HEIDI is a 23-year-old vegan from Melbourne who is studying civil engineering and enjoys yoga, art, doughnuts, tea and hiking.
She is also one of the many Aussie women earning up to $500,000 a year as online sex workers who don’t touch, kiss or have any physical contact with their clients — a feat made possible through interactive live webcams.
The 23-year-old first started working in the online sex industry for MyFreeCams two years ago after she stumbled across the link to another cam girl on Tumblr.
“I watched her streams for a few months and then I decided it was a career path I wanted to follow,” she told news.com.au.
With the number of active Australian models on MyFreeCams rising by more than 600 per cent since 2015, Heidi is part of a large community of girls following the lucrative career path.
Not only is MyFreeCams one of top 1000 websites on the internet by traffic, but it pays its models over 60 per cent of every dollar spent on this website - the highest rate for any similar service on the industry.
According to MyFreeCams, models recieve money from tips and gifts or when viewers pay for a private or voyeur show, with top models earning over $50,000 per month.
While refusing to disclose her exact income from working as a cam girl, Heidi proudly admits she is more financially secure than some people who have been working their whole lives.
“I live a pretty good life. I am able to travel a lot, have bought my own house and am easily supporting myself through university,” she said.
“I also know a lot of models who make quite a lot of money only working a 40-hour week, but the job is flexible and it’s possible to work as much or little as you like.”
When it comes to her popularity as a cam model, Heidi said there is an average of 100 people in her broadcast at any point in time, with more than 5,000 people visiting per day.
“I think people tune in mostly out loneliness. A lot of people in my room say they get home from work and have no one to talk to or nothing to do, so they tune in,” she said.
“And it’s hard not see how interacting with a real human is more interesting than watching TV for people in that position.”
Despite her performances being more than just X-rated acts, the model said there is still a negative stigma surrounding online sex work.
“Being a cam girl is a lot more creative and personal than just being naked and performing sex acts,” she said.
“Because I generally log on at the same time, I see the same people tuning into my stream like it’s their favourite TV show and some even change their usernames to match mine.
“I now have my own little community and exchanges vary from having conversations to something sexual to something as silly as doing handstands or using a hula hoop.”
Heidi said her family and friends have been very supportive of her career choice, despite their
initial shock at the more graphic aspects of her work.
“Mum was very supportive and is always interested in what I am doing, but Dad was a little harder to convince because he couldn’t initially look past the getting naked part,” she said.
“But once my friends and family realised I am not desperate for money and am doing this because I love it, they are much more accepting.”
“It also helps that I am performing from my own house.”
The cam model said she is always honest when people ask her what she does for work and enjoys getting to change to perception others hold about the profession.
“Camming is very different from other lines of sex work and involves a completely different set of skills,” she said.
“I know that I’ve felt more safe as a MyFreeCams model working from home than I have felt working late in the city in the hospitality industry.”
When asked if she has any plans to stop being a cam model, Heidi said not anytime soon.
“I am super happy where I am and will stay here for at least five years or until it morphs into something different,” she said.
Given models have complete control of the chat room, are not required to be nude and can block locations where they do not want their cam to be streamed, Heidi added she would have no hesitations about recommending the career path to others.
“Anyone interested should just watch other girls first to get a feel of what the job is all about,” she said.
“Of course, you don’t have to be an exact copy because there are infinite ways you can make money from being a cam girl.
“Some people are overly sexual, while others are more creative. It’s all about finding what makes you most comfortable because this will translate and help you gain a following.”
Heidi is among a number of other MyFreeCam girls attending SEXPO Brisbane to meet and greet with their extensive personal fan base.
Do you ever use webcam services? Continue the conversation in the comments below or with Matthew Dunn on Facebook and Twitter.
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