Mariah Casillas

By Ariana West
Photos by Jared Kocka

It takes big balls to gamble with your own bag. Even more so when that money is your college financial aid. Nonetheless, Mariah Casillas, known to social media as Lavagrll, bet the farm on a wild idea, and now she’s reaping the rewards.

“When I was in college, I was having a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do,” Casillas says. “I didn’t want to be defined by one thing or one degree. I actually got a whole bunch of financial aid money and was like, ‘What if I used this money to buy a gaming setup instead of books?’ It was risky, but worth it in the end because I was able to Twitch stream with that setup and make the money back.”

Some might call Casillas’ decision to put her financial aid toward a gaming setup dicey at best and self-sabotaging at worst, but she was raised to hustle. Her mother had her at 16, and for a period of time Casillas was in foster care. The experience instilled a drive in Casillas—she knew from an early age she wanted to be able to provide for her family in a way her mother never could. “As I started getting into streaming, I realized there was an opportunity for someone like me to go on there and just be my true self,” Casillas says. “I’ve always felt like I was able to entertain a room.”

Casillas didn’t look to streaming to become a professional gamer. Instead, she used it as a means to build a fanbase. She knew she wasn’t the best gamer on the platform, but she didn’t care and neither did her fans. Becoming a successful Twitch streamer is about much more than just dominating game after game. Casillas’ fans know this, and they continue to show support no matter what kind of content she puts out.

“At the time, I was dating somebody and I would jokingly be like, ‘I should start an OnlyFans,’” Casillas says. “He was like, ‘Actually, you should.’ I began doing streaming and OnlyFans simultaneously and my fans from Twitch wanted to see some sexy gamer-type photos. I started taking cute little pictures with my gaming setup and people absolutely loved it. Then it went from doing a bit of gamer cosplay to me becoming a girl next door on OnlyFans.”

Going on OnlyFans proved to be hugely beneficial to Casillas, both professionally and personally. With many of her fans working from home during the pandemic, they flooded to the site, helping Casillas put some money in the bank. Posting on OnlyFans also helped her become more comfortable with her sexuality. “It gave me no choice but to be confident,” she says. “You know how people say, ‘Walk into a room and just picture everyone naked so you don’t feel as nervous?’ Well, imagine you walk into a room and you are the only person naked. That’s what you have to take on every day when you do OnlyFans. If I can do this and not give a fuck, that’s confidence right there.”

Anyone in social media, or OnlyFans for that matter, will tell you that it takes thick skin to stick it out. People are mean, especially when you’re winning, and you often need a personal mantra to keep your head clear. The Beatles had “Let It Be,” Timon and Pumbaa had “Hakuna Matata” and Casillas has her “Fuck ’Em” tattoo.

“It’s just my way of life these days,” Casillas says. “I feel like ‘Fuck ’Em’ is a pretty good way to explain how I feel about most things. I’ve been trying to only be upset over the things I can control, which is easier said than done. But at the end of the day, you’ve just gotta say ‘Fuck ’Em’ and continue living your day.”

Casillas’ no-holds-barred attitude has gotten her far in the world of content creation. In addition to streaming on Twitch and posting to OnlyFans, she has even dabbled in reality television. Casillas was cast on season three of JC Caylen and Kian Lawley’s “Reality House”—a “Big Brother”-style house packed with TikTok, YouTube and Instagram’s top influencers competing for a $100,000 prize. “Funny enough, JC DMed me on Instagram and was like, ‘Hey, you should come out with us one night,’” Casillas says. “So I came out and I was just a drunk idiot. That was what JC had seen of me and he was like, ‘This girl is a Tasmanian devil, she’s insane. I’m definitely going to have her on my show.’”

The bold impression Casillas made on Caylen that evening won her a spot on the show. And by the end of the season she had secured more than her first reality TV gig—she took home the $100,000. Despite “being on one” during her first encounter with Caylen, Casillas was a smart competitor. Her personality got her in the door, but it was her tenacity and ferocity in the challenges that won her the crown.

Since appearing on “Reality House,” Mariah Casillas is no longer just a Twitch streamer or an OnlyFans model—she’s a multifaceted content creator. Casillas made a promise to herself back in college to not be defined by one thing, and now she can say she’s done just that. She broke the mold and never faltered in staying true to herself along the way.