A school dropout who left school BEFORE taking her GCSEs as ‘they weren’t paying me to be there’ now makes $45,000 per month online as a content creator.
Bambi Brooks, 24, grew up in the tiny town of Rushden, Northamptonshire, where she says there was ‘nothing for anyone to do’.
She never fitted into the school system and only sat one exam – drama – which she passed.
Now the self-described ‘boss’ runs her own OnlyFans business, recently appeared on the popular Sidemen YouTube channel, and has grown her Instagram following from zero to nearly 100,000 followers in under a year.
“I dropped out of school before my GCSEs because they weren’t paying me to be there,” said Bambi.
“I’m pretty much a self-proclaimed boss. I didn’t do all that for nothing.”
The creator’s journey hasn’t been easy. At 16, her father – a tattooist who ran several studios in the area and whom she describes as her ‘best friend’ – died suddenly from heart problems caused by years of heavy smoking.
“When he died at 47, I thought, life can really get you,” she said. “That was sudden. I need to take opportunities. I need to make experiences.”
Her father’s advice has stayed with her ever since.
“My dad always said, live to the fullest and be yourself,” Bambi explained. “If you want something in life, you need to get off your ass and go for it.”
Growing up, Bambi found early inspiration in her father’s collectible ‘Inked’ magazines, which featured tattooed women in bikinis on the covers.
“That was sort of like my Playboy when I was younger,” she said. “I would look at that and think they look so liberated.
“I was always that girl seeing fire dancers and even strippers and thinking, wow, I want to be like that when I’m older.”
Life Before Success
Bambi’s teenage years were turbulent. She struggled with dependency on MDMA and had a run-in with the police while still at school.
Her mum’s partner at the time kicked her out, leaving her homeless and staying with a friend.
“I was always the black sheep of the family,” she said. “But for some reason, my family always trusted that what I was doing was the right thing.”
To move back home, Bambi was taken to see a priest – a requirement from her mum’s then-partner.
She grew up in a council house and watched her mother deal with financial problems after her parents divorced when she was around 12.
Despite the hardships, Bambi credits her unconventional upbringing with giving her the freedom to express herself.
Her mother had rebelled against a strict Christian household, and wanted her children to have space to be themselves.
“I’ve got a very, very supportive family,” Bambi said. “They’ve always had that faith in me.
“They know I do things in the more rebellious way, and I do enjoy the devilment, but they see that potential in me.”
The Turning Point
Bambi first joined OnlyFans in 2021 but didn’t fully commit to making content. She was in a two-year relationship with a man she met in Berlin – eight years her senior – whom she thought she would marry.
“It was very romantic, like that summer romance in your favourite European city,” she said. “I really did think I was going to marry that man. I was really in love.”
But the relationship turned toxic when her partner tried to manage her career, and Bambi found herself holding back her ambitions to keep him happy.
“I said to him, I want to be the biggest creator. I want to do pornography. I want to be the biggest in my field,” she explained. “And unfortunately, it’s just not going to work being with you.”
She left the relationship this year and channelled the heartbreak into relaunching her career from scratch.
“That breakup was fuel for me,” Bambi said. “I came back to the UK. Kind of went cold turkey, it felt like.
“But then I could grow and nurture something new.”
Building an Empire
In just seven months, Bambi has built her Instagram following from zero while running every aspect of her business solo.
“This is a solo business,” she said. “I don’t have big teams doing things for me. Everything that I do now is just ran by me.”
Before her current success, Bambi was already going viral on TikTok in 2023 with unconventional live streams where she would pour yogurt over her head while dressed as video game characters.
“At the end of my live streams, I would have a total of maybe two to three million watches overall after that two-hour stream,” she said. “I would look up in the corner and it’d be like 100,000 people, 200,000 people watching all at once.”
The streams came at a cost – burnout, conjunctivitis from yogurt in her eyes, and sleepless nights.
“Every night I’m just degrading myself, washing yogurt out of my hair, putting eye drops in because my eyes are so red,” she recalled. “It does come to a point where that burns you out and it’s not sustainable.”
Finding Confidence
Bambi dealt with weight issues and binge eating growing up, and says she never truly felt beautiful until adulthood.
“I never truly felt beautiful until I really came into my own as an adult woman,” she said. “Being in this industry and having to look at yourself and take your clothes off – that really helped me feel sexy and confident.”
She now hits the gym regularly and says the work has helped her build trust in herself.
“When I decided to restart my OnlyFans career and my social media this year, it was kind of like a test whether I could trust myself,” she explained. “That has made me a better businesswoman.”
What’s Next
Bambi recently appeared on the Sidemen and attended the Glamour Awards. She has ambitions to appear on television, collaborate with more creators, and give back through philanthropy – particularly around sex worker rights.
“I would love for people to see what their potential really is,” she said. “Being positive is way harder than being negative. But if you fill your head with negativity, you’re not gonna succeed.”
Her message to anyone struggling to believe in themselves is simple.
“Being underestimated is your greatest gift,” Bambi said. “If these other people out there can be millionaires and billionaires – they ain’t even that clever – if they can all achieve what they want in life, so can I, and so can you.
“When you’re at rock bottom, the only way you can go is up.”
Looking further ahead, Bambi has her sights set far beyond social media.
“I want to be at the Met Gala,” she said. “Front row at Fashion Week. Billboards over Sunset Boulevard.”
She points to creators like Chloe Cherry, who transitioned from adult content to a role on Euphoria and landed campaigns with brands like Mac, as proof that her ambitions are achievable. “If she can do it, so can I.”
But fame isn’t the end goal. Bambi wants to use her platform to lift others up.
“I want to be a voice for people who maybe don’t have one,” she explained. “It’s okay to be the underdog. You can create your own reality. You don’t have to abide by these rules given to us by the system.
A Family of Rebels
Bambi comes from a family of unconventional characters. Her father once started a school riot as a teenager and made the newspapers in the 1980s. Her oldest brother plays in a heavy metal band that has performed at Download Festival. Her sister, 11 months younger, is her “ride or die.”
“None of us are normal,” she laughed. “We’re just a bunch of weirdos.”
She keeps her father’s memory close, believing he watches over her success.
“I always think to myself, what would my dad do?” she said. “I just really want to do my family proud and myself proud.”
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