Openly Gay Gold Medalist Defends His Decision To Start OnlyFans
The first openly gay Olympic Gold Medalist, Matthew Mitcham, has come forward to defend his decision to start an OnlyFans. In his statement, he said, “The world can be very prudish” and he feels athletes should be able to show off their bodies. Keep reading to see what else he had to say on the matter.
Who Is Matthew Mitcham?
Matthew Mitcham is a retired Olympic diver. He represented Australia in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Shortly before the Games commenced, Mitcham publicly announced that he was gay, becoming the first openly gay Olympic athlete.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he brought home a Gold Medal for the 10m platform dive. He eventually retired in 2016 but decided to join OnlyFans because his income slowed down considerably after he retired as an athlete.
The 36-year-old Gold Medalist penned an op-ed about his choice to join the spicy site for The Telegraph. It was published on Monday, July 29, following a controversial start to the Paris Olympics.
In the op-ed, Mitcham wrote, “It feels like people like to shame athletes who show off their bodies, even though there’s usually no full-frontal nudity involved.”
“My attitude — as a former Olympic Champion who has been posting content on OnlyFans for 18 months — is that it’s a useful way of supplementing income,” the op-ed continued. “After all the hours and sacrifice we’ve put in, we athletes have more than earned the odd side hustle.”
Should An Olympic Gold Medalist Have OnlyFans?
His stance on joining OnlyFans has been made public in defense of fellow Olympian Jack Laugher. Laugher is another Olympic diver who has competed in the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympics. He is also competing in Paris now. The 29-year-old has been upfront about joining OnlyFans to earn extra money.
“I read that Jack was earning £28,000 from Team GB, which is not a lot for a sportsperson of his standing, and [that] explains why he is looking to supplement his income,” Mitcham said. “Having said that, it’s still better remuneration than what I remember us receiving in Australia.”
Generally speaking, most Olympic Gold Medalist competitors don’t make that much money. As Mitcham pointed out in his op-ed, only a “small percentage of athletes make it big.” Not every competitor you see lands sponsorships. “A lot of brilliant performers get left behind,” he said.
Several other Olympic athletes have joined OnlyFans for extra cash. However, Mitcham pointed out that they may not necessarily find success there. He wrote that being an Olympic athlete or Gold Medalist does give you a little bit of an advantage. Typically, athletes have a larger following on social media and can promote their paid channel better.
That said, OnlyFans isn’t the only way Mitcham is making money these days. He also does “corporate speaking” and performs other roles. His paid site helps him “get by.” While there is a “stigma” attached to joining OnlyFans, he does not see any harm in athletes doing so, especially if it helps them achieve financial stability.
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