Next to Romania, Colombia has more cam models than anywhere in the world – a reported 60,000 – 30% of the worldwide share. The country which is about twice the size of Texas has thousands of unregulated but legal studios that support the industry. During COVID even more sprung up including several hotels who kept afloat by turning their rooms into filming spaces. Running a cam studio in Colombia is big business.
Wait. Cam studios?
Why would any model choose to give up their freedom to film from home?
For Colombian cam artists, working at a studio has an upside. They offer equipment, training, location, promotion, as well as support from webcam “monitors” or “advisors.” As reported on by Rest of The World, these behind the scenes employees spend their day helping models by monitoring live performances, offering direction, fixing computer connection problems, even reminding creators to take a lunch break.
All of this can be a base of support for models that choose to work with studios.
In an article in El País, Colombian Journalist Lucía Franco shared an interesting story about the owner of Dharma Studio, Ernesto López, who discussed how he got into the business and why it was rewarding.
López was a full-time tax advisor before deciding to open a studio to get into the cam industry. Though he was concerned about judgement from the outside world – “There is still a lot of taboo about the subject” – he decided to make a go of it. He told El País that camming studios provide a community service because women can earn a living in a safe way as they do not have to provide physical services in person. His vision for Dharma Studio was to make it a place where models had no fear of being abused or cheated.
With his financial background his first priority was to make it 100% legal. He insisted on registering his studio with the mayor’s office, completed all the paperwork to pay taxes and made sure he had contracts in place. He met with challenges along the way and told El País that originally the bank wouldn’t even let him open an account because of the nature of the business. But he didn’t give up and his goal became a reality. Today, Dharma Studio is a successful family company that he runs with his wife and daughters. He even has a psychologist on hand to interview prospective models and explain what’s expected of the job so they can make educated decisions about accepting the position.
The respect López feels for the women who work for him is evident. Models Wendy Lozano and Laura Velandia, who were interviewed in the piece, talked about how Dharma has helped them achieve their goals. Lozano, who calls camming her “passion,” now earns enough to help support her family. Velandia was able to leave a sales job where she couldn’t make ends meet.
Lopez’s days of being concerned about the “taboo” attitudes toward his cam business have since faded with the knowledge of all the models he’s helped: “I am proud to be able to generate employment for women who have many economic difficulties and who can work in a space where in the end they have no contact with anyone.”
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Alyssa Collins hails from Minnesota, where snowy days were the perfect excuse to stay warm inside and write. Over the years, she turned that joy into a career and has authored numerous articles for various publications (under pen names). Email Alyssa via alyssa@ynot.com.
Photo credit: iStock.com/M-Production
