TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese math teacher's decision to do "special things in special places" to attract students' attention by posting classes on an adult video website has paid off with nearly 2 million views.
Chang Hsu (張旭), a former cram school teacher, has gained worldwide attention by posting his calculus classes on the Canadian-owned internet pornography website Pornhub. His page "Play Hard Study Hard!" has gained 6,900 subscribers, and his 271 videos have racked up 1,883,947 total views.
Chang told CNA that he started to teach in cram schools after graduating from high school. The 34-year-old said that he has 15 years of teaching experience, previously opened his own cram school, and started teaching online when the pandemic struck last year.
After his cram school hit hard times during the early stages of the pandemic, he worked with his team to build his brand, "Chang Hsu Math Teacher," with a focus on calculus courses and brainstormed about marketing strategies. Chang said that because there are already many free calculus courses available online in Taiwan and overseas, he decided to branch out and "do special things in special places" to grab the attention of prospective students.
He decided to post content on YouTube, Twitch, and Pornhub, but it was the latter where he achieved the most views. Many netizens have paid the fee to download his paid content on the site.
Chang, who is fully clothed in a hooded sweatshirt and jeans in all his videos, said he has received mainly positive feedback on his videos, such as "Because of the teacher's video, I have a legitimate reason to go to an adult video website." However, others have complained that "I didn't come to your website to watch this (porn)," as graphic trailers and advertisements inevitably appear around his videos.
In response to local Taiwanese media reports claiming that Chang has earned NT$7.5 million from his videos on the adult platform, he said that this also includes revenue from YouTube and Twitch. He further clarified that this sum was earned over more than one year's time.
Nevertheless, Chang acknowledged that his marketing strategy has indeed paid off over the past year. He said that "many good things need to be well packaged" but expressed hope that the public will not reject his content because of his unusual marketing strategy.
Chang says that in the future, he plans to continue operating his YouTube channel and revising the content on Pornhub. He said that other people will be included in future videos and that he plans on eventually teaching face-to-face classes again as well.
