Andy Lee Talks OnlyFans

Andy Lee calls himself “gay-for-pay”, but he says the gay community has welcomed him as one of their own anyway. 

Like many others, Lee started doing OnlyFans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Irish bodybuilder says he “was in such a low place”, describing himself as unemployed while he dealt with an injury. “I had no job. I had torn my bicep, so I couldn’t get a job,” Lee said. He had worked very physical jobs in plumbing and construction in the past, so his physical fitness was always at its peak. Not feeling like he could perform physically left him in a bad state of mind. “I didn’t believe in depression or anything like that. But when lockdown happened and I lost my job, I sat there and I was in a hole. I woke up every day and I was just unhappy, just sad.”

But everything changed once Lee’s friend recommended he start an OnlyFans page.

With the help of Lee’s aforementioned friend, he began his page and, in his words, “I fell in love with it.” Before long, he had hundreds of thousands of followers on OnlyFans, which also spilled over onto Lee’s TikTok and Instagram, where the Irishman has roughly 684,000 and 231,000 followers respectively. “The ball just kept rolling and rolling, and here we are today.”

Lee only saw it as a paycheck at first - and a good paycheck it was - but now his appreciation for the platform has morphed into something he’s never expected. 

Lee says that OnlyFans “was just a way of making money - but then it literally changed my life.” The financial upside of creating an OnlyFans account was only rivaled by what the money allowed Lee to do and who he ended up meeting in the community. “I stopped worrying about money. It’s given me so many opportunities to help other people.”

“I’ve met so many amazing people. I’ve met people who have come out of prison with no futures, and now they’re thriving, doing so well. They’ve turned their life around, and it just makes me so happy.”

Lee mostly films solo content, with the exception of a few videos with some of his friends. Naturally, his content is more popular amongst gay men. Lee says it was this audience that got him through his darkest times. “I had these people on the internet, strangers, primarily gay men, lifting me up every single day,” Lee said. The gay community went far beyond just paying for his content, they were there for him emotionally when he had no one.

Now that he’s a successful creator, Lee is paying it forward, and he has some choice words for creators who disparage the LGBTQ+ community. One creator, Jake Andrich, has said he doesn’t “particularly” support LGBTQ+ causes, a comment that enraged Lee. “Those performers are poisonous for the industry. They know exactly what they’re doing, and they’re using and taking advantage of people, and it’s not fair,” Lee says. The LGBTQ+ community were some of the most helpful to Lee during his time of need. “Back when I was in a dark place, the people who helped me out were strangers who didn’t owe me anything, and they were there for me. I look at my following as friends, as family, people I speak to every day.” 

Andrich is an example of a straight creator whose audience is mostly gay, like Lee. But Lee says there’s an important distinction to make. “I think it's very important for people to see and know we’re not all like that guy Jake on the internet, who’s attacking the gay community and using people. We’re not like that,” Lee explains. 

Lee says his content is a safe space for anyone, regardless of any discrimination they may face in everyday life. “We make content, and if you want to watch it, enjoy it, great. We don’t judge anybody. Anyone that comes through my door, no matter what they are, they’re treated with respect and love and kindness.”