Romanian-Canadian Olympian Alexandra Ianculescu has used OnlyFans to become the athlete she's always dreamed of beIng.
The former Olympic speed skater — who grew up in Toronto and has lived in Calgary and Vancouver — is switching things up and training to hopefully represent Canada in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris as a cyclist, and she's footing the bill with OnlyFans.
Ianculescu joined the platform back in 2021 to financially support her Olympic ambitions as opposed to working part-time jobs to meet ends needs and missing out on training time, recovery and much-needed rest for an athlete of her calibre.
Ianculescu told Narcity that at the time, she was hesitant to join the platform, but she's now found that she's surprised by how much humanity and kindness she's found on the app.
"I was surprised at how understanding and human people were. They're not just there for the content. They're there to talk and be human," said Ianculescu.
Ianculescu is currently living in Holland, and while we spoke, she was driving down to Bonn, Germany, to race a night criterium in Hürth, called "Schmitter-Nacht von Hürth."
The race is for elite female riders at the highest level before going pro, according to Ianculescu, and she's feeling pretty good about her training.
"I'm now in my second sports career; it actually allows me to truly be the athlete that I've always wanted to be since I remember watching Catriona Le May Doan on TV when I was 10 years old at the Olympics thinking this is what I want to do," she said.
"It just happens to be in a totally different way. I never thought I would be selling lingerie and bikini photos to support it."
OnlyFans has given her the financial freedom to fully invest in her diet without worrying about money and has freed up her schedule.
"I can afford to eat better, not healthier, because I've always been eating healthy, but I don't stress about saving money on food."
"I really see a difference in how I'm recovering because I'm truly investing the proper... I guess everything, time, money, I now have everything that I need, and It's crazy because I sleep better."
Having less financial burden has allowed Ianculescu to fully pursue her cycling in a way she couldn't as an Olympic skater saddled with $65K of skating debt.
"I just was working two part-time jobs that are playing like 14 bucks an hour. You can't do anything with that, but I still did it, and looking back, I'm like, 'Ok if I could get to the Olympics during that, there's nothing literally standing in my way now.'"
How she started on OnlyFans
Ianculescu was strapped with a demanding sport and minimum wage jobs to help cover bills, and instead of asking her parents for money or turning to crowdfunding, she found a way to help herself get ahead.
"Before when I was speed skating, I was working two part-time jobs, and I was going to school, and that worked well because I didn't have anyone to help me pay the bills. And then after the Olympics, when I moved to Europe, it was even harder to ask for support because I wasn't in Canada anymore."
Some Canadian athletes can receive funding from programs like the Athlete Assistance Program and sponsorships but otherwise, athletes are on their own when it comes to supporting themselves on their way to the world stage and even winning a medal might not pay as much as you'd think.
Once she moved to Europe in 2020, she was working part-time as a personal trainer, but her schedule wasn't flexible enough to sustain her long training hours.
In April 2021, Ianculescu decided to take people's advice to sell her bikini photos on OnlyFans.
"I knew what it was before, and I was quick to jump and say that I would never do it because I thought, 'Oh, I have morals.' But then, as I say this now, it has nothing to do with morals because I know that there are people out there that literally do this to feed their babies, and they have no other way of doing it."
Being on OnlyFans for two years has made Ianculescu more confident in her body and "free."
"I'm not shy. For example, when I started OnlyFans, I would charge 20 bucks for a slow-mo video of me shaking my ass with black lace lingerie on, whereas now, I'll post a photo of just me tanning in a thong on the beach."
At the moment, Ianculescu said she is "150% self-supported."
"I can't get into the cycling Canada bubble until I show up and I perform, and that's just the rule with any other sport," she said. "There's no carding money. There's no government support. There's nothing, which is why I'm doing it."
What content does Alexandra Ianculescu make on OnlyFans?
Ianculescu started with basic PG content on OnlyFans out of fear that her content would be shared online.
"I was horrified of what the sports federations would think," she said.
On her account, she has a welcome message that asks her subscribers to be respectful, and her philosophy is that anyone who doesn't treat her with respect likely won't get what they ask for.
"Men will always ask to see everything, and I don't... I still, to this day, have not shown absolutely everything. But in the meantime, the way it's morphed is that they can make requests."
Ianculescu says what she shows depends on the client and her relationship with them. For example, if they've been around for two years, she may feel more comfortable showing more skin.
Considering she lives in Spain, the home of topless beaches, Ianculescu does offer topless photos along with content of her bum, legs and feet.
"There have only been a few longer videos posted that were full body, but that was for a lot more money, and so that's why it's not something I advertise."
Her favourite content to create is a monthly "tipping menu" since it is less time-consuming than personal requests.
Ianculescu will put out an appetizer, main meal and dessert option (not real food if you haven't caught on), and each tier will come with different content and tipping amount.
A foot bundle with five photos and video could be $20, a video of her dropping her towel in a foggy mirror might be $50, and a three-minute shower video could cost you $150.
What the weirdest OnlyFans request you've ever gotten?
OnlyFans requests can get pretty explicit, so I'll leave you to imagine the more graphic scenes Ianculescu is asked to do, but there are a few related to her sport that stand out.
She's had people ask for videos of her walking around in a speed skating suit to requests for sweaty cycle bibs.
Although some fantasies have a bit more squeak and squelch to them.
"There was this guy that wanted me to wear socks in my running shoes, wanted me to go in the shower and walk around with those, and then let them dry and then he wanted me to mail my running shoes and my socks to him because he collected them."
Funny enough, Ianculescu is launching her own cycling clothing line to ensure more long-term streams of revenue for her future so people will be able to buy her clothes – although they won't be used.
Not all of Ianculescu's requests are strange – although she's not one to yuck on anyone's yum.
She's had people that just want to talk about training as a top-tier athlete or even bend her ear for relationship advice.
Would she recommend the platform to other athletes?
Ianculescu would recommend OnlyFans to other athletes, and according to her, a few have already followed her lead.
Essentially Sports reports a handful of swimmers from Britain's GB Team joined OnlyFans after Ianculescu's journey on the app made headlines. Ianculescu praised the platform and said athletes like Michael Phelps could monetize their everyday routine, from what they eat to their training routine.
She acknowledges that that path can be slippier since subscribers will always ask to see more, but she still thinks it's a fantastic platform to build your business whether you're a personal trainer, Olympian or something in between.
While we were chatting, Ianculescu off-handily mentioned that she's helping her neighbour in Germany set up her own OnlyFans account because they need more income after their second child.
When she first started her account, Ianculescu put around five hours a day into her account, and now she works about an hour a day and breaks even on all of her expenses, from rent to all of her equipment and bikes.
What content can users expect from the Olympic village?
If Ianculescu does make it to the Olympic Village, she'll give her subscribers tons of behind-the-scenes content.
"I would maybe do an Olympic special 50% off. So then it's only $9.99 per month, and then I would do everything behind the scenes."
Ianculescu said she'd show her fans where Olympians eat and maybe even model Team Canada's clothing.
So if you're looking to see the Olympic Village through Ianculescu's content, you'll have to keep your fingers crossed for this athlete!
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Canadian Olympian Alexandra Ianculescu Uses OnlyFans To Fund Her Career & Shared Weird Requests
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