Clay Olsen is a busy man with 30,000 unread emails in his inbox—mostly spam—and Jimmy John’s delivery on speed dial. He’s also the Co-founder and President of Fight the New Drug—a leader, a Fighter, and a pillar in this movement for love.
Clay sat down with our Consider Before Consuming podcast host to discuss not only why research is showing porn to be harmful, but the benefits of a life free from pornography. He also shared the inspiring story of how FTND came to be, the progress of this global movement, and what’s in store for the future of FTND.
Related: Everything You Need To Know About Fight The New Drug’s “Consider Before Consuming” Podcast
His interview will make you laugh, maybe shed a tear, and inspire you to make an impact. Have a listen here.
Clay’s journey to FTND
The phrase Consider Before Consuming is an invitation to pause and think differently about a topic that’s so misunderstood—with many left unaware of the impact porn has on individuals, relationships, and society.
The goal of FTND is to help change or guide the conversation and allow individuals to make an educated decision on the topic of porn using science, facts, and personal accounts.
Founded in 2009, FTND now has over six million followers on social media and has reached over one million people through live presentations in countries across the world—a feat that Clay says exceeds the wildest dreams of he and his fellow Co-founders Cam Lee, Ryan Warner, and Bo Lewis.
As college students, they recognized the enormous challenge porn was, and shared a common desire to do and achieve great things. Clay describes the moment they first had the idea to make porn part of a larger global conversation like a hit of electricity.
Porn was a topic that hit close to home for Clay—having faced his own challenge, and having seen his cousin struggle with pornography addiction that eventually led to illegal behavior and time in prison.
Related: Listener Favorites: 5 Popular “Consider Before Consuming” Podcast Episodes
Clay realized they could use their skills and talents to aggregate research and package it in a way that young people could not only connect with, but rally behind.
Thus, FTND was born, and a year later Clay made the courageous decision to leave the creative agency he owned and dedicate himself to the movement full time.
Much more than “anti-porn”
While many see this movement as being just “anti-porn,” Clay believes FTND is much more a campaign for real love and connection. He invites individuals to consider the harms of pornography, but to also consider a life free from porn. He describes what it truly means to be a Fighter, and invites listeners to join with the hundreds of thousands of people who have signed the Fighter Attributes.
What’s transpired since those early days has allowed millions of people to tap into much needed education and resources. In our conversation, Clay reminisces on the turn of events that led to his first school presentation, and the global growth of FTND live presentations since.
He also describes FTND’s creative warehouse and how various resources came to be, like the three-part documentary series Brain, Heart, World, Let’s Talk About Porn: A Conversation Blueprint, and Truth About Porn—a curated, searchable website aggregating the research about porn’s harms.
Clay also describes the unexpected and immense need FTND recognized as tens of thousands of Fighters reached out for help about their struggles with pornography, which led to the creation of Fortify—a free app with subscription options that helps individuals connect with others on the same journey to recovery, learn about their challenge and strategies to overcome it, and track and visualize their progress over time.
To date, Fortify has helped over 200,000 individuals in 155 countries overcome struggles with pornography.
A last word on hope
Clay’s parting message is that healing and recovery are real. Conversations about porn don’t have to be negative or awkward, and should emphasize the positives of healthy relationships.
He’s inspired by individuals who take this movement into their own communities, and use their own strengths and resources to fight for love. The ultimate goal is for FTND is not to be needed—for people to be fully aware of the risks of pornography, even if some continue to consume it.
Your voice matters. What you share can help people think twice, and maybe go a different direction before choosing to consume porn. The secrets to happiness are relationships and love, and ultimately, this fight aims to raise awareness about porn which disrupts that happiness.
So how can you make the world a happier, healthier place? Everyone can do something. You can make a dent. How will Clay’s story inspire you to make an impact?
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Your Support Matters Now More Than Ever
Most kids today are exposed to porn by the age of 12. By the time they’re teenagers, 75% of boys and 70% of girls have already viewed itRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy —often before they’ve had a single healthy conversation about it.
Even more concerning: over half of boys and nearly 40% of girls believe porn is a realistic depiction of sexMartellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it”: A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. Middlesex University, NSPCC, & Office of the Children’s Commissioner.Copy . And among teens who have seen porn, more than 79% of teens use it to learn how to have sexRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy . That means millions of young people are getting sex ed from violent, degrading content, which becomes their baseline understanding of intimacy. Out of the most popular porn, 33%-88% of videos contain physical aggression and nonconsensual violence-related themesFritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges et al., 2010, “Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis,” Violence Against Women.Copy .
From increasing rates of loneliness, depression, and self-doubt, to distorted views of sex, reduced relationship satisfaction, and riskier sexual behavior among teens, porn is impacting individuals, relationships, and society worldwideFight the New Drug. (2024, May). Get the Facts (Series of web articles). Fight the New Drug.Copy .
This is why Fight the New Drug exists—but we can’t do it without you.
Your donation directly fuels the creation of new educational resources, including our awareness-raising videos, podcasts, research-driven articles, engaging school presentations, and digital tools that reach youth where they are: online and in school. It equips individuals, parents, educators, and youth with trustworthy resources to start the conversation.
Will you join us? We’re grateful for whatever you can give—but a recurring donation makes the biggest difference. Every dollar directly supports our vital work, and every individual we reach decreases sexual exploitation. Let’s fight for real love: