‘He’s a porn god’: The owner of OnlyFans has died — this is his legacy

In the wake of his death at just 43 years old, Leonid Radvinsky, owner of OnlyFans, has been dubbed a ‘porn god’ by adult stars.

The billionaire acquired the platform two years after its inception in 2018, going on to pioneer a new movement within the sex industry.

Leonid oversaw its growth as a haven for sex workers looking to escape an outdated, and at times dangerous, X-rated movie industry.

Thousands of young women also credit the platform for helping them become financially independent.

But OnlyFans was never actually intended to be a porn site.

Billed as a ‘subscription social network’, it was designed as a way for creatives, musicians and comedians to monetise their work, directly from fans.

In fact, three years after Leonid took over in October 2021, the company actually looked to ban sexually explicit content entirely.

The sex workers thriving on the platform feared they’d be forced back onto traditional porn sets, but OnlyFans soon U-turned and adult content has flourished on the site ever since.

Once the company accepted its trajectory, countless women began to see real profits.

‘He was a porn god’

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OnlyFans creator Skylar Mae, 22, was ‘deeply saddened’ to hear of Leonid’s passing.

‘There are no words for everything he’s done for the creators on OnlyFans,’ she tells Metro.

‘He was so hands-on and created such a safe space for everyone.

‘Now, girls don’t have to go to a porn studio.

So many of us have horror stories of bad things happening on traditional porn sets, and what Leonid created was an amazing monetising platform where it was up to the creator to do what they wanted.’
Skylar also calls OnlyFans the ‘safest space that’s ever existed in the porn world’, noting how it ‘completely changed her life’ by helping her afford to take care of her parents, who both have significant health problems.

Gigi Engle, a sex educator and sex therapist who works with clients in the adult industry believes OnlyFans has put the power back into the hands of creators.

‘They’re less subject to the predatory side of mainstream porn and it gives them a lot more power over their content and their funds,’ Gigi tells Metro.

‘It’s not a perfect situation but sex workers are very happy with the platform — even though it’s an unstable business and they’re constantly threatening to remove content.’

‘He democratised taste’

According to Dr Carolina Are, digital criminologist and social media researcher at LSE, Leonid took away the power from porn studios to dictate what was appealing in X-rated content.

‘Before, who performed in porn and who was successful in porn was controlled by production studios and by the industry setting certain standards for looks and certain features,’ Dr Are tells Metro.

‘With OnlyFans, people suddenly removed that intermediary and shot the content themselves.’
While porn still perpetuates harmful stereotypes — including unrealistic body standards and misogynistic sex tropes — the site can be credited for platforming a diverse cohort of creators, from mothers to former sex workers, to ‘giantesses’ and ‘strong’ women.

Its strict age verification policies were also ahead of the rest of its porn competitors, and OnlyFans banned the sex worker Bonnie Blue after her ‘barely legal’ stunts saw her labelled a predator.

Dr Are adds: ‘The site has been huge in terms of paving the way for niche tastes or different appearances that differed from the standard porn performer.

‘It democratised taste and who could become a source of arousal.’

‘It starts to effect your mind and body’

Thanks to his site, sex work has become mainstream, and you probably know of someone that’s got an OnlyFans profile — or have one yourself.

Celebrities have been open about joining the site too, with the likes of singer Kate Nash, Kerry Katona and even Lily Allen all sharing that they’ve sold content.

But this normalisation of sex work isn’t necessarily a positive move for society.

Dr Are continues: ‘Posting our images online is extremely risky, our pictures can be deepfaked and in general posting our naked bodies on the internet can be risky depending on who sees it and who uses it.

Digital platforms are not safe spaces.’

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The rise of ‘extreme’ performers, such as Bonnie Blue, who famously had sex with 1000 men in one day, and Lily Phillips who announced a ‘backdoor’ anal sex challenge, also coincides with the popularity of OnlyFans.

‘I was doing everything,’ she says.

‘Masturbation, using toys, creating custom videos, the girlfriend experience – whatever guys wanted,
‘It really starts to affect your mind and how you relate to your own body and sexuality, because once you know something that’s meant to be sacred and personal starts getting monetised and taken for granted, it becomes depressing.’
While it certainly has faults though, Dr Are highlights that OnlyFans is still ‘more regulated’ than other platforms.

‘For example, the majority of child sexual abuse happens on mainstream social media platform groups and chats, rather than OnlyFans,’ she explains.

‘People assume it’s bad because it’s shorthand for adult content, and people stigmatise that, and the people who produce it.

‘But OnlyFans should be seen as a product of our time, and a reminder that people are, and always have been, interested in sexual content.’
Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.