By Kamo Matlala21 December 2022
Interview: This Body Works For Me – Samke
Samkelisiwe Nkwanyana (25), known as Samke on This Body Works For Me is from Ulundi in KwaZulu-Natal. Samke matriculated in 2014, and then attended Walter Sisulu University to study a BCom in economics. Samke then fell pregnant and decided to change her major to education, and went on to obtain her degree. Samke describes herself as a “loner” – she prefers to do things for herself, by herself. “I don’t interact too much with others, and I’ve tried to let people into my life but it never works out.”
Samke and OnlyFans
Growing up, Samke saw her mom coming home with different men. Her mother’s explanation was that she was trying to make ends meet for Samke and her siblings. This led Samke to believe that she could get what she wanted from men and made a decision to use her body to get what she needed because “a girl has to do what a girl has to do.” She started an OnlyFans page and when footage of her content was leaked on social media, it went viral.
Trending on Twitter and growing a fanbase
In the aftermath of her trending on Twitter, Samke couldn’t handle the backlash from the media and came close to giving up on her OnlyFans content. But soon she realised that the hate she was getting made her more money as people were subscribing to her OnlyFans page and then having a chat about it on Twitter. Her fanbase grew excessively. “I had to learn to block out all the negativity and focus on making money,” she says.
Providing stable homes for her kids
Samke loves what she does and she doesn’t regret making the choice to use her body to get what she wants. “My only regret is having kids.”
Samke wants to give full custody to her children’s fathers as she believes that they will be able to provide stable homes for them. Samke believes that her mother influenced her into this life and she doesn’t want to do the same thing to her children.
Body positivity
The breakdown Samke experienced from the bullying on Twitter has taught her to love and accept her body. “I have made about R50 000 once-off from creating content.”
She believes that South African society is not ready to accept or decriminalise adult entertainment workers because society wants to enforce its own beliefs on others. “I’m all about body positivity, I do what I do because I love it. Even though my life was influenced by my upbringing, I still chose this route for myself and I won’t stop.”
This Body Works For Me is an 18SLN reality series only on Showmax, with two new episodes available every Wednesday.
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