Rob Makin, 33, known as "Big Rob" in the adult industry, has gone from being homeless and sleeping in his car after a breakup to earning tens of thousands of pounds a month creating adult content online. His biggest month on a popular adult content platform reached £38,000.
From Car to Church
Makin, from Staffordshire, told the Daily Star exclusively: "Five years ago, I actually was homeless after a bad breakup. I was living in my car for a bit."
"And then my friend said I could come and live with him in the church up in Doncaster for six months rent-free to sort my life out basically. And he was doing [adult content] at the time."
After initially dismissing the idea, Makin decided to try it, and the gamble paid off almost instantly. He said: "I set up an Instagram and within the first month, I got like 20,000 followers and I thought, 'okay, I'm on to something now'."
Spending and Fear
Asked how he handled the sudden change from homelessness to significant income, Makin admitted he didn't become a saver. He said: "Spend your money. I spent it because I've never really had it. You know, my upbringing was great. We didn't really have much, but I had love and that's all you need."
Despite the income, Makin said fear remains. He explained: "Fear of failure is my biggest fear in life, it's just failure. Knowing that maybe potentially I'll have to then go back to work for someone else is a big fear of mine as well."
Niche and Fans
Makin attributes his success to a specific niche. He said: "[My niche is] being a giant, so I'm 6'8 and 150 kilos. It's probably around 24 stone. So, I'm known as the big bear, basically."
While he is straight, Makin said most of his followers are gay men. He stated: "Let's say out of the 230,000 who I got on Instagram, 9% are women, the rest are men." Asked how he feels making content for gay men, he replied: "No, I don't really care. I'm very comfortable with my sexuality."
Support and Strange Requests
Makin said he is proud to support the community in real life too. He revealed: "I go to gay pride every year. I've done four gay prides this year and I go to give back. I like to go back and I like to support the community. I'm a massive ally to the community. Regardless if you're straight, it doesn't matter. I f****** hate it that people get frowned upon and judged for being who they [are]."
The money can come with bizarre requests. Makin shared: "I've had loads [of weird requests]. One guy says he identifies as a snail and he likes me to pretend to squish him. So, I have to get a snail out the garden and put it on the floor and I have to put my foot on the snail's back and record it and say, 'Look, if you don't buy me a pair of Timberlands or trainers or you don't give me £500 or whatever, I'm going to crush you.' And then he's like, 'No, sir. Sorry, sir. I'll do it. I'll do it.' And then he buys me what I want basically."
Makin claimed the fan paid to be permanently inked into his life, adding: "I've actually got him tattooed on my leg, I've got a snail tattooed on my leg for him."
Makin has also moved into mainstream TV and acting, winning Channel 4's Handcuffed, and revealed more is coming. He concluded: "I see a lot of people trying to chase happiness. We should never try and chase happiness. We should just try and chase peace... And that's what I want to find. I want to find peace, not happiness, not sadness, just peace."
