only on disability, you’re not making enough to live. So I started looking into just like the base, photography, right? And then it kind of clicked in my brain that I don’t have the technical skills to make photography a career. But what I could do is take pictures of me. And we all knew about OnlyFans at that time. And so I was like, okay, if I just take pictures of myself, can do OnlyFans.”
Many of the creators who responded also saw themselves in a period of their life where they needed a way to make some income while life was busy elsewhere or they were in a bind.
What the Creators had to say:
“My journey into adult content creation started in 2018. Life threw a massive curve ball my way and I needed a way to make money fast with whatever I had, which at the time was not a lot. Vigorous googling about how to make money online led me to discover cam sites, which I still, to this date, use and earn on!”
“Honestly when I was 18 I wanted to pay for college. So I started selling panties and cam shows. At the time it was just a means to an end. Now I have an MBA and my main job is sex work and running a company for cosplay porn.”
“I’ve been on my own since [REDACTED] and all the jobs were just not cutting it! I used to bartend and dance and once I saw an ad for camming and thought hey I could do that!”
Learning, pivoting, and evolving:
Another major theme we saw pop up in this question was creators starting in the industry in one way or another, then making shifts, changes and adjustments as they grew more experienced. I had a very similar experience when starting on OnlyFans and learning that that was just not the platform for me.
“was about three months of being on OnlyFans alone and only promoting on Reddit. This is before I knew about the direct selling side of things. I just started to find myself doing the exact same thing you were. I’m sorry, there’s just… For most creators, there’s no community on OnlyFans, or there wasn’t for me. It was not the right structure for me to be able to find that actual meaningful interaction and community that I do need to have in my life. And apparently now I know I need to have it in my work. But yeah, was just basically a lot of misinformed decisions that ended up kind of working. And yeah, just, wish I would have done more research before diving into it though.”
What the Creators had to say:
“I started OnlyFans back in 2018, pre-pandemic, but like a lot of people I didn’t really begin focusing on it seriously until around 2019–2020. After about a year, I realized I wanted to do more in the space and share my genuine love for sex, sexuality, and showing off. That curiosity led me to exploring cam modeling, and while researching and joining different groups, I ended up finding my now real-life best friend, who introduced me to Reddit selling. She had already been in the space for about five years and showed me the ins and outs — the communities, the shared passion for sex work, and the level of autonomy that comes with being truly independent. Unlike platforms like OnlyFans, which operate under strict policies that aren’t always sex-worker friendly, this space felt far more aligned with my values. I’ve always had a deep appreciation for sex work and admired the freedom, confidence, income potential, and passion that can come with it. I knew I wanted to be part of it in some way, and that path naturally led me here — fast forward seven years later, and it’s been an incredibly defining part of my journey.”
“I knew that I needed to niche down when I entered the online sex work space so I decided I’d look into BDSM. After researching BDSM for about a week it sounded fun and interesting so I tried it out for myself (outside of SW) and realized I loved it on a personal level and that made it a lot easier to find my niche within BDSM and eventually offer fetish content professionally”
How was your journey at the beginning? What kind of growing pains did you experience and had to learn/grow from?
Starting, or re-starting, from square one
Two common themes emerged from this question. Some creators started from square one and had to work damn hard for every inch of growth they earned. Whether it was a rough time building trust with clients, or not having access to the tools needed to produce to their desired standard.
What the Creators had to say:
“I started with nothing – I had a laptop with its inbuilt camera and crappy internet connection. I cammed from a cold empty warehouse when I first started. I made all the mistakes – had my rates too low, put way too much effort into non paying clients, got scammed, had my limits pushed, created crappy content with crappy equipment.”
“Honestly, at the beginning 10+ years ago it was much easier. People wanted to pay and rarely scammed. There was a lot of trust between buyers and sellers. Restarting 4 years ago was very different. Scams on both ends and learning to catch time wasters. That seems to be a huge pain for both buyers and sellers. Both need to learn to identify a scam.”
“To start with I had a lot to learn about BDSM and the ethics of engaging in safe, sane, risk-aware kink. Secondly, I had a terribly hard time the first few times I tried being submissive. I wanted to understand the experience of the submissive to be a better Domme and I learned just how vulnerable the submissive is in a power exchange. This gave me huge respect for submissives and really fueled how I view kink in general and my personal ethics when interacting with potential clients. This experience also greatly informed which fetishes i was willing to engage in.”
Building fast and learning to manage demand
This was my experience once I dove into direct selling. There was a huge surge of demand that I had to be able to manage, meet, and then continue to scale.
“I think when we started looking at those growing pains, they all came once I had started direct selling on Reddit. And so the number one that I really am in no way complaining about, but I am glad I learned from very quickly, when I first joined the direct selling scene, I kind of exploded. I was immediately, consistently, overwhelmingly busy to the point where shit was starting to slip, like I was starting to lose track of everything, which is now why I am so fucking obsessed with trackers and tracking every piece of data out there”
What the Creators had to say:
“In the beginning, my journey was surprisingly smooth in some ways — I’ve always had a natural knack for this kind of work. Even early on with OnlyFans, I was able to grow from hundreds to thousands of subscribers within just a few months. That said, my biggest growing pains didn’t come from a lack of demand, but from managing it.”
“I had to quickly learn how to prioritize what to take on, what to say no to, and how much I could realistically handle without burning out. Because things scaled so fast, time management, message volume, and balancing multiple platforms became real challenges. I was juggling OnlyFans alongside other adult sites, learning how to structure my days, set boundaries, and treat my work like a business rather than saying yes to everything. I was very fortunate to have guidance early on from someone experienced who helped educate me and shape my approach. That support, combined with being naturally business-minded, allowed me to adapt quickly. Beyond building confidence on camera and in my sexuality, my biggest lesson was learning how to manage growth — not just attracting attention, but sustaining it in a healthy, intentional way.”
“Honestly my first year I made six figures off one site! I absolutely love what I do! YOU HAVE TO HAVE THICK SKIN! DONT Take anything personal! I also had to learn not everyone wants to be your friend!”
How did you find the Reddit community? Was it where you started, or did you find it along the way?
Finding it from the grapevine
A lot of creators can relate to knowing about Reddit, but maybe not knowing about the promotional and selling opportunities there until someone showed them.
What the Creators had to say:
“I read about direct sales on reddit years ago but had no idea about how reddit works. Made an account ( rip u/c4llmem4ri4) but had no idea about how anything works or where these sales where supposed to be happening so I forgot about it for a long time. It was not until someone left me a review for the FBC, that I found the world that is selling on reddit. By having that review, I immediately qualified to FWA, which was super helpful. I remember verifying for sexsells jumping through all the hoops and telling the mods that I will never post, I will just respond to the buy ads. They were like, do what you want, you are verified now. I did that for ages, responding to buy ads without ever posting anything into my profile. I got no traction so I then started posting and learning more and actually making sales.”
“One of my friends recommended it for promoting, and eventually just stumbled into selling communities.”
Finding it through research
Many of us however ended up really finding out about it through heavy and intense research and really digging into the weeds of the logistics before diving into it.
What the Creators had to say:
“I found the Reddit community along the way rather than starting there. I honestly didn’t even realize that selling on Reddit was its own world — it wasn’t something I had actively searched for at first. My initial goal was simply to find spaces with like-minded people where I could share advice, ask questions, and learn from others in the industry. Through that process, I ended up getting lucky and connecting with people who were not only sex-work positive, but also very business-minded and independently driven. That’s how I met my now best friend, who eventually introduced me to Reddit selling and showed me how the community worked. From there, it was just a matter of creating my own account, applying what I learned, and finding my place within the space.”
“I tried spreading my brand to every social media platform in the beginning and Reddit was one of the platforms I’ve tried repeatedly. Specifically the fetish communities associated with creators spicy tea, I found through Alley after discovering her podcast. This was a few years into my SW career. Along the way I been in the industry over15 years. I found out about it 6 years ago.”
What kind of an impact have other creators had on your business/mindset? Either directly through interaction or indirectly as inspiration/motivation through their process?
Learning from others
I think the good bulk of us creators can say that we have at minimum observed what each other is doing here or there. Many of us have taken it a step further and really looked to learn, evolve, and grow from each other. I know I for sure have.
“I was going to quit content creation in my first three or four months, three to five months. I was very, very much so planning to quit because I was lonely. This is a job in which you interact with people all day, every day, and they can be wonderful interactions and they can be meaningful interactions. But you know what? I wanna bitch about buyers sometimes. Yeah. And you know what else? I wanna talk shit about the lame parts of content creation. I wanna complain about, you know, I dropped my dildo in the sink and it cracked my tile. I don’t know. You know, the weird shit that I can’t take to like my IRL friends, I can’t take to clients or anything like that. So finding that Discord community and the people who built it and then helping build and like nurture that community and all the creators in it not only made me stay, made me keep going, made me want to keep going…Yeah, no, the creators around me have shifted my entire business. I mean, I built a business because I love them so much. And they’ve shifted who I am as a whole human being. I’ve never met a community of people more fucking weird and more like myself than I have in creators.”
What the Creators had to say:
“It would be rude not to give a shout out to Alley at this point – she has created a massive resource to all creators, I have picked up helpful tips from her stuff and I found the coaching call with her super useful also. All this time on reddit and I was still using it wrong! Doh.”
“I love to think of the community as very friendly, cheering each other, but probably it is like that only on the surface, I think as everywhere it is a dog eat dog world. I will always have my dms open for other sellers and will always help with what I can. I never really had that type of “mentor” to reach out when I started, so now I want to give that back to whoever might need it. I am forever looking through other sellers’ profiles to see what they are doing differently and where I could be improving. Never to copy!”
“The market is obviously filled with scammers and get Rich quick mindset girls. This has pushed me to work harder to show I’m fast, reliable and always deliver. $25 now is never worth the thousands you could make being legit and quality”
“My biggest influence early on was my best friend. She was absolutely the driving force and initial inspiration for me, especially at the very beginning. Seeing what she had built, how she navigated the space, and how confidently she operated helped me understand what was possible and gave me the push to take myself seriously in this industry. Over the last five to six years, though, I’ve grown tremendously and carved out my own space. My business practices, pricing, mindset, and overall approach are very much my own now. While I’ve taken inspiration from many other creators along the way — sometimes directly, sometimes simply by observing their success or the positions they achieved — my journey has been about evolving into my own lane rather than replicating anyone else’s path. That said, she’ll always be my OG inspiration, and more broadly, seeing creators I admire continue to grow and succeed still motivates me. It reminds me that there’s always another level to reach and that growth in this space is ongoing if you’re willing to adapt and evolve.”
“I’ve always been a chronic researcher and other creators have been the founding pillars of my knowledge of every aspect of the SW industry. The only way creators can learn is either through trial and error, or by listening to the advice of those who came before us … no pun intended.. 😬 and I’m not a fan of going into anything blind. Most of the impact other creators have had on me has been passive, that is, I consume content about SW eddiquette and what to expect and how to do my job better from other creators without interacting directly. It’s only within the past year I’ve begun to engage directly with other creators and I’ve been doing SW since 2022. At this point I feel like I know where to go to get information if I need it and only seldomly reach out directly for advice or mentorship.”
“Collaborating From talking with other creators down to conventions and just talking with them online and in groups. It has taught me so much!!! From learning about investing and tips and tricks things like that really let you find your niche and once your discipline plays a HUGE part! Since I’ve became a part of CST everyone is so kind and understanding it’s amazing! Alley I can’t say enough good things about her. Until I found her group I was really feeling like nobody liked me. She really understands people plus has sooo much patience. Plus the admins in the group are just as amazing!”
What has been your experience with clients? How have they shaped who you are, what you provide
Growing from our client interractions
Most creators who responded reported genuinely positive experiences with their clients. They also state that through those experiences they evolved as creators and humans. Even working with bad clients over time has taught them all lessons on how to better run their business and ensure they are maintaining their boundaries and energy.
Through my years interacting with clients has completely shaped who I am as a creator. But that is not the only area that client interraction has changed me. Getting more confident with clients and getting more experience with many different types of clients has absolutely changed me which I shared in the podcast episode
“just being able to develop those kind of connections and like relationships with clients has absolutely shaped who I am as a person. I am significantly more personable in general. I’m more confident in just being who I am because fuck, mean 800 people can’t be that wrong. I mean they can be. We’re seeing it. But you know, what are the odds this time? It’s like I’ve become much more self-assured in who I am and how I carry myself and my demeanor because of the feedback and the interactions and the back and forth that I have had through the last however many years with all these different people because you’re bringing in all these different personality types and their own whatever they have going on and you have to learn how to adjust I had to learn how to adjust myself to better, like, that specific interaction and in, like, learning how to adjust myself to fit best to an individual client’s needs has actually taught me more sides of myself that I didn’t know I had…”
What the Creators had to say:
I am learning with each interaction. I have absolutely grown out of my people pleasing-attitude, I am no longer afraid of directing the conversations to closing sales. I have learnt that if I don’t respect my own limits and rates, no one else is going to either. Confidence is absolutely the sexiest thing you can wear, the rest really is not important. Self critique is the biggest killer of creativity – the clients could not give a flying fuck about half the things you worry about.
A lot of my clients are great and have made the whole experience worth it. Others have been people who don’t see me as human at all and disposable. This has made my affection hard to earn but absolutely gold when earned
Like any creator who scales, even successful ones, you’re going to be tested by your audience and clientele. Those experiences taught me discernment. At the same time, many clients also opened me up to new ideas, services, and formats that I may not have considered otherwise — always on my own terms. Any evolution in what I offer has been a conscious, self-led decision based on comfort, curiosity, and alignment, not pressure.
Overall, my experience with clients has been overwhelmingly positive — not perfect, because it never is, but genuinely impactful. Because my growth and success happened fairly quickly, client interactions played a major role in shaping how I manage boundaries early on. I’ve never allowed clients to dictate what I provide, but they have absolutely helped define where my boundaries needed to be stronger and where I needed to prioritize myself more intentionally.
The less positive experiences — the “bad apples” — taught me how to be more vigilant, self-aware, and cautious in this space. They helped sharpen my instincts. On the other hand, many clients challenged stereotypes altogether, showing me that buyers aren’t a monolith. There’s a wide range of intentions, personalities, and levels of respect, and understanding that has helped me build a more intentional, sustainable way of working.
I’ve found that most of my clients are lovely people. I feel that I’m lucky to have chosen the BDSM scene where consent and respect are really championed. I do experience disrespect from time to time but at this point in my career, I know how to spot those individuals and I know how to distance myself from them before being affected. I’ve always enjoyed feeling surprised by creative new fetishes, so Ive gravitated towards fetishes that were new to me. My clients have made me more creative and given me inspiration for content other clients within the same niche kink might enjoy. In the beginning I did more vanilla content even tho I wasn’t the biggest fan, but now, fetish content is 90% of my business and that’s due to the education and creativity of my clients who have guided me towards kinks I would never have guessed I’d like.
It was actually really great I feel like a lot of them watched me grow into who I am! I still have a lot of the same fans! I definitely felt like they let me explore with all types of different shows and styles. It really helped to find out what I l actually liked sexually.
How have you grown both as a creator, and as a person since you started this journey?
Growing and evolving with the industry
One of the major themes we saw come out in this question was that every responding creator mentioned growth in one way or another. Including learning how to better manage their rime and energy while making smarter decisions and keeping their health a priority.
What the Creators had to say:
I am constantly improving and growing, creating better content and working more effectively. I treat this as a business – I show up as both the ceo and the workhorse every day. I give my everything every single day and I can confidently look back and say everything that I have built in my life at this moment has been crafted by creating adult content. I want to be better, I feel like I am nowhere near as successful as I will be, this is still just the beginning of the journey.
Knowing that there is this massive community of both buyers and sellers out there has also given me lots of confidence in my career choice and I worry less about being outed – I know that if I would ever need to find likeminded people to fall back on, I would be able to find that within the fetish community of reddit. Camming does not have that same network feel to it, it is a totally lonely world. You really feel like it is you standing in small island right in the middle of sea of sharks.
My life has done a total 180. Four years ago I started my MBA expecting to work in corporate insurance til I retire. I have put in nearly 18 hours a day since then to maintain my mini empire. Life is certainly harder, but it’s paid off. I love being able to work as hard as possible each day and see it pay off vs a white collar job that it’s years.
That’s such a layered question, but honestly, I’ve changed immensely — both as a creator and as a person. As a creator, the growth has been incredibly organic and deeply fulfilling. The joy, passion, and income I’ve experienced over the years have grown far beyond what I ever imagined when I first started. I feel genuinely grateful and proud of how far I’ve come, and it would be a disservice to myself to downplay that. This journey has been nothing short of amazing, even with its challenges.
Over time, I’ve reached a place where I feel confident in my understanding of what works for me — my lane, my business model, and my boundaries. Growth for me now looks less like chasing scale and more like refinement: improving my communication, strengthening boundaries, and continuously finding ways to offer better service — not just to clients, but to other creators as well. Early on, my focus was understandably self-centered, centered around learning, building, and scaling. As I’ve matured in the space, I’ve found far more fulfillment in helping others, sharing knowledge, offering feedback, and contributing meaningfully to the communities I’m part of.
I don’t pretend to know everything or have some perfect formula, but I do know that I’m doing things thoughtfully, ethically, and successfully. I’ve made more than just a living doing this, and I’m incredibly grateful to the creators, moderators, communities, and clients — both new and long-term — who have supported and shaped my journey.
On a personal level, this work has changed how I see the world. It’s given me a deeper appreciation for spaces and identities that exist outside the mainstream, and it’s challenged a lot of the stigma surrounding sexuality, porn, and women’s agency. It’s given me confidence, transferable skills I wouldn’t have gained elsewhere, and meaningful connections with people I never would’ve met otherwise. It’s helped me better understand my strengths, my boundaries, and where I thrive.
I used to be introverted, shy, and fairly antisocial — confident in my skin and sexuality, but reserved. This work gave me a new sense of purpose, helped me become more sociable, and reshaped how I approach relationships and communication. More than anything, it’s helped me grow into myself, and I continue to feel excited about where that growth can lead.
I’m definitely better at standing my ground and protecting my energy since becoming a professional femdomme. The limited resources in the SW industry and the discriminating nature of the wider society towards sex work has inspired me to be even more innovative and creative about how I conduct my business. I’ve leaned into this activist identity that didn’t used to have a direction and I look forward to providing resources to a community I care about. I even find myself a little lucky to exist in this space where my skills can contribute to the future of sw. Other industries already have a foundation of resources but this industry’s foundational resources are still being built and I love that I get to be a part of it.
It’s unbelievable! I’m disciplined,love my Career,I’m Almost 5 years sober off heroin with no relapses! They watched me go through it from psych ward stays and addiction! They words I hear from another creator or fan about how healthy I look down to checking on my mental health. I was just about to turn 22 when I started! From people telling me they love my work down to how strong I am and hearing I inspire them feels amazing!
Is there anything you would like to see more prevalent/available to help others out with their journey?
Better systems and information
The responses to this question were quite varied but each creator mentioned wanting more information, support, and systems being put in place for adult creators. They mention wanting to see more interaction and dialogue around the industry around varying themes.
What the Creators had to say:
Social chatting sessions / small group conversations face to face with creators, or maybe like roundtable conversations that were open to auditors. Could be something like few creators having a live chat about a selected subject, and a public Q&A at the end.
Do your best to get reviews, and buyers do your best to read and do research. Scam accounts are so easy to spot when you’re not actively using your peenar. And if you get scammed report the account! Reputable subreddits will ban them. Verifying for 40+ people a day 80% of which just ghost is tiring for a seller. Do your own research first to not waste either persons time.
Honestly, most of the information people need already exists — the work, research, tips, and trial-and-error are all out there. What I think is missing isn’t access, but realistic expectations and guidance on how to navigate the learning curve. I’d love to see more emphasis on patience, accountability, and understanding that success in this space usually comes from consistency and self-education, not shortcuts.
I also think it would help to normalize conversations around boundaries, burnout, and sustainability. A lot of people enter the space focused only on growth or income without fully understanding the emotional and operational side of the work. Having more transparent discussions — especially from creators who are willing to talk about both wins and mistakes — would help newer sellers approach this as a long-term practice rather than a quick fix.
More than anything, I’d love to see spaces that encourage curiosity, critical thinking, and personal responsibility, while still offering support. The tools are there — it’s about learning how to use them intentionally and being willing to do the work.
I would love to see an adult-content scheduler that can operate across adult platforms from one place, similarly to how schedulers work for SFW social media platforms. — I would also like to see easier access to legal education for individual creators and better protection for adult businesses including protecting digital content from resale, and, more awareness about the liability sex workers take on in relation to age verification and making sure we aren’t selling to minors.
I really think alley’s channel literally she gives us all the tools. How each person uses them that’s their choice. Plus there’s loads of info out there. I’d really like more info explaining or letting woman know this is a business not get rich quick scheme!
Final Thoughts
Once again Creators Spicy Tea would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who responded and participated in sharing their story and their journey with us. Sharing our individual stories and perspectives can help normalize the fact that each of us will have a wildly different experience in the adult content creation industry.
Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming Community Retrospective: Buyers Perspective!
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