Gay Olympian Robbie Manson says he’s ‘making more from OnlyFans than from rowing at this stage’

Robbie Manson, a New Zealand rower, has opened up about his lucrative side hustle on subscription website OnlyFans, including sharing “tasteful nudes”, which helps to support his athletic journey.

Speaking to Reuters, Manson said: “I get more than double what I would be on otherwise as an athlete – read into that what you will, but I am making more OnlyFans than I am from rowing at this stage.”

“I have a few friends that have supported me, but I don’t have any big personal sponsors or anything – the team obviously has their sponsors, but I’ve never had an issue with that or Rowing New Zealand,” Manson, who is an out gay athlete, continued.

He said that Rowing New Zealand has been supportive of him finding financial freedom through OnlyFans as it is not the most lucrative sport to go into.

“I guess the people at Rowing New Zealand, the bosses if you like, they’re aware that this is making a huge financial impact and helping me get to where I want to go, and they understand that we’re not highly-funded as well. It’s great, I haven’t had any issues,” she said.

Manson is not the only athlete who has turned to OnlyFans to support their Olympics journey. Most notably retired diver Matthew Mitcham, who started an OnlyFans in 2023 after making history at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the first openly gay athlete to win gold, and Noah Williams who is Tom Daley’s synchronised diving partner this year.

Mitcham previously said: “I’ve invested a lot of time and effort in my body. If people want to see it, I’d be stupid to give it away for free.”

He also said that being an athlete wasn’t a stable or sustainable source of income as it was entirely dependent on “how you performed” which is why OnlyFans was a good way of supplementing his income as a retired athlete.

Manson has similar reasons for joining the platform and feels that being out and gay, like Mitcham, has enabled him to be successful on OnlyFans.

Manson, who came out as gay in 2014, said: “The fact that I’m gay, I have the gay following and the audience already, and I’m slightly leaning into that.”

He didn’t reveal what he would be sharing on his page, telling people to subscribe “if they want to know what’s exactly on there”, but did say that they would be tasteful and “artistic nudes”.

Manson is one of 175 LGBTQ+ athletes competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics across a variety of sports.

You can read all of our Paris Olympics 2024 coverage here.