Adult content creator dropped out of uni to pursue sex career now earning £3,000 per month and representing gay Asians

An adult content creator who dropped out of his automotive engineering degree to earn £3,000 per month by selling explicit photos and videos of himself having sex, masturbating and using sex toys has said the move was motivated by the “lack of representation” of gay Asian men in the sex industry.

Caramel Baba, 25, from Birmingham, began posting on OnlyFans in February 2022, after realising “if it’s all about money” he would rather create saucy content than finish his degree at Coventry University.

Caramel, who is single, also wanted to represent fellow gay Asian men in the sex industry and the media as a whole, and it paid off – within one month, he made around £860.

He does not lean into specific fetishes because he believes his “identity is a fetish to some people” and is his “unique selling point”.

While creating content, he had yet to officially come out to his family – so in 2023, he decided to tell them and his wider community, which he found “very isolating”.

However, he was able to find people with similar experiences on social media – something he claims saved his life.

In August 2023 Caramel decided to leave OnlyFans and use MintStars, a sex-positive content platform, instead, and has been able to make even more money due to the platform only taking 5% of subscribers’ payments compared to OnlyFans taking 20% of creators’ earnings – he now makes a whopping £3,000 per month.

Caramel told PA Real Life: “I can take time off when I want to take time off, I don’t have to approve a holiday from anybody.

“I definitely feel a lot more empowered with myself.

“I’ve gone through a journey – there were times where it felt uncomfortable in the beginning but it’s something that I’ve had to address, like the shame and also not seeing my body as an enemy.

“And that’s what really helped me become more confident and more outspoken.”

In February 2022, while in his final year studying automotive engineering at Coventry University, Caramel decided to start posting on OnlyFans.

He explained: “I think (the pandemic) kind of made me reflect upon myself and what I really wanted to do, and it made me reflect upon the industry that I was trained to be in.

“And also like the job market, as a Gen Z person, I mean, it’s pretty difficult… I thought if it’s all about money, I’d rather go down the (OnlyFans) route that I can get to the life that I want to live with the freedom.”

Caramel was also motivated by the “lack of representation” of gay Asian men in the online sex worker industry, and the media as a whole.

“I think the first gay Asian character I saw was in EastEnders, which was probably about 10 or 15 years ago,” he added.

“I wanted to show representation… in an industry where (gay Asian men) are not really desired and (have) not really been at the forefront of the camera… even though the UK has quite a high Asian ethnic percentage.”

Despite being culturally Muslim, and not practising the religion day-to-day, Caramel felt conflicted when considering starting an OnlyFans.

He said: “Definitely, (there was a conflict because) I think drawing attention to yourself, in itself – I understand there’s a trade off there… but it’s my job, I have to work.

“I’m sure there are many people who do work that don’t fully line up with their religious beliefs either.”

Within a month of making his account, he was earning around £860 per month.

Caramel even decided to drop out in his final year of university because he was “doing too much online”.

Caramel posts videos and photos ranging from “full nudity, orgasm scenes, dildo play and roleplay”, as well as videos of him having sex with other adult content creators.

“I (find other creators to collab with) on social media… I get to know people on Instagram for example,” Caramel explained.

“The first time I did it was with a friend of a few years and he was comfortable.

“Doing it with other content (creators) is great because they understand the workflow, the forms and the legality and you have to have consent for everything.”

He has said he does not lean into any specific fetishes for his audience, but believes his “identity is a fetish to some people.”

He added: “I think that (my identity) is enough, really, for me to kind of have a unique selling point because there’s not much else I have to do because people are coming to me for that sort of content.”

However, he had not “officially” come out to his family – and in 2023, he decided to tell them.

He said: “It’s very isolating because pretty much as soon as you come out, that’s it, you’re out.

“If you try to stay in, people don’t want you to be in there, or they rather just not have to deal with the existence.

“It’s very, very difficult – I mean, there’s lots of friends that I’ve made online over the past few years and I’ve found my community and I’m really grateful for that.

“I don’t think I would actually be here if it wasn’t for those social media people.”

When telling his loved ones about his job, the reactions were very mixed.

“I think (my family) didn’t really understand in the beginning, I had to kind of explain to them,” Caramel said.

“I think there’s such a huge generational divide, where even though you try to explain it to them they don’t really understand it fully… it was more positive amongst my friends.

“I’m lucky to have them even though I’ve got a lot less (friends) because I think it’s scared a lot of people away.”

In August 2023, Caramel decided to leave OnlyFans and use MintStars, a sex-positive content platform, instead.

He explained: “MintStars takes 5% from the subscriber whereas on OnlyFans, they would take 20% from me – for me, it was definitely a no brainer in terms of going forward and seeing your gains down the line.”

Caramel also noticed reports that several other creators were moving away from OnlyFans over a row concerning funding for a pro-Israel lobbying group.

OnlyFans’ owner Leonid Radvinksy has denied donating 11 million dollars to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has lobbied against a ceasefire in Gaza, in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel.

However, it motivated several creators, including Caramel, to move platforms.

He said: “We as sex workers… consent to all the work, we consent to the videos being made, but we don’t consent to using our money allegedly in that way – even though it is denied.

“I’m culturally a Muslim, I’m a gay Muslim and I’m also an activist, because life is political.

“Too many people think minority groups like us don’t exist in the Middle East but we do – and the gay community deserves a safe space, just as much as everyone else.

“That’s why groups in the UK such as Queers For Palestine have sprung up… I had no regrets about coming off OnlyFans, and my opinion has only hardened since we learnt who they were allegedly supporting.”

Looking to the future, he said: “I’d love to continue to work (on MintStars) with a diverse group of people internationally.

“It has let me work on social media as well… and I’d like to do more social activism, and I’m so privileged to be able to do these things.

“If I was working nine to five, I would never have been able to do that.”

MintStars is a sex-positive content platform to help creators and fans earn more through resales and protect them from financial discrimination, high fees and censorship. For more information, visit: www.mintstars.com.