This New Celeb-Backed App Is Giving OnlyFans A Run For Its Money

It’s happened to millions of social media users. You post a video or photo on your favorite app only to see it was removed a few days later for “violating community guidelines.” Maybe you were in a bikini and the platform thought you were posting nudity, or you used language — like the word “death” — the algorithm deemed offensive. Regardless, it’s gone, after you spent precious time and effort getting it just right.

Social media can be straight-up frustrating at times — for both influencers and users. It’s common for content creators to have posts removed due to those aforementioned guidelines, and some are even shadowbanned or banned altogether. Many users find this disheartening, because creators they love to follow often are censored by the app, or lose some of their authenticity in trying to avoid being censored by the app. Creators sometimes also have to deal with unclear community guidelines, and on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, it’s not as easy (and often, it’s downright impossible) to monetize content that violates those guidelines.

Enter SLUSHY: a hybrid social media-creator monetization platform that aims to solve all of these issues and more. Founded by David Gross and Fred Spivock, SLUSHY is a business-centric space where invite-only creators can host subscription content for fans, and it provides all the tools needed for creators to reel in cash. The pair created the platform after recognizing a need for an “in-between” when it came to content creation and monetization.

“When you look at creators today, they like the tools of Instagram and TikTok and how people consume that content, but the big issue for them is that they have to send [fans] outside of those [apps] … and then have people buy their content on Patreon or OnlyFans — and that really impacts their business,” CEO and co-founder David Gross explains to Elite Daily.

“For us, [SLUSHY] is a celebration of these entrepreneurs,” Josh Metz, SLUSHY’s CMO and co-founder, says. “We want them to gain their financial freedom and earn what they deserve… We don't want them to fear shadow bans, account deletion, [or] unclear guidelines. We want them to feel secure in what they post and have fun doing it at the same time.”

SLUSHY quickly caught the attention of investors hailing from other renowned brands in the social and consumer fields, including Tinder and Shutterstock. Even celebrities got involved with SLUSHY, like Drew Taggart and Alex Pall, better known as The Chainsmokers.

What Is SLUSHY?

Think of SLUSHY like OnlyFans meets TikTok. You can join as a member for free, and creators can join the site on an invite-only basis. Once accepted, creators can produce whatever content they desire, from photos to videos, stories, live streams, and more. They can also dictate how much they charge for each, with options for free, subscription-based, and pay-per-view content. SLUSHY takes home 20% of a creators’ earnings, while the creators keep 80%, which is the same as OnlyFans. (Patreon takes a lower cut, between 5% and 12%.)

Members can scroll this content in a TikTok-style vertical scroll format on the homepage. This allows for seamless discoverability that’s missing from most creator monetization apps. “It's the most fun way to consume this type of content,” Gross says. “And I think once people use it, they really fall in love with it, both creators and members themselves.”

Members also benefit from SLUSHY, with more ways to interact with their favorite influencers and celebrities. The majority of the time, members can message their favorite creators for free, but for more personal or intimate conversations, creators can turn on monetization, where members can tip creators as they chat back and forth. Members can also request a live one-on-one video with a creator, paying for the experience based on what the creator decides to charge.

“SLUSHY gives people the chance to message these creators directly and talk to them in a way where they're more likely to be answered and engaged with,” Metz says. “If these fans were on Instagram and saw one of their favorite creators and sent them a message, they're [likely] not going to be seen or responded to, whereas here… fans have an opportunity to get in there directly and engage with them.”

Besides the integrated monetization aspect and the nifty discoverability homepage, Gross prides SLUSHY on its prioritization of freedom of expression. The site allows you to say or do pretty much anything you want — as long as it’s not illegal, of course. This is possible because one, unlike most social media platforms, SLUSHY is not dependent on ads. Two, it’s not hosted in the App Store. Apps on the App Store have to abide by the store’s guidelines, which forbid things like nudity.

“There are a lot of creators out there that have built huge audiences, and their accounts get taken down all the time. It’s a common thing now … and what does that do to your business? If you’re a person who sells content and your account is taken down, this is your livelihood — it’s unsustainable,” Gross says.

“This is where we see SLUSHY coming in — it really is freedom of expression, freedom of speech,” Gross adds. “If you really look at how people talk on social [media] today, they censor themselves. If you talk to a creator, they say that the most important thing to connect with an audience is authenticity, and that’s not really allowed in many ways.”

How Slushy Compares To OnlyFans

Although SLUSHY is the newest OnlyFans competitor to hit the market, there are significant differences that make it stand out. As mentioned previously, it has a layout similar to TikTok, making it easier to follow new creators as you stumble upon them. “If you look at OnlyFans and Patreon, there isn’t much discoverability there. It’s really hard to find people unless they send you there directly from their socials,” Metz says.

SLUSHY also features more ways for fans to connect with their favorite influencers and celebrities, and in turn, more ways for creators to cash in off their content. As a member, it’s free to join, but you’ll have to subscribe to the creators you wish to see exclusive content from. The subscription price varies based on what each creator wants to charge. Although OnlyFans also allows for custom, personalized content, SLUSHY goes even further with those aforementioned options for live one-on-one video chats and tip-as-you-go conversations. Also unique to SLUSHY is an upcoming, first-to-market feature: subscription-based stories, which are like “Instagram’s Close Friends stories but for subscribers,” according to Gross.

Perhaps the aspect that stands out the most about SLUSHY is that for creators, it’s invite-only. Once you apply as a creator to join the site, you’ll be placed on a waitlist. Due to the early nature of the platform, creators are being selected on a case-by-case basis, but there’s no specific follower count needed. Your existing socials just need to reflect your desire to create content and make a business out of it. The other way to become a creator is to be referred by someone already on the site. As a referral, you’ll be accepted immediately, and the creator that successfully refers you will receive a 5% earning.

“The invite and referral system is not in there to be elitist or exclusive,” Metz explains. “We just want to make sure that our early subset of creators are entrepreneurial, bringing in like-minded creators and are setting a tone that we want followed.”

You’ve heard the jokes about social media platforms copying features from each other (stories and face filters from Snapchat, videos and duets from TikTok, dual camera mode from BeReal). SLUSHY is aiming to bring something new to the social media landscape that’s, well, as its motto states, f*cking refreshing.

“You’re gonna hear, see, and have things on SLUSHY that you’re not going to be able to access on other platforms,” Gross explains. “So that is, in itself, refreshing — people are looking for this, and it’s like a breath of fresh air, finally.”