Evie Rees always felt like a natural exhibitionist, both generally and in a sexual sense. So when she began sharing photos of herself and webcamming, it did not feel like work for her.
“It really was just a natural progression from there, because if you’re good at something, why not charge for it?” she says with pluck.
My detailed, scenario-based role-plays are always my most requested videos. The more obscure and nerdy, and the more dirty talk, the better!
Rees also adored trying out different fashion styles, acting, modeling, cosplay and tapping into her chatty nature. Once she realized she could do all those things and also be naked, she knew she had found her calling. Adult entertainment offered the creative freedom and sexual expression she craved, something hard to find in other jobs.
“It does sound strange to a lot of people due to the nature of the work, but I really do feel like I was meant to do this,” she explains.
In keeping with her down-to-earth nature, Rees says her sex worker origin story is a boring one: She just really wanted to do it, and so she did. Her rise to stardom, however, has been anything but boring. With her trademark ultra-pink flair and punk-like ’50s spin on “Betty Boop meets Little Bo-Peep,” Rees has garnered an avid fan base across platforms spanning ManyVids and OnlyFans, as well as tens of thousands of followers on social media.
In this Creator of the Month interview, conducted shortly after she was named Best Female Clip Artist at the 2023 XBIZ Creator Awards, Rees opens up about her life and professional outlook.
XBIZ: What are the main revenue streams you pursue as a creator?
REES: My main focus has always been clip sites and custom videos, with the occasional mainstream shoot every month or so. This past year I have actually been putting more energy into subscription sites due to it being more scalable, and that’s now making three times more than it was only a few months ago!
I still make the majority of my income from selling my longer scenario-based vids, even on the subscription sites. I charge a lot less once members are already through a paywall or subscription such as OnlyFans, but still rack up a surprising amount just with locked DMs — even vids I filmed years ago. Having a backlog of around eight years of clips definitely helps with that.
Despite doing them mostly just for fun, my longer projects with more complex planning and editing have surprisingly gained me more ancillary revenue streams than just video sales. Gearing my work more towards what I want to be known for has opened up work opportunities outside of my own content creation that now significantly contribute to my revenue.
I get paid as a producer to set up and shoot solo scenes of other models for some companies, and even host one company’s podcast for them. Even with all that, I still prefer being in front of the camera… but it’s nice to have some non-nude revenue streams when I need them.
My current revenue stream split is around 30% subscription sites, 30% clip sites, 20% mainstream shoots and 20% SFW gigs. The thing that has allowed me to make my total revenue grow is seeing these different streams as a collective that affect each other rather than as completely separate. Like I said, that 20% of SFW work I do wouldn’t exist without my clip site work.
XBIZ: Discuss your visual style when it comes to your brand and the content you produce.
REES: Besides the obvious “lots of pink,” I’ve always focused more on making my brand different above anything else. Not just because uniqueness makes a brand stronger, but because, honestly, I’ve always just been someone who loves to stand out. Of course, now it’s a conscious business decision but my “brand” began before I even knew I needed a brand at all!
I’ve never really fit into a preset box, both industry-wise and personally, so I’ve never really tried to. Years before I even considered being in this industry, I’d still dress intentionally to get weird stares in public, balanced with compliments from other adorable weirdos. It’s just something that makes me happy. It’s probably down to the exhibitionist thing and loving to be looked at, but also because I was just brought up to be confident about the things I like and to dress however I want.
It’s one of the reasons XBIZ events are so amazing, because I don’t feel out of place at all, and it’s so refreshing. Seeing so many other people wearing whatever the hell they want, getting fully naked in the pool and admiring outfits people had handmade themselves was just such an awesome environment to be in.
Contentwise, my style varies from video to video, but I generally focus on lighting more than anything. There are some fans who I’ve shot over 50 custom videos for, all in the same room on the same bed, but they are different enough each time for them to keep coming back for more without it feeling repetitive. I almost imagine my video thumbnails all together like an Instagram page, keeping with the same “aesthetic” but not all looking the same if you scroll through them.
As long as I can scroll through my ManyVids store page and think, “Oh, it all looks so cute and colorful and quirky,” while all still looking like distinctly different content, I’m happy.
XBIZ: What kinds of scenes do your fans most often request?
REES: My detailed, scenario-based role-plays are always my most requested videos. The more obscure and nerdy, and the more dirty talk, the better! My bestselling content is always the scenes that I’ve taken time to set up properly, even if it’s just with a two-minute intro. It can be identical to a vid without it, but it sells 10 times better!
My most popular series of vids to date and the most requested “sequels” are the videos where I play multiple characters within one story, either edited to have all the different versions of me on the screen at once, or taking turns to enter the room — bridesmaids taking turns having their way with the viewer after a wedding was the first of those that really did well.
I rather annoyingly have made my niche “things that take far too long to edit.” So another popular series is my realistic gameplay animations overlaid onto my vids. Unlike the real playable Giffany Game I created, I also have a whole bunch of videos that look like you’re playing a game while watching them, which I can not only sell for more but which make my content stand out from everyone else’s.
On the less complicated side of things, the majority of my exclusive customs, which I charge the most for, tend to be quite sweet and more of a “girlfriend experience” style, with lots of eye contact and talking/complimenting, which I love filming so much.
XBIZ: Talk about your approach to marketing.
REES: My approach to marketing has always varied after years of seeing what works best, but generally the thing that is most successful for me is putting myself out there on as many platforms as possible — not just advertising my adult pages and posting sexy content, but also building a following of people who share the same hobbies and interests as me.
The platforms that I focus on in my current marketing strategy are Twitter, TikTok, Reddit and Instagram… at least, when they haven’t deleted my account.
Twitter and Instagram I definitely use for more generic posting, then Reddit and TikTok for my more niche posts. On Reddit, you can find niche subreddits and post a photo or clip very specifically aimed at that target audience. Similarly, you can use trends, audios and hashtags to reach a certain side of TikTok, which for me seems to be the nerdy and queer side most of the time.
I think it’s important to always be open to changing things up, though, because something could work really well for years but then suddenly change with the deletion of a platform or the sudden popularity of a new one.
XBIZ: How do you handle collabs or shoots with other talent and companies?
REES: I absolutely adore collaborating with my industry friends. There is something so wholesome about getting excited with another performer about random ideas for scenes you’ve had, and building on the ideas together to make something awesome.
Despite being good friends with a lot of the people I’ve shot with, we still prioritize documentation and making sure everything is above board so that we can upload on our separate pages without any problems — making sure in-date certs are exchanged, photos of model release forms and IDs have been taken, etc.
I also like to plan time for a proper sit-down talk about boundaries, plus do’s and don’ts, even if it has already been discussed via message before the shoot day.
Shooting with companies isn’t much different with the requirement of tests, IDs, model release forms, etc. The main difference, of course, is that during paid shoots, the company gets to keep that content and it’s not something I have creative authority over. This is honestly nice when I’ve been stressing about my own projects for weeks on end and just want to be paid to do the “looking hot” part of the work without the hours of editing after.
The only thing I dread about company shoots is having a makeup artist do my makeup! Most have thankfully been amazing but I’m so self-conscious about how I look if it’s not the specific way I know I look best. But honestly, mainstream shoots have helped with those feelings, as gaining fans from a video where I thought I looked horrible, but they were obsessed with it, is a nice feeling.
XBIZ: When you’re not working, what do you do for fun?
REES: Work/life balance when you’re self-employed? What’s that? Jokes aside, a lot of my work is a hobby for me, like my larger projects — the games I’ve made, and the weirder cosplays — which I really do for fun without worrying about financial return. I just bought a bright orange bikini to do a Flamin’ Hot Cheetos set because... I want to dress like a Cheeto, I guess? I don’t know, I thought it would be cute.
Then, of course, there’s the obligatory nerdy hobbies, which usually just involve spending far too much money on Legos! Currently, I’m staring at my unfinished Bowser Lego as I’m typing this and might just do that instead of filming later today.
I play a lot of games on my Switch too, Kirby being the go-to at the moment, with some Mario Kart thrown in of course. In fact, any Mario game is great, and I’ve now done cosplays of all the Mario princesses and Bowser too! Clearly, it’s a franchise I like a lot.
I also love baking, and make some crazy cakes for people’s birthdays. My most recent one was a little capybara cake, and before that the Death Star trench run scene cake — which was my first cake to go semi-viral online. I’m actually going to be making a wedding cake for a family member later this year! It’s not something I’d ever want to do as a job instead of a hobby, so it’s nice to have something that is kept just for fun, especially when my work is such a mix of both.
XBIZ: How do you stay on top of all your various responsibilities?
REES: I’m a bottom so I actually prefer to stay under the crushing weight of my responsibilities. In all seriousness, though, this is a difficult question for me to answer, as it’s the thing I struggle with the most.
I never lack ideas or inspiration but the day in, day out consistency of keeping up with multiple platforms and creative projects — while just “doing life” — is hard. I’ve honestly found the best thing for staying on top of things in the long run is to put yourself first. Burnout can hit a lot harder if you’ve put your mental health to the side just to focus on work goals for too long, so if you’re having a day where staying on top of responsibilities is just making you want to curl up into a ball and do nothing, do something else — something you like.
I actually got officially diagnosed with ADHD last year, unsurprisingly, but knowing that my brain will react to certain things differently, particularly when there are too many things to do, it has been helpful to just step back and think: “I’ve done OK up until now, and I’m still doing OK.”
The thing that has worked the best for me is having a small list of daily non-negotiables, and I mean really, really small. Instead of writing a list of what I could get done on a good day, I have a list of things that even on a bad day I could still get done: posting one thing on a subscription site, replying to messages… just whatever the bare minimum is.
Because some days, the bare minimum won’t get done if the to-do list in its entirety is thrown out the window due to whatever reason. But getting a small list of things done, even on the least productive days, not only makes me feel better in the long run, it usually makes me do a few more things on top of that, just because I’m already in the flow of doing things.
To anyone reading this who struggles with staying on top of things, whether it’s mental health-related or just lack of motivation, my DMs are always open!
XBIZ: What was it like winning Best Female Clip Artist at the XBIZ Creator Awards?
REES: To quote my acceptance speech, “I feel like I’m going to throw up!” I still can’t fully believe it, and keep watching the videos back to remind myself it actually happened. It just made me feel so loved and supported by a community that I adore, and was honestly one of the coolest experiences of my life. XBIZ has already given me so many experiences, and allowed me to meet so many people over the past few years, that actually winning something was just the cherry on top of the already awesome cake.
It made all of the days I’ve pushed through while doubting myself so, so worth it, and just validated my place in the industry even more. I appreciate my fans so much for even making it possible, because I have the coolest fans in the world. It even feels weird saying “fans” because a good handful of them I consider friends at this point!
XBIZ: Talk about your long-term goals, professionally and personally.
REES: How much time do we have? Because you know, your girl is a chronic overachiever… usually to my own detriment, but hey!
My second fully playable adult video game will be released soon, which is very exciting. I got some of my favorite U.K. creators involved, so you will get to go speed-dating with them in this new game and have over 10 hours of sexy footage to play. I’ll be releasing it on a couple of actual game hosting platforms too, so making the games more accessible and more of a long-term business endeavor would be super cool.
I also set up a charity page a while back called “Porn for the Planet,” which I want to focus more time on. The premise is that creators can donate a video of their choice to a clip page, and all profits will be split between edf.org and onetreeplanted.org. So that’s still on my ever-growing list of things I need to get back around to sorting!
Personal life-wise I’ve been lucky. My dad has made all the music for my games. I am unbelievably fortunate to have such a supportive family, and I really want to be able to support my dad’s music endeavors as much as I can because I know that’s what he truly wants to do for work. I’ve been motivated and supported by my family to do exactly what I love for a living, so I want to be able to do the same for them.
I’m manifesting that I’m able to increase my earnings enough for my mummy to own a bakery, for my daddy to have his own music label and for my little sister to… continue just being really cool, I guess!
I’ll also be getting a house with my partner soon, which means I’ll be able to have my first-ever dog. I am unbelievably excited to have a little fluff baby to look after and shower with love; hopefully it’s a little dachshund.
Generally, I’d just love to do what I already do but on a larger scale, attending more XBIZ events — which is inevitable — and making even weirder content than ever before.
