‘IT’S BEEN A HUGE LIFESTYLE CHANGE’
MOST people would run a mile at the idea of getting their kit off online – but for Hannah Veillet it’s quite literally paid off.
The 32-year old from Brecon left her job as a teaching assistant at her local primary school in January 2020 and just a few months later decided on a new way to make money that has made many headlines over the last couple of years: OnlyFans.
Since starting in May 2020, mother-of-one Hannah says she is now making “tens of thousands” of pounds every month through posting daily pictures and videos of herself on the adult entertainment platform, where people pay to subscribe to those who post online content.
Speaking to Wales on Sunday, Hannah said she first decided to start on OnlyFans after the pandemic halted her previous job.
Restless and struggling to stay busy, Hannah said she’d heard stories about people making money by posting content on OnlyFans and decided to try her hand at it herself.
“I think I always knew I could make money from my body,” she said. “People have approached me for cam work in the past, but I never believed I could.
“I never wanted to step out of my comfort zone. I didn’t think just anyone could do it, but then I saw people doing it who were just normal, everyday people.
“Maybe it was turning 30 that changed things, but I didn’t have the confidence before to do it.”
Within her first month on OnlyFans Hannah says she tripled her teaching assistant wage, and her fanbase has been growing ever since. Today she has thousands of subscribers who pay a $15 monthly subscription for her content. She’s also racked up more than 278,000 TikTok followers and 85,000 followers on Instagram.
While she didn’t want to disclose her exact earnings, she said she earns “tens of thousands” on the platform every month and said it had “really taken off in the last six months”.
“OnlyFans take 20% and there is tax and VAT as well,” she said. “With some people who post on there you can only see some of the content and have to pay extra for some of it. My subscribers see all my content and I think that’s where
I have become quite successful.”
Nowadays, Hannah’s typical work week involves hours of shooting pictures and videos herself for a few hours a day, and answering messages from her fans.
Her niche? An “edgy cowgirl vibe”, meaning lots of snaps in fields and stables (when it’s not too nippy outside), but she also makes personalised content on demand for her subscribers.
“I get a lot of farmers subscribing,” she said. “I spend two or three days a week – maybe six hours in total – making content.
“There’s a lot of planning involved. Even if you’re only making a 10-minute video, there are outfit changes etc involved, so it’s not just making the content.
“I spend two or three hours a day answering messages – I get maybe 200 or 300 messages a day. It can be general chit-chat, ‘how’s your day?’ type thing, or it can be people requesting custom content.
“I get requests for things like specific clothing – latex, for example – or feet content or other fetishes. A lot of people request content with me saying their name – that’s what most of the requests are.
“They [OnlyFans] don’t allow certain content, some of the hardcore stuff. There are some things I wouldn’t do anyway, and I also wouldn’t do content with other people.”
While most people would baulk at the very thought of baring all online, Hannah said she “doesn’t feel shy or embarrassed” about what she does and said she felt there were several reasons why people pay for content on OnlyFans.
“People want to support other people,” she said. “If you build a rapport with people they get to know you.
“I do a lot of live [videos] on TikTok and Instagram, so I engage with people that way.
“Also, people want to see you with your clothes off which they can’t on any of the other free sites. You can’t talk with the person on these websites.
“People can ask requests as well. Other people have had problems with people taking content off their site and sharing it on other websites, but I have a company who look out for that, and thankfully it hasn’t happened to me.”
Admitting her choice of career was a “massive risk”, Hannah said she is unlikely to be able to return to teaching work or other similar jobs.
She used to get upset by people commenting on her choice of work online but said she no longer felt this way.
“I think there is still a lot of judgement around what I do and there always will be.
“I get hate comments a lot. People are entitled to their opinion on it, but I don’t think there’s any need for people to be nasty.
“At the start, I got quite hurt. I am from a smaller town and people were trying to jeopardise friendships and relationships. That upset me.
“People ask why I am selling pictures of my body, or call me a slag for sharing pictures of myself. I don’t read the comments any more. I don’t care – I am making the money and it’s the financial freedom of making money I could otherwise never make.
“There’s the location aspect too – I can work wherever I want and I love that. I would have worried what people thought before.
“[But] it was sort of the right time and the right place. I am humbled to be in the position I am in now.”
Hannah’s new-found financial position has, in her words, been “life-changing” both for her and her family.
“I discussed it with them before setting it up and I wouldn’t have done it without their support,” she said.
“They were fine about it. They care that I am happy and safe, which I am.
“It’s been life-changing for them too. I don’t come from a very wealthy background, so it’s nice to be able to treat them too.
“I bought my mum a chainsaw. We’ve been on trips away too and made memories.
“It’s overwhelming and has been a huge lifestyle change.
“I haven’t changed myself – I’m not buying designer handbags or anything. I’m quite aware that it might not last forever so I’m trying to save my money. I’d like to have a property portfolio, so I’ve got something to show for it.”
I never wanted to step out of my comfort zone. I didn’t think just anyone could do it, but then I saw people doing it who were just normal, everyday people
HANNAH VEILLET