For many aspiring surf influencers, scoring free gear and brand deals feels like hitting the jackpot. But for Erika White, a lifestyle creator from Cornwall, England, the reality of chasing a professional surfing career meant scraping by on peanuts. Literally.
After years of struggling to pay the bills, White turned to a platform where several other female surfers—including former competitors like Ellie-Jean and Holly-Daze Coffey—have found massive financial success: OnlyFans.
“I couldn’t afford a new wetsuit,” White, who now lives in Byron Bay, Australia, said. “Now men pay to watch me wear one.”
White added: “I started making a bit of money from brand deals, getting sponsored by wetsuit companies and getting free boards. It was going in the direction I wanted it to, but I just wasn’t making consistent income. So why I started OnlyFans was to fund the lifestyle, fund the surfing and the traveling.”
Before her transition to OnlyFans, White relied on government benefits, leaving her with just £100 a week to survive.
“I was bloody cleaning toilets. I don’t wanna be cleaning someone else’s shit off a bowl. Like, I’d rather just, like, take a sexy picture of myself and sell it,” she explained.
Related: Surfing and OnlyFans: Legit Funding Platform, Sportswashing, or Plain Porn?
The decision paid off immensely.
“Within eight months I went from making around £5,000 ($6,600) a month to £50,000 ($66,038) a month,” White revealed. “Now, I probably make more than pro surfers, and I get to surf and travel and do all these things I love.”
Interestingly, her surfing background cultivated a highly specific, lucrative niche on the platform.
“I’ve actually got a couple of fans that pay to just see me in a wetsuit,” she noted. “They’re like, ‘Don’t take it off.’ They love the tight neoprene.”
Today, White is living her dream, renting an A$1,800-a-week home near Byron Bay. You can follow her journey on her Instagram her OnlyFans.
She’s far from the only surfer experimenting with OnlyFans. As mentioned, former Australian pro Ellie-Jean Coffey famously used the platform for adult content. More recently, Nathan Florence, Billy Kemper, Moana Jones Wong, Jacob “Zeke” Szekely, Pedro Scooby, and others have joined OnlyFans’ growing roster of surf athletes.
But generally, those surfers are offering training, travel, and behind-the-scenes content instead of nudes or (near) nudes.
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As for Erika White, she’s going all-in for what the platform offers.
“Previously, I would get things for free with social media. That was the beauty of being a surf influencer – I’d get free wetsuits,” she reflected.
She added: “I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing.’ It’s the dream when you can’t afford it. But it’s so much better having your own money to spend whenever you want.”
For more, find Erika White on Instagram and OnlyFans.
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