Sex education YouTuber reveals he used to be a gay ‘porn star’
A gay YouTube vlogger has revealed that he used to perform sex shows for money.
Calum McSwiggan has made a number of high-profile videos raising awareness of LGBT issues and sex education – working with charities including Switchboard LGBT+ and the Terrence Higgins Trust, and even collaborating with Olympic diver Tom Daley.
The video-maker spoke to PinkNews ahead of uploading a video today, in which he reveals his past performing sex acts on webcam for money.
He explains in the clip: “It’s something I’ve kept from my friends and family until recently, and something I’ve hidden from pretty much the entire world.”
The vlogger said that he resorted to porn after losing his job, as a way to pay his rent and bills.
He added that he turned to performing in online “cam shows” with two male friends, building a large following and making thousands of pounds.
He said: “We realised how much easy money we could make… we only had to do it for a month to make enough money to pay rent for a year.
“We even won a cash prize for being the most popular show on the site. It was so easy to forget about the consequences of what we were doing.”
However, some of the live broadcasts were recorded by third parties without permission – and have since been re-uploaded to other porn sites.
He recalled: “At the time I genuinely believed we were safe because we owned the copyright to the show, and it was all live.
“But obviously people made illegal recordings of it and spread it everywhere, and now it comes back to haunt me every single day.
“Friends and acquaintances and even [viewers] keep finding these videos, and it’s a constant reminder of a time I’d rather forget.”
“The porn industry often preys on the young and naive – it makes you forget what you’re doing. It tricks you into doing something you’re going to later regret.”
McSwiggan added that as his YouTube channel and sex ed videos grew more popular, “more and more people were recognising me from the other videos”.
He continued: “One person even tried to blackmail me by saying they were going to send the link to my mum.”
The video-maker also said he is worried the confession could “completely annihilate” his career.
Away from YouTube, McSwiggan – who can be seen practising unsafe sex in some of the most popular clips – currently works for a sexual health charity.
He also previously worked as a teacher, but believes he will now no longer be eligible to teach.
McSwiggan said: “This has been more difficult than coming out.
“Some of those videos out there have more views than my most popular YouTube videos… and that certainly takes its toll on your mental health.
“Knowing that somebody would rather watch you take your clothes off and look at your body than listen to you speak about what you have to say about something you’re passionate about. That’s not an easy pill to swallow.”
He added: “If you want to do porn because you are super passionate about it, that’s great and that’s wonderful.
“But if you are just doing it because it’s easy money, then I really strongly urge you to consider the consequences and reconsider.”
