A former Disney World valet – who once dreamed of a job promoting world peace – has told how she has opened up the adult industry to the deaf and hard of hearing by working as a saucy webcam model, using sign language.
Earning almost $10,000 on a good month, Crystal Rivers, of Florida, USA, became a fluent speaker of American Sign Language (ASL), after a lesson at school, aged eight, inspired her to learn it properly.
Often using her skill during her time at Disney World when helping hearing-impaired guests, three years ago she began webcamming after a chance comment by a friend, and started signing her broadcasts a couple of months later when a deaf viewer tuned in.
Crystal, who is single, said: “I’m the only webcam model that I know of who also knows ASL. I’m opening up a whole new world for people. I want all my fans to be able to properly communicate with me, not just have to sit and type.
“I do all sorts on camera. Sometimes I’ll sit and chat about my life, sometimes I’ll live stream myself playing games and sometimes I’ll do more adult stuff, like dance and flash my boobs.
“I still sign along when I’m talking dirty or moaning. It can feel a bit silly, but that way, all my fans can hear me.”
Landing a job at Disney World when she was 18, after leaving school, Crystal – who grew up wanting to help people and dreamed of joining the Peace Corps, a volunteer programme run by the US government – recalled how delighted guests would be when she used ASL.
She said: “If customers ever didn’t respond to me, I tried signing, just in case, and if they were deaf or hearing impaired, their eyes would light up. I can hear perfectly myself so lots of people asked me how I knew it, but the truth is, I just wanted to help people.
“Like with any language, it took a while but the best way to learn is through practice. After having a lesson at school when I was eight, I remember reading that more than five per cent of the world have hearing loss and thinking, ‘That’s a lot of the world I can’t communicate with.’”
She added: “Everyone wants to communicate and share their stories. It seemed so unfair that, short of writing something down on a notepad, there was no way I could with these people.”
Even at that tender age, Crystal was committed to learning ASL properly, eventually making friends with some deaf people when she was 14 ,which helped improve her skill further.
Then, when she was 20 and working at Disney World, a friend spoke to her about webcamming and piqued her interest.
hat night, Crystal took to the internet to read up about what it took to be a cam girl, and how to get started – then saving a couple of pay cheques and investing in a laptop.
“I just went for it,” she said. “I was very nervous for my first cam session. I literally just sat online for about eight hours, chilling on my couch, watching movies and chatting.
“I had no idea what to expect, but people began to log in, to watch and talk to me, The world of camming really is a community, and brings people together.”
Holding more and more sessions, Crystal eventually quit her Disney World job to go full time.
She continued: “I had originally planned to find a different job, but I just loved cam work so much and couldn’t stop. It was an amazing feeling getting to know each and every one of my fans.
“So, I decided to go full time and get serious. Loads of other cam girls helped with advice about what equipment to get, which laptops, mics and cameras worked best and where to post my content. It’s amazing because you can watch yourself grow, and they can all say they helped.”