For many the recent BBC Three documentary ‘Webcam Boys’ was an eye opener. From JMatt exploring fetishes in his parents shed, to straight boys Will and Martyn jacking off together for cash, we learnt a lot! But the show left us with a lot of questions too, so we thought we’d get you some answers!
We spoke to David Thomas, CAM4’s UK Marketing Director:
So David, first things first, what is CAM4 and how does it work?
At CAM4.com performers put on free webcam shows, they can do anything they like, perhaps a strip tease or a show in the shower, viewers are invited to tip, often in exchange for requests.
Unlike our competitors we offer an unlimited free experience, it’s free for users to access the site, make an account and chat to our performers.
Since 2007 CAM4 has allowed adults to express themselves, regardless of sex, race, size or sexual preference. Developed as a community with a focus on social networking and interactions, CAM4 is much more than a traditional webcam site.
Can we really make £700 – £800 a day working on CAM4?
Absolutely! Our top performers regularly earn in excess of £7,000 per month, broadcasting on webcam in their spare time. Performers often quickly build a dedicated fan base who are willing to tip for requests.
Just how many people perform on CAM4?
More than you’d imagine, in the last 5 years almost 100,000 men broadcast on CAM4 from the UK alone, they put on over 3.5 million shows lasting over 7 million hours! There were almost as many Woman, and don’t forget CAM4 have performers from all over the world.
In the show we saw a wide range of guy have chosen to perform on webcam, can anyone do it?
Certainly, we encourage anyone over the age of 18 to give it a go, we love how diverse CAM4 is, no matter your age, background, or looks, with over 6 million unique visitors to the site each day, you’re sure to find someone who’ll enjoy what you have to offer.
Lastly a lot of people would be concerned about privacy, are there any safeguards in place?
We do offer some great tools to help performers with privacy, for example we offer the ability to block your webcam show from appearing in selected countries!
So it’s time to speak to the performers themselves! We started with arguably the star of the show JMatt, his story was fascinating and took us from the highs of his money making fetish shows, to the lows of his past.
So let’s jump straight in are you now famous in Wales?
Ha! Infamous maybe….
What’s the reaction been like from friends and family since theshow went to air?
Mixed. I’ve got friends that have been ultra supportive (as well as my mum who I think truly outshone everyone else in the show – social media seem to adore her! haha) My brother isn’t happy at all and has blocked me on Facebook (which is upsetting as I’m due to be an uncle to his daughter come May) and there’s a bit of a rift in the family on my dads side (ironically from my Nan, who hasn’t even seen the documentary herself) – I’ve also my fair share of hate mail. But I’ve got a thick enough skin to deal with it. I went as far as to call myself a whore on the show so it’s not like I’m not aware of what people are thinking. In a sense, without sounding too cocky, I feel like I’m one step ahead of the game.
As you mentioned Twitter loves your mum and how supportive she is, do you think that this is unusual? Would you encourage others working on CAM to let their parents know what they get upto online?
Like I said on the show my parents have always both been pretty liberal. My mum loves me to death. She’s seen me at rock bottom and for her to know I’m safe and saving up my income to gain some independence, I think that’s what helps her sleep at night. As far as other people’s family dynamics go, I wouldn’t encourage nor discourage it. Every situation/scenario is different.
Do you think you’ll continue camming from the shed, or do you see yourself moving to a new location?
Can I just take a moment to clarify – it’s not a shed, it’s an outhouse!! Haha that aside no, of course camming from there isn’t my long term goal. I was initially saving up to rent my own place but I think, providing things go well, I’ll probably end up moving in with my boyfriend to Bristol. We met via CAM4 so he’s really supportive and I actually think I’ve probably done more shows at his place, as opposed to in my own cam room/’shed’ these last few months
You said on the show that Jmatt represents your wild side, do you enjoy being able to escape to
your own online world?
Yes! I do genuinely miss my regulars when I’m not camming, and some of them haven’t tipped me a single token in their life! I know I could be making more money elsewhere, but I’m getting by, and camming under the persona of Jmatt has allowed me to explore so much with the increasing support I’ve gathered from the online fetish/kink community
So let’s get to the juicy bits, what’s the weirdest thing someone has asked you to do on webcam?
Piss my pants? Shit on cam? There’s lots of foot fetishists out there but they rarely seem to actually tip so I try and keep my feet out of shot the majority of the time just to piss them off haha. I’ve had quite a few requests to send cum or piss stained underwear or socks out to a client in exchange for an agreed amount of tokens, all of which I’ve fulfilled.
In the program the narrator said ‘Webcams mean that anyone can be a porn star’, Do you believe that’s true? Can anyone do it?
Yes and no. You need to find your niche. When I first started camming I wasn’t being true to myself and it wasn’t until I let my personality (and all my weird quirks and eccentricities) shine through that my audience sreally started to grow and the tokens came rolling in
What do you like about CAM4.com?
Of course it would have to be the audience participation. Being an exhibitionist, that’s probably the biggest plus for me! Also though the team at Cam4 are lovely and the customer support is genuinely fantastic. Any problems I’ve had have been resolved ASAP.
Finally we wanted to speak to Martyn and find out how that hunt for a girlfriend is going!
You were filmed out on the hunt for girls, do you think you’ll be able to find a girlfriend who’s accepting of your work on webcam?
I don’t want a girlfriend at the moment I’m having far to much fun being me and my work.
You mention in the documentary that you can make £600 / £700 a night on webcam. How much were you making at the start? How long did it take you to get to that?
This wasn’t be saying I earn this much I am saying its happened, and you can earn more or less depending on how hard you work and how far you are prepared to go for each show.
In the show you said that your family weren’t sure about it at first, how have they reacted to the show since it’s broadcast?
They haven’t seen it and would rather not. Im sure they will hear lots about it but as long as I am supporting myself they are happy.
You mentioned that one of your customers loves to watch you burp, are there other non-sexual things that you’ve been asked to do for money on cam?
Cash Slaves are the main one thats non sexual that like to be told what to do when to do it and how to do it. Being cleaning the house top to toe being used to make me a blog etc….
In the show you did a sports themed show, have you done other shows with themes?
Sports Theme – The Chav – The Boss – God – Hannibal – The Foodie.
What’s the weirdest thing someone has asked you to do on webcam?
Act as if i was Hannibal. I had to pretend i was blood first to eat the customer alive.
In the show you were working from a hotel room, do you always work from hotels?
No its easier to team up in hotels if its all solo then we do it from home mostly.
What do you like about CAM4.com?
CAM4 is simple but very popular so this is the main reason I use it. Chaturbate is slightly more complicated and doesn’t have as many viewers on there.
What would you say to anyone considering getting into adult webcam work?
Expect very weird requests. Always understand that each one of these people watching you are watching you for a certain reason whether it being the colour of your hair to the way you look.
The BBC Documentary is still available via iPlayer, check it out by clicking here. To jump straight to CAM4.com and see what all the fuss is about click here!