RL stars peel off clothes and gain worldwide support on hit OnlyFans account
MATTY Russell has a semi-naked ambition to take rugby further off the field by showing off his physique on OnlyFans.
After teaming up with former Wigan star Lewis Tierney, Rugby in the Buff is already proving a huge hit, with almost 1,000 subscribers.
And expect some big names – from both codes – to show what lies under the shirt in the coming months as the idea takes off, with the help of TV presenter Andi Peters.
Warrington ace Russell can be seen putting on an abs-olutely brilliant show in a series of photos on the site, which is already attracting worldwide interest after just a week.
“There’s definitely a market for it,” said Russell, who already has fans in the USA, Canada, Australia and mainland Europe.
“It’s gone crazy. We’ve had more than 100,000 views on our promo video. Some Super League videos don’t get that many!
“Lewis and I have been in and out of testimonials over the years but we have our own ideas and think they’ll do well.
“There’s a stigma in rugby league. People don’t want to jump into a different avenue but I think we can get a good vibe.
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“People like the rugged side of rugby league. Lewis and I have been on about it for years but we spoke with people like Andi, who’s done a calendar before and he loves it.
“He gives us tips and if he sees potential, there’s definitely something in it – and the next name lined up is huge, probably the biggest name in the sport. It’ll create uproar.”
There is a more serious side to the venture. Russell admits he and Tierney have made ‘errors’ off the field but have now both stopped drinking.
“We both love training,” Russell added as his shots are done by Joe Mitchinson, who is also on Anthony Joshua’s media team. “So we were like, ‘How can we drive this in a good direction?’ We’re just happy now.”
Mention OnlyFans and the initial response is porn – but Tierney, who retired after injury, highlighted how it is much more than that.
After initial fears with just the two pals showing off their bodies, the net is widening as they are getting requests from people to go on!
And after countless calendars and ‘hunky waiter’ nights associated with testimonials, this could be the thing that sheds the jokey side.
Tierney said: “We saw OnlyFans taking a new route, with a lot of sports stars going on there. So I don’t see why there should be a problem with it.
“As players, we spend all our lives training, being disciplined with our craft and getting in good shape. There’s a lot of people out there who don’t see the athleticism of rugby players to the degree we’re showing it.
“This kind of thing is done every year for testimonials but we thought, ‘Why can we not create something that brings that to the country?’
“In the last year or two, we’ve seen sports stars go on OnlyFans to just show off their physique, there’s nothing wrong with that.
“We’re athletes and want to show that athleticism to the world. Also, we want to show we’re just normal people. It also shows the sport to a new audience.
“And as soon as we asked other high profile players, they were like, ‘I’m definitely doing it.’ We’re trying to get the biggest names in rugby – league, union, the NRL – and players are asking if they can come on now!”