This is an Op-Ed I wrote for mining.com that is closely related to another article I recently published on CEO.CA about the importance of engaging retail investors.
OnlyFans and junior mining should have nothing in common. At least not on the surface. One sells sexual fantasy; the other sells geology. Yet both rely on the same three currencies: attention, trust, and connection.
OnlyFans figured that out early. It didn’t become a multibillion-dollar success through slick production or cinematic polish. It exploded because it felt personal. The platform replaced the distance of old-school celebrity with a sense of raw access. Subscribers weren’t paying for content — they were paying for connection.
That success offers a valuable lesson for a junior mining sector still communicating like it’s 1998.
Most junior miners remain trapped in the false comfort of “professionalism.” They believe credibility comes from perfect slide decks, polished videos, and corporate boilerplate. Every update sounds like it was drafted by a cross between the general counsel and a corporate auditor — precise, sanitized, and lifeless.
But professionalism isn’t authenticity, and retail investors can tell the difference instantly. The market no longer craves polish; it’s starving for personality.
Retail investors, especially younger ones, don’t want CEOs acting like stuffy bankers with inflated résumés. They want them to act like humans. They want scuffed boots on-site, not staged interviews. They want honesty about setbacks as much as successes. Transparency is the new credibility.
When every other company sounds like a PowerPoint presentation full of clichés, the first one to sound human will win.
OnlyFans lesson
OnlyFans flipped the traditional model of distance and mystery on its head. Its creators built loyalty not through flawless imagery but through proximity. They shared unfiltered glimpses of themselves, and that intimacy built trust. Fans became patrons; patrons became loyalists.
Junior miners should do the same. Not by shedding clothes (please, none of us want to see that!), but by shedding corporate formality. Investors don’t need another drone flyover with cinematic music. They need a 45-second handheld clip of the CEO on-site saying, “Here’s what we found, here’s what it means, and here’s what keeps me up at night.”
That kind of openness isn’t a gimmick. It’s what turns attention into trust.
Removing walls
Models on OnlyFans remove their clothes. Junior mining companies need to remove their walls, particularly the ones separating the boardroom from the field, the C-suite from the chatroom, the company from its community.
Stop treating retail investors like an audience to placate. Start treating them like a community to engage.
That means unscripted access to what’s really happening — not just through press releases, but through quick, human touchpoints: a smartphone video from the field, a short Q&A after an assay drop, a candid tweet about a delay instead of burying it in the MD&A. Compliance matters, but there’s still ample room to connect authentically.
From shareholders to super-fans
The goal isn’t just to attract retail dollars. It’s to turn shareholders into evangelists. Those evangelists carry the company’s story to the farthest corners of social media.
That transformation happens when investors start referring to the company as “we” instead of “they.” When inside jokes emerge. When the company’s story becomes a shared one.
The companies that thrive, even in tough markets, aren’t just better operators or explorers; they’re better communicators. They treat retail investors like peers, not prospects. Every post, every update, every unpolished moment compounds into brand equity that even a weak quarter can’t erase. Investors forgive mistakes when they believe in the messenger.
New definition of professional
Professionalism used to mean polish. Now it means presence. The most credible executives today are those who make retail investors feel like insiders, not spectators.
You don’t need a marketing agency. You need a phone, a voice, and the courage to be real.
Authenticity doesn’t replace technical competence, it amplifies it. Just like OnlyFans proved, those who dare to show more of themselves build the deepest loyalty.
Because at the end of the day, the market isn’t looking for perfection. It’s looking for a pulse.
