Multifaceted adult star, cam model and content creator Hime Marie first began camming on Chaturbate in late 2016 during one of her breakups with an unsupportive partner.
“The person I was with did nothing to uplift me, compliment me or make me feel beautiful in any way,” she explained. “My confidence was nearly at zero by the end of it.”
You’re bound to have disagreements with others at times, but at the end of the day you’re the CEO of your own business.
As she quietly planned to break up with them for good, Marie started camming full-time, making a true career out of it. She decided to give herself the name “Hime Marie” since “Hime” means princess in Japanese “and if this person wasn’t going to make me feel like a princess, then I would do it myself.”
Lo and behold, she discovered a wonderful community of fans eager to affirm her growing self-confidence.
“My viewers and tippers helped me see how beautiful I really was and all the potential I have in this industry,” she reflected. “I regret nothing!”
Now, she has performed in nearly 300 studio-shot scenes for big companies ranging from Brazzers to Tushy, Jules Jordan, Evil Angel and Bang, to name a few. Her following has skyrocketed in a few years, with over 180,000 fans on Twitter, more than 80,000 likes on OnlyFans and 445,000 followers on Chaturbate.
As Cam Star of the Month, Marie shares her dreams, proudest achievements and future aspirations, in this exclusive interview.
XBIZ: Tell us a few of your greatest accomplishments thus far in your career.
Marie: Within the last five years of being in the industry, I’ve always managed to land a few nominations each year, which is a good feeling of recognition. The nominations have ranged from Best New Starlet to Favorite Cam Girl, Hottest Newcomer, Favorite Female Pornstar, Best VR scene and Best Blowjob Scene. I was also given a “Shining Star” award from Chaturbate at the last Phoenix Forum, which was an absolute honor. This year I was given the opportunity to be a presenter at an awards show, which was also a great honor and my first time public speaking!
Chaturbate has sponsored me several times for various events, which I’m always so grateful for — they take amazing care of their models. Aside from nominations and awards, I’m proud of myself for just being in the industry for over half a decade. It’s not an easy industry and it can seem like a revolving door at times, but I’ve stuck through all the hard times, long days and negative stigma from outsiders. I’ve been given the privilege of performing alongside top-tier talent and befriended so many great people.
XBIZ: How do you juggle independent revenue streams such as camming with studio shoots?
Marie: I would be lying if I said it was easy to juggle independent revenue with studio shoots. It really comes down to trial and error. I’ve had help from various managers, but at the end of the day I find that less is truly more. If I become too available for my viewers and fans, I have less time for myself and it makes the time I have allotted for them less productive and meaningful. Generally, fans don’t want to feel like they’re constantly being sold something. They want to feel as though they’re part of a community or something bigger than just video sales.
I’ve found what works best for me is to take as many paid scenes as I can get in a month, and set at least five to seven days aside specifically for cam shows. During these shows, my fans love to hear about all my traveling adventures and scenes that they can look forward to. This time we share together is a treat for all of us. I’m unfortunately not the kind of person that can spend 24/7 hustling on OnlyFans. I need “me time” and experiences in the outside world that I can talk to my viewers about on cam. That’s truly what they want to hear. The sexy stuff is just a bonus.
XBIZ: What platform best meets your camming needs and why?
Marie: Chaturbate has always been the best webcam platform in the world, in my opinion. Before camming full-time on CB, I tried a couple other websites, but none of them really compare. CB supports the best quality of video and sound, integrates apps, bots and games, and overall has an amazing and super-inclusive community. It doesn’t matter who you are, your age, ethnicity, gender, body type, etc. — you will always be someone’s type on CB. As I mentioned before, they also take incredible care of their models. Their booth at events always has anything you could possibly need: water, snacks, power outlets, lights, merch and great security. They also gift bonuses during the holidays and have various creative contests each month in which broadcasters can earn a significant amount of extra money!
XBIZ: Describe the kinds of activities your fans love the most on cam.
Marie: For the most part, my fans really like to know about my experiences on porn sets. There are only a handful of models I know that shoot mainstream scenes and cam consistently. They like to live vicariously through me or the male talents I talk about. Since I also mostly shoot hardcore anal scenes, they do anticipate a bit of that as well, and I usually try to deliver by playing with big toys in my butt. I won’t lie, I have a bit of a sassy side, however. I don’t pull punches with anyone. I speak what’s on my mind, what’s troubling me or how I feel in the moment. Fans have an idealized image of me as some sort of sex celebrity, but at the end of the day I’m a human being just like them. Sometimes I rant and ramble, but I think they find that more humorous than anything, and honestly, as long as I can put a smile on their faces, that’s good enough for me. I’m so grateful to have a community of people I can share almost anything with and not be judged for who I am or how I feel.
XBIZ: How have you grown as a performer and cam model over the years, in terms of skills and self-empowerment?
Marie: The best skill I’ve developed over the years is playing ball with people even when you don’t want to. Many people in the industry are solely focused on what will benefit themselves or their company, which isn’t always a good thing but not necessarily a bad thing either. Business is business and there’s no handbook on how to navigate the porn industry. Sometimes you have to spend 12 to 14 hours on set with no extra pay, some days you make $2,000 on cam and other days you make $50. Sometimes people make it very clear to you that they are only using you as a stepping stone, and if you don’t like it they’ll find someone else who is happy to take your place.
It’s a hard pill to swallow, but this idea of cutthroat business doesn’t just apply to the porn industry. Sometimes you just have to grin and bear that hard day of work. I promise you, the good days always outweigh the bad days and pushing through the bad days reminds me of my potential. Play ball — it will pay off and show others that you’re willing to work hard.
With all this being said, when it comes to empowerment, I don’t let people walk all over me. That doesn’t mean I have to be rude to them. It just means I know exactly what I want and I won’t settle for something mediocre or for something that will stress me out. A company won’t pay my full rate for a certain scene because others have and will take the lesser rate? That’s OK! There’s plenty of companies out there who will pay my full rate. A certain talent won’t work with me unless I jump through hoops, do backflips and stick to a rigid set of tweeting/content distribution rules for them? That’s their prerogative! I can find less difficult talents to work with. A couple wants me to cam with them but doesn’t want to split the profits fairly? No, thank you! Sometimes you just have to say “No!” and politely decline. This is a multibillion-dollar industry and there’s plenty of pie to go around, so declining certain opportunities you don’t feel 100% about is better for your well-being in the end.
XBIZ: What is your strategy for marketing content, studio scenes and cam shows across social media?
Marie: Marketing content is still such a mystery to me. Sometimes I can put hours of work and editing into a preview of my content, and that will get hardly any engagement, whereas other times my fans will go wild over a simple mirror selfie. What I can say is this: if you have to try really hard to convince your fans to join your fan club or watch your live show, you’re doing it wrong. Rather than trying to convince them of something, I try to build up excitement and hype around what I’m doing or working on. We, as sex workers, are quite literally selling ourselves. We are the product. How can you sell a product if you don’t truly believe in it yourself? Put your best foot forward!
Do your makeup, style your hair, wear your favorite outfit/lingerie and know that you are the-bomb-dot-com — you don’t have to convince your fans of that. Clip the hottest part of your latest video and tell them how excited you are to share it with them, and how it made you so horny. Share your best pictures on Twitter and Instagram, tell your fans how sexy you feel and what they’re missing out on if they keep waiting around. Don’t wait for others to give your content the stamp of approval; give it to yourself and get excited! Generate FOMO. You’re having so much fun with everything you’re doing, you wouldn’t want your fans to miss out on your latest epic threesome or the amazing anal show you’re about to do.
The same can be said for marketing/promoting studio scenes. I tell my fans how much fun I had shooting for a certain studio and how I can’t wait to do it again. In turn, studios/companies also like to hear this and will even give you a little extra promotion sometimes. Promotion from big companies has always been the golden ticket to growing my social media and fan clubs. I don’t know what this says about me, but I’ll take toxic positivity any day over any form of negativity or some sort of doubt in my content creation. Your fans want to know that you love what you do, and you know how good it is.
XBIZ: How do you strive to balance work success with physical and emotional wellness?
Marie: I really didn’t understand the importance of time off until about two years ago. I learned the hard way that your life cannot revolve around content creation or constant hustling. What’s the point in making lots of money if you don’t allow yourself the time to spend it on a trip to Disneyland or a nice dinner?
I burned myself out at one point and was wondering why all my efforts seemed to go nowhere. I was doing too much and making myself too accessible for everyone. My time and effort was just a given and not seen as a treat or privilege. I absolutely needed time off, and gave myself a six-month period where I didn’t really work at all. I discovered things I loved again, binged “Game of Thrones,” went bike riding, went to the botanical gardens and I had so much to talk about and share with my fans when I came back. It was like a personal renaissance.
Today, I work about four days a week if I’m not shooting scenes back to back in LA or Las Vegas. I usually have a 16-hour work week and that is plenty for me. I’ve learned to make the most of my time when I work at home and pack a lot into a short period of time. Granted, I’ve been in the industry for almost six years and it didn’t start off this way for me; I’ve had to work hard so I can now work less. I fill my time off with going on dates with my partner, hiking, biking, seeing live music and theater shows, and sometimes just vegging out with a good movie. As I’ve said before, your fans want to know about you and what you enjoy; sexy stuff is always just a bonus.
XBIZ: Based on your experiences in the industry, what advice do you have for aspiring talent?
Marie: I would tell new and aspiring talent the following: be yourself. Don’t change who you are for anyone else. You’re bound to have disagreements with others at times, but at the end of the day you’re the CEO of your own business. Stay out of others’ business, mind your own, but stay true to who you are and what you feel is right.
Set boundaries with your fans and prospective co-stars. If you have a hard “no” on a certain sex act, make it clear to them in the most polite way possible. Tell them what you do like and enjoy. We’re in the business of sex, after all, and while we want everyone to feel respected and not violated, there’s a healthy and productive way to have these conversations without shaming each other or making them feel as though they have to walk on eggshells with you. That makes the sex part feel uncomfortable for everyone. Communicate with your fans and peers, don’t demand.
On the same note, for the love of God, don’t join the porn industry for fast cash. This industry isn’t easy, it’s competitive and those who succeed love sex and aren’t just in it for the money. I thoroughly enjoy being on set, meeting new talent and having fun with them. I also thoroughly enjoy my time on cam, doing things at my own pace and building relationships with my fans. Don’t get me wrong, the money is great, but the overall experience and lessons I’ve learned along the way are priceless. If you do adult work just for money and despise every moment of it, you are setting yourself up for failure.
XBIZ: What are your biggest hopes, dreams and goals for 2022 and beyond?
Marie: I am very eager to attend conventions and see all my friends and fans in person this year! It’s been so long since I’ve seen certain people, and it feels that much better being reunited after not seeing each other for nearly two years.
I’ve been living in two different states the past year, to keep in touch with family and for work, but I’m looking forward to finally settling in one home in Las Vegas with my partner. The industry is booming in LV, and I’ve already been so busy with so many shoots this year, which I’m also excited for my fans to see some of the big scenes I’ve shot so far. Maybe, just maybe, this will be the year my fans finally get a gangbang from me!
Beyond 2022, I would love to do something innovative for the industry such as an app, a website or even a book on how to have the most fruitful experience in the adult industry. However, I haven’t entirely decided yet; I have so many ideas, and I prefer to keep my cards close to the chest for now.
