When people talk about their greatest fears, public speaking comes up almost as often as a fear of heights. For professional cliff diver Ellie Smart, looking over the side of a cliff and stepping off is just part of the game. We sat down with her for an exclusive one-on-one conversation about how she approaches her sport, her path to success, and how she’s paving the way for the next generation of cliff divers. Read on as Ellie Smart talks fear, focus, and her leap to OnlyFans.
How did you first discover cliff diving?
Cliff diving is a very unique sport. And I would say when I started, there wasn't a traditional route to doing it. There were no training facilities. Like, you’d literally go with a group of people you met on Instagram and go jump off random cliffs to learn.
So you really were like, going out in the wild, traveling to the middle of nowhere and basically hoping for the best.
What's the difference between traditional diving and cliff diving?
One, the height. You're usually going from double to triple the height of the Olympic platform. Two, you're landing on your feet always, not hands-first.
And then three, you're not always diving in a pool. You're diving in lakes, rivers, quarries, you know, anything, you name it, you're kind of diving into.
When did you realize you wanted to make cliff diving your career?
I jumped off my first cliff in 2016, but wasn't seriously training just because there wasn't a facility. So in May 2017, I went over to England with the goal of training for that summer or a full year before I would do my first competition.
And actually, three weeks into being in England, I got invited to my first professional Red Bull cliff diving event. So I got thrown in with the pros and it was one of the scariest competitions still to this day I've ever done. It was in Inis Mór, Ireland.
What does a successful diving season look like?
I would say I'm not necessarily the traditional athlete. I like to say I prefer to be innovative rather than competitive. I don't really have a competitive bone in my body in that sense. I don't get joy out of beating other people, which I feel as a professional athlete, should be my goal.
So for me, a lot of my career I've tried to focus on doing things other people haven't done. In my time, I've done a couple dives that no other women have done, I worked really hard.
I did reach a point that I was number one in the U.S. for a good chunk of time and finished third in the world. And that did feel amazing from a competitive standpoint.
What career accomplishment are you most proud of?
I would say the thing I'm most proud of in my career is I actually built the first training facility in the United States. I teamed up with the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah, and we actually built a scaffolding tower that went all the way up to 27 meters, which really changed the game for high diving.
It gave this younger generation an opportunity to learn in a safe environment, and go up from 3 meters to 5, 7, 10, 12,15, 20, 27, rather than just literally going out in the middle of nowhere and just hoping they would be okay.
Why is environmental conservation so important?
When I really started traveling for cliff diving and seeing things firsthand about how our environment was being damaged, I just felt this calling to do something about it because no one else in the community was.
And that's when I came up with the idea of the Clean Cliffs Project and [the motto] “leave everything better than you found it.” Without these beautiful locations, we won't be able to dive.
So, I think it's super important to give back to the people in the places that are inviting you in to do the thing you love.
What do you see as OnlyFans' role in helping move the sport forward?
I think OnlyFans has a lot of potential to help the sport of high diving. First of all, it's a new sport. There's not a ton of money in it. Like, let's be honest, niche extreme sports, you know, they're up and coming and you really have to be doing it because you love it.
OnlyFans creates a platform that lets you connect with your fans, or you can teach diving, or share your specific niche or what you know best. So having a place where that content is protected and you can also financially benefit from it.
I think it’s a win-win for athletes, especially athletes in niche sports that are working really hard to be part of this movement to grow their sport.
How has your OnlyFans experience been so far?
OnlyFans has been awesome, and I get to chat with people I never expected to. Like dive coaches from around the country have followed the page and we'll literally talk about their divers and certain dives they're working on and what advice I might have for their diver.
There are so many different opportunities, and for other people, it's just fans that have been like, I followed your cliff diving journey since the very beginning and I just wanted to come support and watch your content, you know.
What can fans expect to see on your OF profile?
I've definitely been testing out a lot of different kinds of content. Right now I share Monday Motivations, stories from my cliff diving journey with a life lesson and something I've learned along the way. So there's definitely that motivation.
And it's just a place where I feel more comfortable being vulnerable and being myself. It's nice to have a community where you can be vulnerable and connect and share what's going on in your life.
Anything you want to say to your fans?
To my fans and subscribers, thank you so much. Without you guys, I wouldn't be able to keep doing what I love and what fills my cup up.
And I'm so appreciative to everyone who's been part of this journey because, yeah, I might be the only one standing up on that platform doing the dive, but without the support and the community, it just wouldn't be worth it to me.
So it's really all of the people in my corner that I've gotten to know, whether it's in person or literally just online, that have made this whole experience so much more special for me.
"So thank you, really, is all I have to say."
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