Blog Post Written By: Nicholas Journeyman
Allie Rae discusses her career and leaning into crypto
Allie Rae’s rise in popularity is unprecedented. She started her OnlyFans while working as a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse in Boston. After a group of nurses discovered her OnlyFans, they outed her to management, and she was given an ultimatum “delete it or quit,” and she elected to leave her career as a nurse and focus on OnlyFans full-time. Allie Rae’s following continued to grow in popularity and since then she has been featured in TrulyTV, FUSE TV, and even a one-on-one interview with Dr. Phil. Allie Rae is also one of many adult performers and business figures leaning heavily into crypto technology. She is the creator and founder of WetSpace.com, is a crypto focused enterprise that merges adult content distribution with this new decentralized technology. Wanting to learn more about her career, I was able to interview her for Sex Work CEO.
You can learn more about Allie Rae by visiting her website www.TheAllieRae.com and following her on IG at TheAllieRae and Twitter at @MrsAllieRae.
Nicholas Journeyman: From being in the Navy to becoming a nurse to now producing adult content. You seem to pursue challenging careers and are clearly a hard worker. Where does this drive come from? Have you always been a Type A personality or are there specific goals you are working towards?
Allie Rae: I like to think that my initial drive to be ‘the best I can be’, came from growing up in a somewhat broken home. I experienced a lot by the age of 13 and I learned a lot about life and how you truly have to always put yourself first.
I also went into the military at age 17 which truly set me up for success and taught me about structure and the importance of a schedule. I have always been somewhat of an overachiever; in other words, I have always had to continue to prove to myself that I can do more. It took me many years to discover this about myself, but growth is very important to me; I always need to be striving towards the next big thing. I don't know when this started for me, but I know it’s lived within me for some time.
Journeyman: The popularity and profitability of OnlyFans skyrocketed during the pandemic. As pandemic restrictions begin to lift, are you concerned about consumers using OnlyFans and similar platforms less?
Allie Rae: I think that is a fair argument, but the NSFW/porn industry has been around for centuries, it’s not going anywhere. There will definitely be times when things slow down and may not be as profitable, but that's why I have always believed in growth in all areas; aka building a brand - not just a social media account - if that makes sense. I am always keeping things moving and exploring opportunities. I believe that ‘today's hustle is tomorrow's fortune’, and many people don't have the patience or commitment for that.
Journeyman: The future of OnlyFans has been hotly debated as of late. In addition to increasing competition, the company has made inconsistent decisions about explicit content on its platform. Where do you see OnlyFans in the next five to ten years?
Allie Rae: Look, OnlyFans has certainly received a bad rep for, what appears to be, ‘indecisiveness’ on their stance for adult content. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. OnlyFans makes billions off adult content; no company in their right mind would want to jeopardize that funnel of revenue.
With that being said, in order to make money - they have to collect money, and that process is governed by the financial industry, such as Visa and Mastercard. They call the shots. OnlyFans has to abide by their terms, and at the level they are at now, from a business perspective, they would probably like to go public (IPO).
Porn and public do not go hand and hand; therefore, they have to clean up the content, in order to even have a SPAC take them on. I think it's important to look at where OnlyFans is focusing their time and attention, and more importantly - their money. That in itself will tell you a lot about a company and what their goals are. They have put a lot of money into OFTV (a very PG13 audience). They are desperately trying to rebrand in order to take their business to the next level and I can sympathize with that as a business owner myself. I don’t fault them.
Journeyman: You have leaned heavily into crypto technology. When did you first learn about cryptocurrencies? What did you think about this tech?
Allie Rae: I first heard about crypto currencies in 2020, I was an early investor in Dogecoin, lol, but my knowledge consisted of: setting up a Robinhood account and buying doge, and that's about it! It wasn't until 2021 until I started to see crypto and the adult space coupled.
I was fascinated about NFTs and how they can truly change this space. I watched from afar for a few months and dabbled in projects here and there, before finally teaming up with three other partners to begin the discussion of an actual platform built around crypto - not just a pump and dump shit coin trying to build a platform. I saw the bigger picture and how it really seemed like the perfect solution to many of the issues creators were facing, as well as the concerns fans were facing too with anonymity.
Journeyman: You are the CEO of WetSpace Crypto. When did you realize there was a need for this type of crypto-based platform?
Allie Rae: It was in late August 2021 when OF made their announcement. I was at the peak of my career, earning well over $350k per a month. I was terrified. I was in shock. I was worried. I thought to myself, so this is it, I spent all this time building this brand and boom, one platform makes an announcement and it's all gone for me? That didn't settle with me. Once I realized the problem (the banks), I discovered the solution (get rid of the banks), but how? Easy, crypto. Decentralization.
Journeyman: While developing WetSpace, what were some unexpected obstacles you encountered?
Allie Rae: Oh man, there is so much that goes into building a platform that runs off crypto. We have four attorneys, we have multiple experts in obtaining smart contracts, there are so many things to consider. We have had to tackle issues like KYC requirements, record keepings and audits. We really wanted to do this right and therefore we have gone above and beyond to make sure we are in compliance at all levels. You have seen many other projects come into this game and fail because they simply didn't do their due diligence. That will not be WetSpace.
Journeyman: A former adult performer was recently accused of scamming people with an NFT project. And other crypto/NFT adult entertainment projects have been met with suspicion. How concerned are you about bad faith actors in this space? Specifically, are you worried about a few bad apples poisoning the crypto space for adult content?
Allie Rae: I heard about this story and I am familiar with the performer you are referring to. I don’t have enough backstory to form an opinion on whether she truly “scammed” her fans or not, but I will say - any negative story, whether true or not, in the crypto space is bad for the industry. It has taken crypto many years to get to where we are now and people are just getting comfortable with the idea of it, we don’t want to tarnish that in any way. With that being said, this is the exact reason why WetSpace chose to NOT have a coin. We could have raised a hella lot of money upfront and really cashed in, but we wanted to remain platform first. There is really no way for a scam to occur here - we simply built a platform that has smart contracts in place so fans can pay for content using multiple cryptocurrencies of their choice and do so anonymously.
Journeyman: Many in the adult entertainment and sex work are turning to crypto because they believe it offers privacy. However, popular crypto currencies don’t guarantee privacy. Are you worried about people turning to crypto without realizing they might be exposing their identities?
Allie Rae: I think the biggest concern right now for most fans and even creators is the words “OnlyFans” being on their bank statements. They can’t have their loved ones, accountants, loan officers, CPAs etc. seeing that. With WetSpace - you simply hook up an anonymous wallet and you're good to go. There is no need to disclose any further information with WetSpace (as a fan). Creators of course will still have to KYC for legal reasons.
Journeyman: A bit of a boring question. Given how much you have on your plate, how do you get so much done from a scheduling perspective? Are there specific apps you use?
Allie Rae: Oh man, I stay so busy it's insane. I am still running The Allie Rae™ (the brand) as well as maintaining my role as CEO with WetSpace. I will say my husband is amazing and keeps me on task and my sister also is hired on and helps me with so many things. As for Apps, I am a big Google user, I definitely rely on calendaring, drive cloud storage, etc. Slack is also a great tool for business and communication.
Journeyman: Reflecting on your career so far, what are some things you know now that you wish you had known years ago?
Allie Rae: My biggest take away thus far from all this is that money truly doesn't buy happiness. Yes, more money makes your life easier (financially, paying bills, etc.) but it does come with a cost. You will work for that money, period. You will still be tired, have long days, cry, be sad, etc. - money doesn't fix all that. I used to dream of being a millionaire and all the things I would buy and what I would do with the money, etc. - and the truth is, when I made my first million - none of that stuff mattered anymore, I didn’t really spend it like I thought I would. I wanted to put it to use, so that I could build long term freedom and success, not just wealth.
Journeyman: Finally, what else are you working on that people can look forward to?
Allie Rae: Well, I just started streaming on Twitch (user: TheAllieRae) haha! So definitely pop in there and see me play some GTA, and look for me on TV over the next year. I have a few shows planned and possibly a full reality show coming soon, so I am very excited about that.
Remember, you can learn more about Allie Rae by visiting her website www.TheAllieRae.com and following her on IG at TheAllieRae and Twitter at @MrsAllieRae.
Also, follow Sex Work CEO and myself on Twitter respectively at @SexWorkCEO and @NickJourneyman.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the blog post above are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SexWorkCEO or MelRose Michaels. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.
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