A content creator who went from minimum-wage retail shifts to earning £70,000 a month has revealed how getting sober transformed both her life and her place in the adult industry.
Sophia Isabella Smith, 23, swapped her £10-an-hour Marks & Spencer job for a five figure OnlyFans career and is now 99 days sober after a stint in rehab.
The Durham-born creator now lives in Bournemouth where she attended rehab two months ago. She started on Instagram posting lingerie pictures before an industry friend suggested OnlyFans.
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“I was working Marks and Spencer’s actually. So yeah, just a really normal girl,” she said.
Her earnings exploded. “When I wasn’t really doing it properly I would only make in around 3k to 5k. And then now I can make from 20k to 70k,” Smith claims.
The cash fuelled a party lifestyle. “It was very, alcohol, party lifestyle kind of vibes within the influencer space in general,” she said. “I kind of got sucked into that lifestyle, especially when I first got, a lot of money from only fans.”
Smith claims the partying was normalised. “I just thought it was the lifestyle of it all. And I was, oh, it’s what everyone does,” she admitted.
The constant online presence created anxiety. “I Was online quite a lot. And anything that I’d do would be videos or if I was out and drunk then someone would video it, someone would post it,” she said.
She checked into rehab in Bournemouth and has been sober for 99 days. The clarity helps her enjoy her work more.
“It has been nice to be able to say, I’m in this industry, now I’m sober, I still love doing my job,” she said.
Publicity stunts remain her bread and butter. She recently stood outside the Houses of Parliament in a short skirt with banners protesting government travel cards to generate viral rage bait.
She has also filmed for a documentary scheduled for a January release and appeared on Sidemen’s 20v1 YouTube video.
“They always do really well for me,” she said of her stunt strategy.
Family reaction was initially rocky. “My mum came from a very Christian family so yeah, she wasn’t best pleased by it,” Smith said.
The industry has shown its ugly side. “I’ve learned that a lot of people use you in this industry especially when you’ve got good contacts, exposure and money” she said.
Smith claims people befriended her to reach her contacts including ex-boyfriends and collaborators. “People all want to know you when it comes to wanting connections or wanting to benefit financially.”
She plans a UK tour with a friend featuring games and challenges. Her biggest goal to consistently hit six figure months on the platform.
“I want to do something pretty crazy for Christmas time,” she said. The focus remains on attention-grabbing content.
Smith wants to break the silence around sobriety in adult entertainment.
“No one really speaks about, sobriety in the adult industry. So I think it’d be interesting to do something on that,” she said. She hopes her story shows others that partying isn’t mandatory for success.
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