Live data from Hacker News

Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

cbc.ca

181–190 of 400 posts

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> in desperation when their insurance tells them to take a hike. Socialized healthcare is good because it doesn't mean you're tied to a job or worried about in/out network hospitals. But, care would still be rationed as it doesn't magically provide us with infinite resources. I just like to point this out since there are very good arguments for socialized care in the US, but this isn't one of them.

There is still out-of-network healthcare (i.e. specific services or entire healthcare providers not covered by single payer) in many countries with universal healthcare. But it is usually clear which is which.

> There is still out-of-network healthcare in many countries with universal healthcare

Can you provide links?

I've personally used the healthcare systems in Australia and Canada for two decades each, and also for a short time in the UK. I've never heard of this.

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#182
post #106

Being a former athlete (100/200 meters), the issue is that the top-tier sports (e.g., football, volleyball, basketball, etc.) capture the majority of money/value, and if you are from javelin throwing, fencing, or racewalking, unless you have a great sponsor, it will definitely require personal sacrifices to make it to the games. In Brazil a very long time ago, there was a gigantic tug of war between the top-tier spor…

Fencing as done now looks legit stupid, so does racewalking. Javelin, while slightly more cool, is you throwing a stick. Mildly interesting for a few seconds. Football is a top tier sport because it's entertaining. People will pay to see it. Hence there's money to be earned. If someone wants to spend their time seeing how far they can throw a stick, cool, but they shouldn't be surprised they're waking up to an empty…

Fencing is a really fun sport to watch. Fast, high energy, high skill. Also swords.

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 99.999% of things normal people get paid to do is something valuable for their neighbor My intuition is that you will find a small and decreasing number of people agree with or believe this

Sure, but that's because they're wrong. Consider the counterfactual. In order for it to be true that many people are paid for work that isn't valuable, it'd have to be true that many people are willingly parting with their money for no reason at all. That does happen, of course, and it's so special we think highly of people when they do it (it's called charity). Just because people can't reason about the transmission…

There are many cases of market failure and inefficiencies, rentiers, useless 'BS jobs' and unchecked monopolies in a market economy. Why would the people criticizing it be wrong? It's not like it's rare.

A landlord or a holder of IP can and will arrange deals that have negative value for society because of the fact it attracts monetary value for them.

A client paying for a service, is this done 'willingly' when it is needed and no other choice exists? If someone wants to compete, can they navigate the moats companies are so fond of?

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#184

Onlyfans is online prostitution. I wonder how it is legal in countries that criminalize offline prostitution.

Onlyfans market is stupid people who don't know that you can get porn for free on the internet. Usually, more intense than most of the models on Onlyfans are willing to do.

There's nothing more "intense" than a parasocial relationship.

Well, except an actual relationship.

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#185
post #14

This is the reality of building your life around sport—-there’s basically no money in it unless you’re on the extreme edge. I wish people would stop dumping their entire life’s energy into chasing it—-do something more useful like stamping parts out in a factory. Olympic athletes are stunningly focused achievers—I’d love to see that energy and drive applied to something that mattered.

This is one of the most dystopian and depressing things I've ever read. Quit your dreams and be productive for the Economy, peasant.

Man you guys got trolled by the parent comment so hard.

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#186
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But don't expect many people to pay to watch right? Why did you ignore the fact from the article that people do pay to watch (it's one of the most watched events in the world) it's just that that money doesn't reach the athletes? Not sure which pokemon represents that

It's not a great business model as an athlete though is it now? Not really going to build up a following when you do it once every 4 years, or maybe only once. And unless you're in a prestigious event like the 100m sprint you're closer to a clown entertainment role wise, swinging your ball on a string or whatever. Sure, an actual clown will get paid a tad better than zero by their circus, but they don't have the upsi…

> shouldn't act victim

Where is anybody "acting" victim? Isn't choosing to open an OnlyFans and posting on it to make rent and travel money the opposite of playing victim since they're taking agency over their situation?

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People very much do care about the olympics… once every 4 years. There is clearly value generated by throwing a disk around, and it’s not being distributed well.

Do they? I can't name a single disc thrower, sabre-master, parallel bar gripper, judo person, or thing-shooter. Every once in a while a Turkish guy shooting with no equipment becomes a meme, or the greatest swimmer or runner in the history of the world comes onto the scene. Newsmedia goes nuts because this sells advertising. But then a southern girl in a 5-second viral video does 100x of that in notoriety, with no tr…

> Do they?

Clearly they do or NBC wouldn't pay approximately eleventy quadtrillion dollars every time the contract is up to renew. NBC makes billions on the Olympics though running advertising and advertisers are willing to pay NBC's rates therefore at least enough people care for NBC to profit massively.

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#188

When parents and athletes decide to embark on this journey, it is well known that being an Olympian doesn't pay for many sports, similar to choosing your degree in college. Maybe parents should rethink spending hundreds of thousands in coaching, training, travel, competitions, etc. from 12-18. I always chuckle when I read about an athlete getting a college scholarship, when it is clear that they already spent 4 times…

The NBA apparently does a pretty good job of trying to be responsible, here. They'll send letters to players at college.

"Congratulations on becoming a Div 1 College Basketball player. You need to keep focusing on your studies, because [they break down stats that show that ~1% of even Division 1 players will make it to the NBA]."

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#189
post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most stuff that "matters" or is "useful" also pays next to nothing, or has been outsourced to China if you happen to live in the West. There's nothing useful to do for most of today's workforce in post-industrial societies, except things like nursing which are severely underpaid.

Huh? Unemployment is low and median wages are up. Nursing might not be the highest paying job but they earn a median wage of $86k which is pretty good in most areas.

> Nursing might not be the highest paying job but they earn a median wage of $86k which is pretty good in most areas.

Oh darn that's good that nursing school is free then!/s

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do they? I can't name a single disc thrower, sabre-master, parallel bar gripper, judo person, or thing-shooter. Every once in a while a Turkish guy shooting with no equipment becomes a meme, or the greatest swimmer or runner in the history of the world comes onto the scene. Newsmedia goes nuts because this sells advertising. But then a southern girl in a 5-second viral video does 100x of that in notoriety, with no tr…

> Do they? Clearly they do or NBC wouldn't pay approximately eleventy quadtrillion dollars every time the contract is up to renew. NBC makes billions on the Olympics though running advertising and advertisers are willing to pay NBC's rates therefore at least enough people care for NBC to profit massively.

Advertisers might be paying due to historical inertia and the need to compete with other advertisers during these times. And NBC rakes in the money just like Google does from local pest control companies who pay $10+ per click.

They don't want to pay that much, they may not really profit from paying that much, but they can't let their competitors take the customer for free.

Post reply on HN