7 Things I Learned Working as a Gay Webcam Model
This post is also available in: ไทย Українська
Being a gay webcam model can be rather lucrative, and some adult performers are able to make a living at it. I learned by doing it myself.
When wanting to get started as a gay webcam model, the first step is to find the perfect website or “agency” with the highest pay rates. You’ll send the agency some pictures and hope they like you enough to send you a contract. Unlike more traditional modeling agencies, these are all 100% virtual.
The contract they send you will include information on what they will and won’t allow. Fisting, peeing, vomiting — anything like that is totally forbidden. And for safety reasons, you can’t tell people any of your personal information.
Once you get the job, you’re ready to log in. Agencies often have their own platform where you connect and adjust your cam settings. Once you’re set up, they’ll stream your video to hundreds of sites with different domains around the world. From here, the virtual stage is all yours.
Here are 7 things I learned while working as a gay webcam model:
1. Time Is Money
Cam modeling is like any other job. Everyone uses their mind and body in exchange for money, and being a model is no different. When you’re making a dollar per minute, though, you become very aware of how you spend your time. You become smarter about managing your time, energy and bodily fluids.
Viewers will start watching in your public stream, and then start conversations with you. The time spent in the public area is not paid, so you’ll need to take them to a private chat room for the cash to start rolling in … sort of.
Users pay up to $5 per minute (sometimes even more!) but you make only about a dollar of that. The agency and your agent get the rest. You’re able to choose your own rate, and that’s the price the customers will see. A lower rate may make you more enticing, but the lower your rate, the lower your profit.
You’ll need to experiment with price to see how much people are willing to pay for you to give them a show. Some days you might offer a deal to fish for more customers. It’s a balancing act; sometimes you can make more money with a cheaper stream and more customers. It all depends on how well you can sell yourself.
2. It’s Not About You, It’s About Them
I’ve heard this before from strip club dancers: Most customers want to be heard. They want you to be interested in them, and it’s all about an emotional connection. Usually a “virtual boyfriend experience” is more profitable than a jerk-off show, because customers feel they can be themselves and relax around you. That’s priceless for someone who feels trapped. And it’s not as cruel or Machiavellian as it seems, because all parties know exactly what’s going on. It’s just a monetary transaction: They cover their needs, you cover yours.
You might wonder, “Who is the target for these sites?” “Who spends so much money?” In my experience, there were often mature men who had never come out of the closet. Some were involved in church activities or had a family or reputation they were trying to protect. An in-the-flesh experience could be too risky, and online is safer.
A gay webcam model can also choose his audience to a certain extent. In the backend, you can choose the countries where you’d like to be seen, and if you’re worried about being discovered, you can block your own country. As I said before, you’ll be streamed to a number of different sites, so you’ll get quite a lot of exposure.
3. You’re So Much Cooler Online
It doesn’t matter if you’re on Instagram or Chatturbate — on social media, you can create a character for yourself; an ideal you. No matter the venue, most everyone does this to some extent. After all, you don’t generally share yourself at your worst on Facebook.
The only difference is that as a gay webcam model, they do suggest you change your name and protect your real identity. You can give yourself a stage name, and it can be as fun as you want. It’s also a good coping mechanism to avoid feeling like a virtual prostitute. (At least you’re profiting from it, right? How many people show off themselves just for likes? At least make some money off of your moneymaker!)
4. Every Body Is a Sellable Body
As Tess Holliday says, “Eff your beauty standards.” Everybody is beautiful, and everyone can find his own audience. While muscled guys tend to do the best, there’s room for every body type.
The agency has an algorithm to show you how you’re doing: The better you’re doing, the higher it places you on the front page. The better you get, the higher your placement.
Every gay webcam model has his own virtual stage and audience. It’s amazing the variety of people and body types modeling. And from all around the world, too — people from Romania, the Czech Republic, Colombia and all of Latin America are there.
5. Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Let’s be honest. Being a gay webcam model is all about the customer and his preferences. You’re in a meat catalog, and they either buy you or keep scrolling. And though they can’t see your aura, your great mood needs to shine through the screen, otherwise you won’t get any private chats, which means no money. So even if you’re in a bad mood, you’ll need to learn how to convincingly fake it.
If you’re working on-camera, it should be because you want to. You need to be happy in order to attract customers that will spend their love (and money!) on you. Otherwise, take the day off and come back when you’re ready.
6. Don’t Play the Victim
Your job, your career, your partner, where you live — everything is a life choice. You can’t feel sorry for yourself, especially not over your own self-objectification on the site. You have to take responsibility for yourself and embrace your exhibitionist side that so many try to repress.
The nice thing is that if you find being a gay webcam model isn’t right for you, you can leave. You’re a contractor, so as soon as you feel like another path is calling, you’re free to do so.
Unfortunately, that’s not always true. Some studios in Colombia or Romania (and other countries) rent space and equipment to the model. Under this system, gay webcam models make a very small percentage of what the customer’s paying to watch them perform. It’s exploitation of young men in need, and I can’t imagine the conditions of these studios and their contracts.
I’ve seen Colombian models offering private rooms for 99 cents, and I can tell right away when someone performs from their room or rental space.
7. Make Sure Being a Gay Webcam Model Is for You
With the boundaries provided by the computer screen, being a gay webcam model is safer than being an escort. But it can take a similar toll on your psyche if you don’t come with the right approach. We live in a hypersexualized world where people tend to place more value on image than character. If you’re not comfortable with yourself and modeling, it can have negative effects on your relationships and sex life.
I remember the notification sound when a customer wanted to take me into a private chat room. And while I don’t model anymore, I remember the first time I heard the sound. My first thought was Oh shit! Now what do I do?! But it was easy. I just followed their instructions.
The free will we all possess is an amazing thing. I intended this list to be informative, neither glamorizing nor demonizing the act of being a gay webcam model. The internet offers us total freedom, and what you do with that freedom is your choice to make.
