Winning a Pornhub Award is more than just a cash prize, a custom trophy and bragging rights. The domino effect of winning a Pornhub Award can be undeniable, from collaboration opportunities, getting booked for more studio work, and being on the radar for other award nominations. Simply put, it can help launch your career to new heights.
With the 7th Annual Pornhub Awards approaching, we linked up with some former award winners to discuss how their careers have been impacted. Each of the Models we talked to won a Pornhub Award as their first ever industry award, helping to bring more eyes to their work. More fans, higher earnings, new business opportunities and brand sponsorships are just the start of a booming career for these past winners!
Industry Recognition
It’s a good feeling to be recognized and validated for the hard work you put into your craft. For some, it can be more important than the cash prize and a custom trophy.
Connie Perignon, winner of Favorite Inked Model at the 5th Annual Pornhub Awards, tells us how it boosted her confidence. “It validated my belief in myself that this industry is where I'm meant to be. It gave me more credibility and visibility when it came to press, and I got a cool little trophy icon next to my name on the hub!” She added that it, “was one of the happiest moments of my life thus far.”
After winning her award, Connie went on to sign for big brands including Pornhub, Brazzers and Ricky’s Room at fan expos, where her audience continued to grow. She appeared on several podcasts, most notably Pillow Talk, The Bougie Show, and The Brazzers Podcast. Additionally, the recognition kept rolling in. Since she won a Pornhub Award, she has been nominated for an XBIZ Award and AVN Awards.
Self-Acceptance and Pride
You’ve probably seen people accepting awards on TV, swelling up with tears, holding their trophies, telling the audience how grateful they are and how much it means to them. Awards tend to have this effect because they are so personal.
Austin Spears, winner of Most Popular Trans Masc Performer at the 5th Annual Pornhub Awards, elaborated on the self-acceptance and pride he experienced from winning, “Before I won these awards, my work in porn was an open secret—everyone knew except my parents. Winning didn’t make me more successful than I was before, but it gave me the confidence to finally “come out” to them as an adult performer. The recognition helped me value myself and my work in the industry more, allowing me to stand by it with pride. From the outside, awards might seem like they’re all about fame and glory, but for many performers, they can be a catalyst for self-acceptance and personal growth.”
Recognition matters in the adult industry. And while winning awards helps validate your hard work, it can also open more doors. After winning his first Pornhub Award, Austin went on to win a Trans Erotica Award (TEAs), and an XMA Award for Best Sex Scene – Trans.
New Brand or Collaboration Opportunities
Brand deals help a new community of fans who may not have known about you before suddenly become aware of your content. Whether that means becoming a contract star for a studio or the face of the next trending product, all of it works as a larger ecosystem to support your career growth.
Elly Clutch, winner of Most Popular Female Newcomer Award at the 6th Annual Pornhub Awards, told us how winning helped shape the next stage of her career. “It absolutely brought more eyes to my work in the industry... Because of it, I feel like it gave me FAR more opportunities as a performer. Whether that was larger creators wanting to work with me, or brands wanting to collaborate with me.”
An award like Most Popular Newcomer has the potential to hype your fans up enough to massively increase searches, possibly flooding the algorithm with enough interest to land you in trending searches, and as the domino effect continues, direct more Pornhub viewers to your fansites to discover your paid content.
She continued, “Winning a Pornhub Award as my first industry award felt like a complete dream come true. Since Pornhub was the first major platform I had been able to establish myself on, and I’ve become so involved with the Pornhub community and other creators, I felt so much love and joy in the moment!”
Elly’s career launched to incredible new heights after winning a Pornhub Award. Here is a short list of her achievements:
- Featured as April 2024’s Pet of the Month in Penthouse
- Featured as April 2024’s Playboy Plus All Star of the Month
- Won an XBIZ Creator Award for Female Clip Creator of the Year and received several other award nominations
- Signed with Pornhub at Venus Berlin where she met lots of other professional and amateur Models to build her network, and won Best International Shooting Star
- Nominated for Most Popular Amateur Model and Nicest Pussy in the fan voting category at this year’s Pornhub Awards
Collaborations and Mainstream Media Mentions
Going viral can put your career opportunities into overdrive. That is exactly what happened with Girthmasterr. Shortly after winning a Pornhub Award, he coincidentally went viral on X (formerly Twitter) for a street interview he did talking about how much he makes in the industry. His... girth.... even caught Cardi B’s attention.
Blowing up in popular culture like that results in millions of people flocking to Pornhub to see what all the fuss is about. It’s no surprise Rolling Stone wrote a piece on his.... piece.
In an industry where collaborations can help direct an entirely new audience to your content, Girthmasterr, winner of Top Big Dick Performer at the 6th Annual Pornhub Awards, experienced it firsthand. He said, “Winning a Pornhub Award was great for my career! Winning my first major industry award helped to legitimize me as a serious creator and brought my work to the attention of some big names. Shortly after winning my Pornhub Award, I was followed by Angela White on social media, leading to our first of many collaborations. The Pornhub Award was definitely a contributing factor to the shoot!”
Back in April 2024, Girthmasterr sat down to chat with us for a Model Spotlight. In it, he mentioned his dream was to someday work with Angela White. In a full circle moment, after winning his Pornhub Award, his dream came true!
In humble Girthmasterr fashion, he also mentioned wanting to buy his mom a house so she could retire early. Guess what he did? After all this, he recently bought his mom a house.
Reach New Audiences and Broaden Your Exposure
Awards that are entirely based on viewership and data help give creators who haven’t shot professional scenes an opportunity to be in the limelight. MissBNasty, winner of Top Female Solo Performer, touches on this, “Winning a Pornhub Award was life changing for me because I had never done a professional scene, so to amass a following as large as mine is already a privilege. Then to be considered for industry awards is such an accomplishment for an independent creator. Winning the award though, that put me on people’s radar that may have never heard of me. Which added directly to my continued success.”
One new audience member she had was none other than the professional American NFL player, Shannon Sharpe. In an episode of the sports podcast Nightcap, Shannon mentioned MissBNasty by name after his co-host was talking about setting him up with a new partner. MissBNasty heard about it and posted a reaction video, which was picked up and reposted by nojumper, an Instagram account with more than 3 million followers.
With the Pornhub Awards, there are no juries, only data and fans who fuel the nominations and secure wins. Actively engaging with the platform offers both new and established performers a chance to get recognized and launch their career in the adult industry.
Prestige, higher earnings, collaborations, and brand sponsorships are all realities for Pornhub Award winners. Fan voting for the 7th Annual Pornhub Awards is open until April 30, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST. If you are nominated for a fan voting award this year and want the prestige and career opportunities it brings, set a daily reminder to encourage your fans to create a free Pornhub account and vote.
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