“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” goes the old saying. Well, it only took a second try for Diego Barros to make it big (pardon the euphemism) on OnlyFans. Earlier this month, the Brazilian performer became the first male to earn $1 million on the subscription platform in just 8 months.
Who doesn’t appreciate an entrepreneurial spirit?
Barros tells queer creativity site What About Tom he was invited to join OnlyFans during the early days of the site’s pivot to adult material. He’d caught the eye of the OnlyFans folks after sharing “teaser” videos on Instagram.
But his go-go dancing career began to take off, so Barros followed the money. Soon, the South American ‘Magic Mike’ was winging his way around the world serving up smooth moves and backflips.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQOnQEYlvAI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
But when the pandemic struck, the handsome Brazilian found himself locked down in his adopted city of London. Go-go gigs were ‘no-go’ and Barros needed to make money. So, in February 2021, he launched a new account on OnlyFans.
This time, though, instead of just stripping down to his skivvies, Barros took things a bit farther.
“I put a lot of effort into what I do,” explains Barros. “I post a video every day, I try to come up with new ideas constantly, I reply to every single message, to every single comment. I do live shows, I do giveaways.”
One thing he doesn’t do though is “collaborations” with other guys. While he entertains with toys and verbal role play, Barros has reached the $1 million mark in less than a year without sharing the screen with anyone else. And from the size of his bank account, his fans don’t seem to mind.
“Seriously though, it changed my life,” shares Barros. “If Covid proved anything to me it is that in my line of work you have a short career. I need to make my money now and be smart about it. Work hard and save, save, save.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp6bkthuItM/
https://www.tiktok.com/@diiegorbarros/video/7174818655614569733
And his family is 100% down with his current line of work. In fact, his mother once shared one of his teaser videos on social media featuring him walking on a treadmill as his junk bounced in his gym shorts. When a friend questioned the authenticity of his buoyant ‘big boy,’ his mom replied, “Actually, no, my dear, this is my son.”
His mother did offer one piece of advice, though: “Just don’t cross the line, because you don’t need it.”
Barros credits his experience doing those teaser videos as the secret to his success today.
“Have you ever been at a party where strippers come on stage already naked?” he asks in illustrating his point. “After ten minutes people are talking to each other again, they are off to the bar. You need to keep your audience engaged. I always use the example of going for a full course meal. You get your starter, your soup, the main course, and then dessert.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CW0qy2BK5GA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
That recipe has resulted in a huge social media following including 1 million Instagram followers, over 962K Twitter followers, and almost half a million fans on TikTok. (Warning: totally NSFW).
But Barros has a “seize the moment” mentality when it comes to the longevity of careers in his field.
“Success on OnlyFans isn’t going to last forever,” says the beefy Brazilian. “There are a lot of competitors out there, and I won’t be doing backflips on stage until I’m fifty years old.”
He adds, “Don’t get me wrong: especially because I know it’s not going to last forever, I’m really enjoying my time now.”
For more on Diego Barros’s entrepreneurial success, learning from early bad reviews, and coping with depression during the pandemic, check out his full interview at What About Tom.
https://www.tiktok.com/@diiegorbarros/video/7211690087367724294
Breeders? Seriously? I thought we had moved on way past that nonsense?
oh look, we’re praising and bring attention to more breeders! aren’t we just self-loathing this morning!
ha – really? how do you know?
Apparently you are. Without breeders, would you be here?