Beach Fern Olivia Macdonald says joining the growing athlete sector on the OnlyFans platform has been a game-changer for funding her beach volleyball career.

Five months ago Macdonald got an opportunity to become an OnlyFans athlete and received a signing bonus in the process.

“It’s the same as if someone was sponsored by Adidas and it’s been amazing being a part of that crew, there are a lot of athletes spread around the world.”

The subscription-based internet content and social media platform where fans pay to access exclusive photos, videos and live streams from content creators was founded in 2016.

While it is used by mainstream creators like fitness trainers, chefs, models and musicians, OnlyFans is overwhelmingly known for hosting adult content.

“I’m not on the ‘other side’ of the OnlyFans, which is often what people just assume.”

The “athlete side” of OnlyFans is a growing branch where professional athletes use the platform to monetise their careers.

“I know it has a certain stigma, but being part of the athlete side has been incredible.”

So what sort of things does Macdonald post on her account?

“Pretty much it’s me playing my sport right, and it’s a bikini sport so you can find photos of me.

“We have social media requirements on Instagram, and that’s us posting in the OnlyFans merch and showcasing our sport and creating reels - it’s essentially my own modelling account.

“And there’s another streaming platform most people don’t know about called OnlyFans TV where I’ve posted videos of me doing my cardio session up Mount Maunganui, for example.”

Finding enough funding to get to the international tournaments she needs to, in order to advance her career, has been a constant struggle.

“I’ve often worked two jobs ... if that’s what you want to do, you’ve got to sacrifice something and make it happen.”

She said funding from High Performance Sport NZ had improved over the last few years, which went towards travel, but it was limited.

“We don’t have a whole lot of sponsors chomping at the bit to sponsor beach volleyball and it’s up to us to make it work.

“This has been a game-changer for me sponsor-wise. There’s no way I would have been able to compete otherwise. I was able to fund my partner and I just to be able to get to some events once our regular funding ran dry.”

Macdonald gets regular payments, on top of the signing bonus.

“So if I’m doing interviews and I’m speaking about OnlyFans, I’m wearing the merch etc. There is a bonus system.”

The 30-year-old said feeding her OnlyFans account by posting regularly and interacting with fans helped generate more money. A management team based in America assists her with the sheer volume of it.

“We have fans who go there to connect with players, people can message me through OnlyFans and it is a fascinating world to be a part of.”

After a busy international schedule, Macdonald is back at her New Zealand training base of Mount Maunganui, where she will be for the summer.

The Beach Fern is about to compete in a two-leg series against India at North Harbour and Mt Maunganui as part of celebrations marking 100 years of Unity Through Sport between the two countries.

Current Beach Black Sam O’Dea, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, headlines the men’s side. Macdonald was selected as a reserve when the Beach Ferns competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The sport was cut from the programme at this year’s truncated Glasgow Games, but Macdonald sees India’s visit as a good sign.

“The next Games in 2030 are actually in India, who are seen as a sleeping giant of beach volleyball. They see value in sending their team to New Zealand, so I think it’s a great sign that we will be returning to the Commonwealth Games.”

Macdonald competes internationally with partner Shaunna Polley as part of the Beach Ferns. The pair teamed up two years ago and are committed to doing everything they can to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. New Zealand has never had a women’s beach volleyball team qualify for the Olympics.

The Beach Ferns duo of Polley and the now retired Alice Zeimann narrowly missed out on securing an Olympic quota spot for Paris 2024. The Olympic qualification journey officially got underway for the NZ Beach Volleyball team at the AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Championships in China in September.

A change of criteria meant the winner got a direct ticket to the Olympics. Unfortunately, Polley had an injury, which meant their build-up to the event was drastically cut short.

“Which was a huge blow because I truly believe it was an incredible opportunity for us to book a spot to the Olympics. But the next two years we’ll be aiming to qualify.”

Macdonald and Polley had a phenomenal 2025, which included an appearance at the Beach Volleyball World Championships – the first New Zealand women’s duo to reach the event since 2001. They were on track to cracking the world top 20 but injury setbacks this year have seen their ranking drop.

“We’re still within the top 50, and a few good results and you’re back in it.”

Another direct Olympic qualification route has recently been introduced to the international calendar, with the pair targeting a tournament in January in Dubai.

“It’s a gnarly event, single elimination and whoever wins gets a ticket to the Olympics.”

Since leaving high school, Macdonald has largely lived life on the road, splitting her time between New Zealand and beach volleyball tours in Asia, Europe and South America.

In her final year at New Plymouth Girls’ High School in 2013, Macdonald got a scholarship to an American university following a serendipitous sequence of events.

Initially selected for a training group after being spotted at the high school indoor nationals, she then drew the attention of the beach coach, who brought her into a development squad that visited America. Macdonald was then in the right place at the right time on a beach in California.

“I happened to be playing against a girl who was already recruited to Arizona State University and the head coach was there watching her and then I got offered a full ride scholarship for beach volleyball. Up to that time, I hadn’t been playing too much beach volleyball.”

Macdonald has witnessed a massive surge of interest in volleyball in New Zealand, since leaving high school 13 years ago. Indoor volleyball is now only second to netball as the most popular sport for girls at secondary school but there continues to be a big drop-off after school.

“I think it’s because we don’t promote that there is a pro scene after school, because it’s not huge in New Zealand, people don’t really understand that you can have a career in it but it’s so fun, Kiwis love it.”

The first leg of the New Zealand-India series starts this Thursday at Auckland’s Mairangi Bay, with the second leg in Mount Maunganui, the weekend of November 14-15.

RNZ

  This story was first published on rnz.co.nz