Advice
I'm often asked for advice about starting sex work, so I've collated my main thoughts here. Please get in touch if you have any specific questions or if there's anything I haven't covered. This advice is specifically tailored towards trans men but most of it applies to everyone. And of course, these are my views only, influenced by my own limited experiences and privileges, and may not be applicable to everyone!
Things to consider before starting
Sex work is not for everyone. Please think carefully about the potential downsides to starting in this industry. For escorting, you are putting yourself in a physically and often emotionally vulnerable position when you meet a client. You may not be able to control what happens in a session and you need to be prepared for a variety of situations. You may be asked invasive and uncomfortable questions, or have comments made about your body or transition, so you'll need to think about how you'll deal with these. You should always feel that you can shut down a conversation, say no, or end the session, but be aware of the risks in doing any of these.
For porn, there are similar considerations around the kind of negative comments and transphobic abuse that you will probably attract online. How thick-skinned are you? For every nasty comment, you will probably get many more lovely and validating ones, but it's often the nasty ones that stick. If rude (and often specific, targeted) comments about your body are likely to have a severe impact on your mental health, I would not recommend starting in porn.
You should also think about long-term career plans and the risk that your online presence could disrupt them. Once your image is on the internet, it's there forever. Even if you hide your face, there's a chance that you'll be recognised from backgrounds or your body--how catastrophic would that be? If the answer is very, porn might not be for you.
What about your family and friends? How supportive would they be of your decision to start this work? Will you tell them at all or keep it a secret? Again, if they found out, how bad would that be? You might think they would never come across it, but you need to consider the worst-case scenario. This isn't meant to put anyone off, but rather to encourage you to think through each eventuality before you make the decision.
Support networks
There's a sex worker's union which (amongst many other things) has Whatsapp groups, hosts Zoom chats for online workers to meet and moan about things, and offers support and advice. I would strongly suggest you join if you decide to pursue this line of work. As well as providing a general support network and community, the union is there to help when you need it, whether that's to do with financial discrimination or a dispute with another content creator.
In east London there's a SW breakfast/brunch every Wednesday, with a Whatsapp group where people share resources/ask questions etc, but that's only available to people who have been to the brunch (for safety/privacy). There are chats for arranging duo bookings with clients, for finding housing, and for trans SWs specifically. Many of these are London-centric, but that's been what I've leant towards as I live in London; I'm sure there are plenty of communities elsewhere, especially in big cities. If you're having trouble connecting with anyone in a certain area, message me and I'll try to help.
Sexual health
In amateur, self-produced porn, as well as when working as an independent escort, there are no official checks or guidelines about how often to get tested. I'm only really familiar with the services and clinics in London, and I'm aware that clinics elsewhere are less well-funded and that it can take much longer to get an appointment or receive results. If there's a way of booking appointments in advance, I'd recommend doing that as much as you can, and keeping notes in your calendar so you don't forget to book and go. Personally I get tested every three weeks, which pushes the limits of what the clinic allows. At Dean Street in London, sex workers are entitled to Gold membership which can open up more appointment slots and other benefits, so it's worth making sure you're on their system as a sex worker. Results from Dean Street are very quick, usually less than 24 hours and sometimes as quick as 3 hours, especially from the Express branch. You can also order a home test: from here in London, or here for elsewhere in the UK. Again I can only speak for London, but here the turnaround time is usually less than a week and sometimes as little as three days. If you don't have a fixed address, you can get one sent to a friend's place. How often you decide to get tested depends on how often you're having sex as well as what services you're able to access.
Not everyone who does porn gets tested regularly so it's on you to check with people, ask to see recent results and, if it's been a while for someone, ask them to get tested before you film together. Really only you can make decisions about your own health, but if you're filming or meeting clients a lot, you need to consider the health and wellbeing of others as well. This should obviously be done without judgement or any stigma attached to sex--my prioritisation of pleasure coexists with my requests for regular testing, which I think is an essential part of being sex positive. Open and frank conversations about health and testing should be normalised wherever possible. My usual opener when arranging to film with someone is to say something along the lines of 'My last full screen was [date] and I prefer similarly recent results from people I film with--what does your testing schedule look like?' That starts the conversation and you can go into specifics--and share certs or proof of results--after conveying in this way that a recent test is non-negotiable for you.
Similar directness is necessary in the event that you do get an STI such as chlamydia or gonorrhoea and need to inform partners. Obviously this is uncomfortable, but a simple text like 'Hey, sorry for the bad news, but I've tested positive for X, so you'll need to get a test too since you're a recent contact. Hope it's not too inconvenient to get sorted.' If anyone replies negatively, by blaming or accusing you, frankly they aren't mature enough to be having sex. Testing positive for anything can evoke reactions from minor annoyance to outright terror, so although some unhappiness is understandable, this should not be directed towards the person sending the message; if anything, the reaction should be gratitude at letting them know. Most STIs can be treated very quickly and easily; some clinics fast-track appointments if there's been a positive test, and in an emergency you can also buy treatment online for some infections.
This also seems like a good point to remind you that U=U: if someone is HIV+ and undetectable, and you have tested negative, it is safe to have condomless sex with them without fear of getting HIV as they cannot pass it on. To protect yourself more generally, I'd recommend taking PrEP. For many people this can be taken either daily or event-based (i.e., only when you have sex, which may make more sense if you're not having sex very regularly); however, unless things have changed since I learned about this, taking PrEP event-based is not recommended for trans men as there hasn't been enough research on its efficacy. If you're not on PrEP and have had a 'risky' sexual encounter, you can get PEP from A&E departments. When taken within 72 hours of sex, PEP can prevent the acquisition of HIV.
If you're HIV+, although I can't speak on the specific and individual barriers and stigma you may encounter, I will say that many perfomers are HIV+ and that understanding of PrEP and U=U within the adult industry is (I feel) above average. I have filmed with many performers living with HIV and for me, and many others, it is a complete non-issue, so I wouldn't worry too much about your HIV status being a barrier to entry into SW.
As well as daily PrEP I also use DoxyPEP, which--when taken within 72h of a sexual encounter--can significantly reduce the risk of acquiring bacterial STIs. Studies on people with vaginas are limited and have shown mixed to poor results, but it's been effective for me.
If you have a cervix and are having bareback sex with anyone with a penis, you should be thinking about birth control--hormones alone are not enough. I'm on the daily pill, Desogestrel, which is progesterone-only and doesn't interfere with T. There are obviously potential side effects so you could also look into the coil or implant, or stick to condoms (which, while reducing the risk of STIs, will also impact your career). The pill has been great for me though.
You should also consider getting vaccinated against MPOX, Hepatitis A/B, and HPV. These are available for free at sexual health clinics; for a simple trans-inclusive guide to the available vaccines, check this link.
With that out of the way, I've divided the rest of my advice into sections on escorting and porn.
ESCORTING
Safety
There are a number of possible screening methods and safety practices when meeting clients. Unfortunately talking about these methods too publicly risks compromising them, as the more information clients have about how we screen them, the easier it becomes for them to circumvent the processes. For more detailed and specific advice on this, get in touch privately, or connect with one of the support networks listed above.
However, there's some basic advice and common practices I can list here: Always tell a third party where you will be, and what time you will check in with them (again, the groups above can be useful for this if you don't have anyone who could do it for you). Always get paid upfront, at the start of the session--not afterwards. Collect some sort of information about the client before you meet (personally I ask for a name and clear face photo; others don't ask for the face photo, and others ask for a photo of their ID, so it's up to you what you need to feel comfortable).
Advertising
In the UK the best website I've found for advertising my services is Sleepyboy. There are plenty, catering to different escorts and clients. I occasionally use RentMen, but usually only when travelling, as you need to pay a monthly fee and I rarely get clients in London on there. My cis male friends swear by it, so again I think it's about seeing where you're most likely to be successful based on your own criteria. Something to be cautious of is that advertising escorting services online can impact your ability to travel to the US. In 2022 I was detained and deported after flying to Atlanta; I spoke about the experience here. It's unclear whether they flagged me through face recognition software, or whether my data was sold or forcibly handed over to border control, but RentMen was specifically mentioned, so bear that in mind if you ever plan to travel to the US.
Other sites to check out are AdultWork (mostly cis women), VivaStreet, BirchPlace (mostly trans women); I don't use any of those. In general most of my clients now find me through Twitter or PornHub and contact me through the booking form on this website or on social media. So if you're planning on doing porn too, the two sides of the industry can help each other, but that takes a long time to build up.
Legality
While sex work is technically not illegal in the UK, aspects of the job are criminalised and come with serious penalties. These include working in pairs for safety (this is classified as 'brothel keeping', which is illegal), soliciting on the street, and helping a sex worker travel to or within the UK (this is considered trafficking).
The English Collective of Prostitutes has a resource on their website to learn more. It's invaluable to understand your rights as a sex worker.
PORN
Platforms
I use OnlyFans, JustForFans, Fansly, Clips4Sale, and ManyVids as my main content sites. OF receives the most traffic and for me it's where I make the majority of my income; however, it's famously hostile to the sex workers who make up 99% of its creators, and has a long list of banned content, including piss, outdoors, poppers, and fisting. JustForFans is owned by SWs and is more permissive. These two, along with Fansly, are subscription-based, so people pay a monthly fee to access all your content. C4S and MV are pay-per-view (PPV), where people pay to unlock individual videos. They vary in terms of interface and payout (in general, the platform takes 20-40% of your earnings), so you can shop around and pick your favourites, but I'd recommend using at least two or three. That covers you if your profile gets deleted or if the website itself shuts down.
Social media
I advertise mostly on Twitter/X. That works for me, but others swear by TikTok or Instagram. For me I struggle with advertising porn sites on those, because they're very strict about nudity, and you can also get your account banned for linking to OF, or even having your Linktree in your bio if that links to OF. So you need to be careful, but it's worth exploring. You can also try Reddit; there are subreddits for FTM porn, as well as various gay subcategories. Some allow direct advertising and some don't, so again, you need to be careful to avoid getting banned.
For social media in general, it can be difficult to start from scratch. You can comment on other people's posts, and engage with them, but avoid promoting yourself under other people's posts without invitation. On Twitter there are RT groups, where you retweet everyone's post within a group chat and in return everyone retweets yours. These can come with various rules and restrictions, and in my opinion they can make your feed look spammy, but they might be a good starting point. Some creators do RTxRT, i.e. retweeting one post for each other, which may give you more control over what you're putting on your feed. In terms of what you post, my best advice is to keep it authentic and enjoyable for yourself. You might want to create a separate online persona--there's some value in that--but I wouldn't stress too much about stepping outside of that, or becoming obsessed with whether a particular post, collab, or video is 'on-brand'; you will never please everyone, but just try to have fun with it, even while it's obviously work. For me, especially when I first started making porn, I had fun exploring aspects of my sexuality that I hadn't before, and seeing how my audience responded to the content I was making. If you're struggling with traction and engagement, you might consider paying a bigger creator for promo. Personally I would avoid accounts that are specific promo accounts, as their followers are more likely to be bots; I don't know how many people would follow an account solely designed to promote other accounts. You may be better off reaching out to a large account that posts similar content to yours, or whose audiences may overlap. I can't speak for everyone, but I've done promo posts for trans guys before, where they pay for me to post a video and caption of their choice and a link to their pages. Collaborations with other performers--i.e. filming together, or photoshoots--are another obvious way to increase your reach.
I would also add that posts that come across as too much like an advert tend not to do as well, in my experience. If someone wants to subscribe to your pages, they will, so posting the link in a comment underneath the main post, or even just in your bio, is enough. Posts with multiple links and hashtags can look like spam. Of course, social media platforms change their algorithms all the time, and it can be exhausting trying to keep up; this should also give you some reassurance that if your posts aren't doing well, it might just be luck, rather than anything to do with the quality of your content.
You can use schedulers on social media platforms to reduce your daily workload. These are built into Twitter (desktop site only, not the app) and Instagram, and are a massive time saver for me. Posting consistently is important, so I'd recommend utilising these tools to avoid large gaps in your posts.
This advice is similar for anyone using social media to advertise escorting services or porn-adjacent work. In short: be consistent, create good quality content, have a brand/persona but be relaxed with it, and look at promo options to increase engagement.
Equipment
I use two phones. In general, modern smartphones have decent enough cameras that you don't need to invest in specific equipment. If you have natural light in the space you'll be filming, great; if not, or if you're filming in the evenings or at night, it's worth buying a ring light or something similar. These are widely available online and vary in price and quality. My phones are Android/Samsung and I edit on my Windows laptop using a free program called VSDC, which is relatively intuitive for the basics, but there are a lot of YouTube videos for specific tasks if you're struggling. However, most people I film with have iPhones (which makes it easier to share content with AirDrop) and edit using Apple programs, so it's really up to you. If you've bought a ring light that can double up as a tripod even when you're not using the light, but if not, you should get a simple tripod for your phone. Some people will set up 5-6 cameras for different angles during filming, but I just set up one and use another for POV (so no tripod). That also makes editing much easier. You could have a look at options for cameras or specific filming equipment, but you really don't need much to get started, so I wouldn't recommend spending a lot of money at the beginning.
Making good quality videos
Following on from the advice about equipment, I'll focus specifically on one point: lighting. Again, if you can use bright natural light, I think it's far superior to any artificial lighting setup that I've ever seen in an amateur filming environment. Obviously you work with what you have, so that isn't always possible; in any case, ensure your content is clear and well-lit. I've had messages from new creators wondering why their photos or videos aren't getting much traction on social media, and often the simple answer is that you can't really see what's going on. There's some merit to creating moody, arty nudes if you're confident behind a camera as well as in front of one, but for straightforward porn, you just want everything to be bright and clear.
For a solo video, I usually set up my phone and leave it there throughout, making sure everything I want to be visible is in frame, so I don't need to move the tripod around, or even edit the video afterwards. For collabs, think about angles (and lighting again): try to avoid shadows from holding the phone between the light and the action, and film a variety of wide-angle shots and close-ups.
Collaborations
When you start out, you might like to stick to solo videos until you find your groove and get more confident with the various platforms, uploading processes, social media maintenance, and interactions with your fans and followers. I started making porn in lockdown, so only filmed solo videos for the first year, before I began to collaborate with other performers. If you do decide to do this, the easiest way is to reach out to creators on Twitter. Approaches and preferences vary, but generally I'd say the best opening message is a simple, 'Hey, I'd like to film with you, would you be up for that? I'm based in [city] and can host or travel.' No response is a response, so don't hassle anyone, and don't take it personally. When you're a new creator, your lack of followers or lack of existing collab videos might be a deterrent to some people, but not all. Put most of your energy into your own content and gradually start to reach out to people if/when you feel comfortable.
Some aspects of the collaboration are up for discussion, but for me there are some basic expectations. Regardless of whose device is used to film the content, everyone should have access to the footage to do with as they wish; it belongs to both parties. If there are specific moments or angles that one person feels uncomfortable with and would like to keep out of the final video, that should be respected, but for me there is an expectation that the majority of the filmed content will be published. Who does the edit is another negotiation; sometimes each person does their own, to tailor the video to their fans (for example, focusing mostly on fucking vs oral, if that's more on brand for you), and sometimes one person edits for both parties. That's down to personal preference. I like to do my own edits, but am sometimes happy to use someone else's. Each person uploads the video to their own platform and does their own promo; there's no splitting of revenue after the publication of the videos. If there are expenses involved--such as booking a hotel room, hiring a camera man, or paying a professional editor--these are generally at the discretion of the person who decided to book these extra expenses, but could be split if discussed in advance and agreed. When I edit a collab video and share it with the other person, no payment is involved. The main thing when posting collab videos is to always tag the other person. You're promoting and supporting one another, so you need to link to their page. It's good form to RT their posts and boost them where you can, and for them to do the same for you. Sometimes both parties post simultaneously, and sometimes separately; it's worth discussing this to avoid any disagreements. There are benefits to both methods which you can play around with to see what works best for you. I will say, however, that being painfully strict about syncing posting with another creator doesn't have a huge benefit, especially when compared with other aspects of making porn, like the quality of the video itself.
Model release forms
When you post a video on almost any platform, you need to provide some kind of proof that the other person in the video is over 18 and has consented to being filmed for this purpose. On OF, JFF, etc, the easiest way is to tag their profile, which is why I generally don't film with anyone who isn't verified on OF. However, you should collect a model release form from everyone you film with. This gives you the option to post the video on other platforms in the future and protects you (and the other person) from any issues that may arise. There are templates available online, but just ensure they'll be accepted by whichever sites you end up using. The form should collect basic data such as name, DOB, stage name, and email, as well as a photo of their ID, and their signature.
Admin: time and content management
Hopefully it's clear already from what I've written, but doing sex work isn't easy and you're unlikely to make a lot of money quickly. As with any freelance job, you need to have a lot of self-discipline and be able to manage your time effectively. If you're collaborating with other people, you need to show up on time, as well as ensure that you fulfil any other requests that are part of the agreement, such as getting tested beforehand and providing results, filling out their model release form, or sending photos or videos afterwards.
I have multiple spreadsheet to keep track of my content. One of these is public and used catalogue my videos with links to make them easier to find. I also have a private one for my collabs, where I keep track of who I've filmed with, what we've agreed about posting, with colour coding for whether I've edited and whether I've posted. I store my videos on two separate external hard drives as well as on Google Drive.
I post a long collab video once a week on my subscription sites, with shorter or solo videos in between, as well as photosets. I usually have a backlog of 4-5 months of videos to edit, and I edit and queue everything about 2-3 months in advance, which means I can do it relaxed in my own time, and on the actual date of posting, everything happens automatically, I just need to double check that it's all worked and add links on social media where necessary. This method works for me but I know others who prefer to do things nearer the time, or don't mind being a little less organised (/obsessive) with it.T
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