As the only child of older parents who strongly encouraged her to prioritize academics, Mathema Kitten grew up spending a substantial amount of time on her studies. Working to meet her folks’ high expectations, she spent little time around people her own age and felt shy and challenged in navigating relationships with peers. Her time as a high-school cheerleader improved her social skills, but she did not experience a true personal “glow up” until a few years ago, coming out of a rough time in her 20s.
Battling addiction had plunged Kitten into debt, even while she was working a solid corporate job. By the time she and her husband both began recovery, they badly needed a financial boost. Because he was familiar with the porn side of Reddit, they started investigating that possibility together. Although she was not yet the most confident person, she did feel very comfortable with her body and sexuality, so creating adult content seemed like a perfect fit.
Each time you film, you learn a little bit more about the art of making a fantastic cum-worthy video, and I’m always intentional about applying those lessons to my content going forward.
While still working her 9-to-5, Kitten posted on Reddit and Instagram, tested out niches, discovered her own surprising kinks, rebuilt her social media accounts after every capricious deletion and, after a couple of years, found that she had built an entire brand supported by a community of “Kitten lovers.” Her hard work came to fruition this past summer, when she was crowned Rising Clip Creator at the XBIZ Creator Awards. Now, as this month’s cover star, Mathema Kitten reflects on her career thus far, and what lies ahead.
XBIZ: How did your “math nerd turned spicy” brand come about?
Kitten: I always enjoyed math in school, so when I went to college, I studied mathematics, finance and statistics, ultimately becoming an actuary after I graduated. After five years of the corporate hamster wheel, I started making content on the side. At the time, I didn’t anticipate becoming a full-time content creator, and sort of always thought that I’d just be an actuary with a secret spicy side. Lo and behold, now I’m a porn star who does math on the side — I tutor in my spare time.
XBIZ: What kinds of clips sell the best among your fans?
Kitten: My threesomes and swaps generally bring in the most, but whenever I do something new that my fans haven’t seen before, I’m bound to get a bump. “First times” are always bestsellers. My “fan favorite” categories are foot fetish, jerk-off instruction, hotwife, role-plays, giantess, public/outdoor and more than one kind of “wet” content. I get powerful, visible orgasm contractions when I climax, so my fans go crazy for that as well.
XBIZ: How has your content evolved over time?
Kitten: For starters, I was faceless for the first three years of making content, partly for anonymity but also because of my self-image. Watching myself grow and improve as a creator helped give me the confidence to reveal my face and show my fans more of my personality. Each time you film, you learn a little bit more about the art of making a fantastic cum-worthy video, and I’m always intentional about applying those lessons to my content going forward. The production value and quality of my content has improved drastically, but I haven’t lost the special touch that gives amateur content its personal feel.
XBIZ: What’s your approach to social media marketing?
Kitten: My approach has always been to focus where I thrive, while simultaneously expanding where I have the capacity. The vast majority of my fans have come from Reddit, where it all started, so I do my best to maintain my presence there. In general, I think posting at least once a day on all platforms is a good metric for people who don’t have unlimited amounts of time to focus on social media. But on the topic of marketing, I find it’s more valuable to build a community on your paid sites that incentivizes people to stay subscribed than it is to focus your efforts into gaining new subs. If your fans stick around, it tells you that you’re doing something right.
XBIZ: How do you strive to achieve health and wellness?
Kitten: For starters, I’m sober. As a recovering addict married to a recovering alcoholic, we stay away from alcohol, which helps with health more than people tend to realize. Aside from that, I lift and do yoga without putting too much pressure on myself. I used to be “all or nothing” when it comes to discipline, but I’ve found my quality of life is better when I cut myself some slack. I used to put way too much pressure on myself in every aspect of life, and that was a big reason I started using opiates. Now, after five and a half years sober, I keep myself in check when it comes to the pressure of being perfect and doing everything right.
XBIZ: Any unique hobbies or talents you pursue when not working?
Kitten: I am really big on escape rooms, puzzles, board games and amusement parks. My husband and I do an escape room every time we travel — we’ve done all of the rooms in our city — and sometimes rope other creators into doing one with us between shooting a collab. We love using our brains together.
XBIZ: What was it like being named 2024 XBIZ Rising Clip Creator?
Kitten: It was a very surreal moment and definitely a core memory. When my name was announced, my husband and I looked at each other and our jaws hit the floor. I work hard to show my fans love and appreciation, so to feel that love and appreciation back was incredibly rewarding.
XBIZ: Any big goals for the coming year and beyond?
Kitten: I would really like to expand to some new marketing platforms in the coming year. Sometimes it feels difficult to keep up as a solo creator without any kind of management, but I know that budgeting my time to expand to new platforms like Pornhub and TikTok would be valuable. I’m pretty type A and my general mindset is that I can do anything if I’m organized enough. I am also excited to be hosting some collabs in the porn studio my husband and I just built behind our house — and hoping to host more creators this coming year. We’re thrilled about having an awesome new space and can’t wait to make endless hot and kinky content in it!