Why Team GB divers are utilizing OnlyFans to fund their Olympics dream

It is the seedy site used by sex workers to post pornography. An adult-only platform where subscribers pay for explicit content from their favourite accounts.

But OnlyFans has now been infiltrated by Olympians posting provocative pictures and videos to fund their gold-medal dreams. 

And leading the way is Team GB’s Jack Laugher, the country’s first Olympic diving champion now going for glory at Paris 2024.

So how did it come to this? For Laugher, the answer is simple. ‘There isn’t a lot of money in diving,’ he says. ‘So I’ll do anything to hustle for some more money. I have something that people want – and I’ll happily try and sell that. It’s a really, really good way for me to make some extra cash.’

Laugher was first put on National Lottery funding when he was 16, a year before he made his Olympic debut at London 2012.

‘It was £21,000 for the top eight in the world,’ he recalls. ‘At the time, as a 16-year-old, I was buzzing with that.’

But 12 years and three Olympic medals later, Laugher still only receives funding of £28,000 a year – and has precious few commercial opportunities in a sport that is only in the spotlight every four years. 

Even if he wins a second gold medal in Paris, he will not earn prize money, with athletics the only Olympic sport offering cash to champions.

‘I’m almost 30 now, I’m top three in the world,’ says the Harrogate-born star. ‘£28,000 is obviously a very good salary and it’s a very liveable one, but it’s not a commonly perceived sporting salary.

‘We’ve all just seen Wimbledon and the prize pot for winning that is extraordinary. If you go out in the first round you get more (£60,000) than I make in a whole year as a funded athlete.

‘When I was younger, my dad would say, “If you an Olympic gold medal, that’s worth £1million”. But it’s nowhere near that – and I can tell you that as someone who has got an Olympic gold medal.’

Laugher reveals it was actually his dad David who recommended he top up his income by charging for content he was already posting for free.

‘My dad was saying to me, “You put stuff out on Instagram, but when the product is free, like Instagram is, you are the product”,’ he explains.

And so Laugher signed up for OnlyFans in September 2021, shortly after the Tokyo Olympics. He has since published 570 semi-naked photos and 54 videos, amassing 134,000 likes and earning him thousands of pounds.

Subscribers are charged £7.75 a month to view Laugher’s content or they can pay £22 upfront for three months or £42 for half a year. Fans can also pay ‘tips’ for each post. The content that has earned Laugher the most in tips – £341 – was a video of him showering in his underwear in April.

Laugher’s most recent post was on Monday and shows him taking a topless selfie in the mirror with his hand down his pants. He has also published pictures where only a sink is protecting his modesty.

In his last video on July 14, he told fans: ‘I can’t wait to compete at the Olympics. Obviously with the competition coming up, I am going to be less active. I’ve cut back a little bit anyway just leading into these Games.

‘I am really hoping to do my best and then be back on it again afterwards and giving you all what you all want to see. There will be content rolling out which will be pre-recorded and pre-done, so stuff will still be posted every week.’

Laugher’s OnlyFans bio states that his content is ‘SFW’ (safe for work). Those who subscribe to his page get a private message from him, which reads: ‘My page is going to be slightly more liberating than my Instagram. I still have my boundaries which I hope you will respect.’

On the stigma associated with the platform, Laugher says: ‘I understand the way it’s perceived. I understand that people might look at it negatively. But I know what I’m doing and I’m comfortable with what I’m doing.

‘It clearly states on my profile there is no nudity. I’m not trying to make myself out to be something I’m not.

‘I’m giving people stuff which is very similar to what I posted before, but it’s for a small subscription fee.

‘I’ve always liked modelling and I’m about a foot too short to be a proper underwear model, probably about five out of 10 missing on the scale of how good-looking I am as well.

‘But I like to show myself off and that’s what I’m doing. This way I can just make myself a little bit of cash and set myself up for the future a bit better.

‘I’ve done other side hustles. I have done underwear modelling calendars. Obviously, I’ve got something people want, and I’ll happily cash in on that – I don’t care.’

Laugher has led the way in British diving, winning Team GB’s first gold medal in the sport when he triumphed with Chris Mears in the synchronised three-metre springboard event at Rio 2016. But he is also now a pioneer outside of the pool, with several of his team-mates following him into signing up on OnlyFans.

Noah Williams – who will partner Tom Daley in the 10m synchro in Paris – joined the platform in March 2023. His bio also states ‘SWF content’ and encourages fans to ‘support my Olympic journey’.

The 24-year-old Commonwealth champion has posted 134 photos and 129 videos in 14 months, including some where only a towel or a sock are covering up his private parts.

Matty Lee and Daniel Goodfellow – who have both won Olympic medals partnering Daley – are also on the site, although they are not in Team GB’s squad for Paris 2024.

‘I was the first person to do it in our team and there’s now loads of us,’ adds Laugher, who is competing in both the 3m individual and synchro events in Paris.

‘It’s actually quite nice to all be on board together, like it’s something we do. All of us are in the same position.

‘There’s a lot of athletes on this team and some will never make the top three in the world. In Olympic sport, you might never even get to that funding position, so it’s trying make that extra cash.

‘I’ve had other athletes from other nations message me about it as well and it’s just something a bit different. Who doesn’t like a bit more money if you can?

‘I saw Nick Kyrgios doing something on it. They’re trying as a platform to change the way they’re perceived.’

Australian tennis star Kyrgios launched a free-to-access OnlyFans page in December 2023, offering a ‘behind the scenes on the tennis tour’. Most of his videos are of him at tournaments and all are fully clothed.

‘They are revolutionising social media and I wanted to be a part of that,’ said Kyrgios in a statement last year. ‘Athletes can no longer just show up on the court or the field. We have to show up online too. I want to create, produce, direct and own content. That’s the future.’

On Wikipedia, OnlyFans is described as an ‘internet content service used primarily by sex workers who produce pornography.’ But the platform itself says it is an ‘18+ subscription platform empowering creators to own their full potential, monetize their content, and develop authentic connections with their fans’.

Its website adds: ‘We are an inclusive platform, home to a diverse range of content creators.’

Another Paris 2024 athlete using OnlyFans is Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman, who finished second at last weekend’s Diamond League meeting in London ahead of Britain’s Molly Caudery.

Former world champion speed skater Elise Christie, who competed for Team GB at three Winter Olympics, is also on the site and said it saved her life after she retired.

For Laugher, the money he makes from OnlyFans is nowhere near as critical as that. But his extra earnings might just be what helps him earn a podium place in Paris.