From her picturesque Spanish villa, with sun-dappled hills of greenery stretching for miles in the distance amidst other beautiful homes, 2018 XBIZ Europa Awards Cam Model of the Year Hannah James broadcasts to thousands of adoring fans.
Whether she puffs away contentedly on delectable strains of high-flying indica and sativa goodness through glistening bongs, after viewers tip 420 tokens to choose from a range of polyhybrid cannabis ranging from Ghost Rider to Bear O.G., or producing sexy custom videos for clips connoisseurs, James is a one-stop entertainment shop.
I have a super big tip menu, which means I can never guess what will happen on any one night. I love the randomness and weird creativity of the active tippers.
And the sheer variety of interactivity on display, like giving her fans unique perks depending on whether they join Team Evil or Team Nice for an entry fee of about 7,500 tokens, is a titillating assortment of hilarity-on-demand.
For the villainous Team Evil, they can unleash diabolical mayhem in her room like activating half-price spanks for five minutes or a truly sadistic 24-hour cannabis denial for 15,000 tokens! As for the good fellas on Team Nice, they can grace the room with half-price nudity, spank bans for one minute or a 24-hour cannabis “un-deny” to keep the nefarious bad fans at bay, to name a few. And some perks are on tap for both sides, like the creation of mini and mega mysteries!
This, and much more, is the secret to James’ charm and long-term success — not to mention, loads of photo galleries and outdoor shenanigans spicing things up. To unravel her fun-loving attitude and unique background, seeing how she went from growing up on a bus with her hippie parents in the U.K. to dominating the cam market with a luxurious Spanish lifestyle, XBIZ sat down with the redheaded fire starter for this exclusive interview.
XBIZ: What inspired you to become a cam model?
JAMES: I had a friend in college who never explained how she got money or what she did for a job. She was very shy and quiet about her work life. I found this interesting and wondered why she was not very open. After a while, we became closer friends and I learned she was camming in the evenings and doing quite well from it. I thought if she can, I can! Next thing you know, she gave me an old webcam and I was camming in the evenings after college!
XBIZ: How has the “Hannah James” brand evolved over time?
JAMES: I never thought I would consider myself a brand! It’s weird thinking about it. “HannahJames710,” a.k.a. myself, has evolved from a young redhead living in the U.K., using a small webcam to broadcast myself from a tiny flat (infested with mice, ew!) to now, where I am living in Spain using some of the best cam equipment from a beautiful villa.
I aim to create a cinematic cam experience, which is achieved using professional videography equipment. This is something I’m actually pretty proud of, because not only is the equipment costly, it’s challenging to use and it’s taken a long time to get to grips with. I used to simply plug my cam and microphone in, press broadcast and away I went — I was online! Now, I have 10 apps to open on my desktop, I have to check my camera, mic and light settings, set up my Bluetooth devices and test that my stream is running smoothly with my current settings. Oh, and do my makeup!
When I first started camming, I would watch other cams and try to be like other models, because they were successful and I thought if I acted like them I would be successful too. Obviously, I learned the hard way that this does not work! I struggled for a while … I had slow shows earning under 500 tokens after hours and hours of streaming. I remember a New Year’s show where I made the most tokens I had ever made and the feeling I got from that was amazing.
From then on, I got more confident to be myself in front of the cam. I didn’t try to be like other models. I found silly, messy things I wanted to do in my streams which made me enjoy being online more and I think this individuality has been a huge evolution within my so-called “branding” of HannahJames710, because that is what my users associate me with and expect from my shows.
XBIZ: What is your preferred cam network and why? How about your primary clip platform?
JAMES: Chaturbate by far is the best camming site for me. It’s very well established, with the highest amount of traffic. It’s very inclusive, and any gender can perform as long as they are 18-plus. It’s very simple to use; things like the bots and apps are very well-explained and there are so many to choose from! I have my own bot, which is completely custom to my room and I think this is super cool, because it gives me more control over what happens and how things go down in my room. I think the best and most important thing a model can have is control.
I think it’s important I highlight the fact that Chaturbate is all-inclusive, because it brings a variety of models, which brings with it a wider range of viewers with different interests. I feel this makes it easier for me to explore my style and experiment with different fun/creative goals, as there is more likely to be someone out there interested in hitting my goals, even if they are strange!
I sell most of my videos through my live shows and let people gamble for them with the “roll the dice” bot, where they tip 102 tokens for the chance of winning videos worth 1500 token. This has constantly proved to be popular and rather entertaining too! I use ManyVids as a platform to sell my content too. I must admit, I haven’t been making much content, as I prefer to spend my hours online, because I enjoy interacting with my viewers more. However, when I was posting regular content on ManyVids, the sales were always good.
XBIZ: Explain your social media strategy for keeping fans engaged.
JAMES: I don’t have a planned strategy. I use Twitter to notify users when I am online. I always post a photo, use hashtags and include links, so people can find my show easily. I won’t lie, I am not at all an expert with social media. In fact, I struggle with it!
I use my Twitter to promote my videos, photo sets, live streams and voting links. Generally, I update everyone with my day-to-day life, but not too much. If they want to know more, they can purchase my Snapchat, where I really go into details about my life. I post a lot of snaps, really going into detail about future shows and plans for my life, as well as posting sexual content. Now, lets talk Instagram! Or not. I had my old account deleted at 50,000 followers and lots of other models have this same issue. They discriminate against cam models, as our job has a sexual nature, even if we go to great lengths to keep our profile clean and respectable. I don’t focus too much on Instagram because of this.
XBIZ: Tell us about your favorite camming activities to do online, like your “Hannah’s Coffeeshop,” “Team Evil” vs. “Team Nice,” etc.
JAMES: I have a super big tip menu, which means I can never guess what will happen on any one night. I love the randomness and weird creativity of the active tippers. I can be smoking eight bongs in a row and then I might be wearing an inflatable pumpkin suit on a pogo stick. This is what I really love. Stupidity, making mistakes and breaking stuff! I find it very entertaining watching members of Team Evil and Team Nice use their exclusive tip menu and when they butt heads, oh my god, things can be intense (in a funny and friendly way)!
I really enjoy sports so I generally do some sort of workout, dance or handstands in every show. It also wakes me up if I feel tired or am low on energy. I love to decorate my cam room for different seasons and have unique seasonal tip menu items. I have been broadcasting outdoors a bit more recently, which I absolutely love to do! I feel like having the option to cam inside and outside keeps things fresh, and its also refreshing to not be stuck inside on my laptop!
XBIZ: And what offline activities or hobbies are you into?
JAMES: When I am offline, I am usually at the gym. I started a strict gym routine almost exactly a year ago. I work out three times a week and focus a lot of my diet, which has really helped me get into a better daily routine. My fans know I love reggae; I always go to reggae festivals in the summer season! I have always been involved with circus skills since the age of 12, as well. I trained as a trapeze artist for eight years roughly and I was preparing myself to enter the world of hired circus performers, before I decided to totally drop it all and be a full-time cam model. I have not touched a trapeze for three years, but it’s a dream of mine to one day incorporate this with my live streams. I also love my cat, Zedd; he is awesome!
XBIZ: Describe the various revenue streams you pursue, within camming, clips and beyond.
JAMES: Obviously, the main one is Chaturbate. I sell videos, photo sets, full recordings of my shows, Snapchat and so much more. I could go on forever. I also make sure I direct my viewers to check out my Amazon wishlist links, which are placed right on screen next to my cam, so people can find them really easily. Now and then I will make exclusive one-off deals to only my Snapchat subscribers, where they can send me an Amazon.co.uk gift card for exclusive content. I also offer Team Evil and Team Nice memberships via my ManyVids store or gift card payments — some people prefer that payment method, so I like to make sure everyone can be a part of my room if I can find a possible way!
XBIZ: What was it like attending the first-ever XBIZ Europa Awards in September 2018, where you won Female Cam Model of the Year?
JAMES: Scary, in a good way! I am not used to social events like this. I cam five to six days a week and my cam crew is my social life. It was quite a big thing going to something like this, where people would be dressed up and I was possibly going to win or not win an award. I grew up on a bus, my parents are hippies and I’ve never ever in my life had to attend anything where I absolutely had to dress up!
It was so weird for me, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know anyone going, I knew some names of other U.K. models, but I wasn’t familiar with anyone at all! When I was waiting for the results of the awards, I really had no idea what to expect or who would win. It was seriously nerve-wracking. I couldn’t believe it when I won! The first thing I thought of when they said my name was holy fuck, my crew is insane.
I had nothing planned for a speech and it was hard to take it all in. I will never forget shouting, “Go online masturbation!” to everyone. After it all ended, being my awkward self, I got into a taxi and went to my hotel as soon as I could. I regret not being there for a longer period of time to socialize and connect with other models!
XBIZ: How do you balance your professional life with your personal one?
JAMES: This is something I struggle with and I feel like I am only recently balancing it out. I make sure I have set days to relax and plan things for the coming week. I think two days a week off is best, but as a cam model, you are not given paid time off, and any time off is money lost. If I feel like I can work six to seven days a week, I will push to do this as often as I can.
But I have learned it is better to take time off and come back online feeling refreshed with new fun ideas for my supporters to enjoy, rather than forcing myself online when I am exhausted. I never ever miss my gym sessions; I feel like this is my “me” time, where I focus purely on myself and what I am doing. I think it’s really important to have something you enjoy doing that makes you focus on that precise moment and forget all stress in your work and personal life.
XBIZ: Any major goals for 2019 and beyond?
JAMES: As well as constantly trying to improve my stream quality, I am currently in the process of finding a larger villa with private gardens here in Spain. This will allow me to invite other models to broadcast and hopefully create a social hub for them. Eventually, I would like to run a “cam school.” I want to give girls who are starting out at camming everything I didn’t have: guidance, good cam equipment, accommodations, business lessons and a whole lot more.
It’s a very big project I have wanted to do for a while now. Camming can seclude models from the “real life world.” We are often inside, working unsociable hours, and it would benefit models if they could have people around them that understand the stresses of this particular type of work, since it is very unique!
