SURPRISE, Ariz. - Adult-industry veteran Geoff Mena, aka Chef Jeff, is leaving the business to join the Army.
"I am shooting my last scene this week for Lusted.com," Mena told AVN Online. "After that, I am enlisting in the Army to pursue a career in photojournalism."
Mena, star of the website IBangPornstars, made headlines in 2007 when he left the adult industry for a position at the Surprise Tennis Complex. He was fired from that position because of his involvement with the adult industry and returned to the online industry as a performer for IBangPornstars. He currently is waging a legal battle over his dismissal from the tennis complex.
Mena said his decision to enter the Army - he will enter basic training in July - was not made lightly. He said he sees it as an opportunity to further his education and increase his photographic skills.
"Why the Army? From my perspective, it's not that much of a leap," he said. "The best thing I learned from my career in the adult industry was the power of publicity. As an adult news editor, then later as a radio-show host, I learned the power that media has when you reach a lot of people. I always enjoyed that aspect of the business, through entertainment media, albeit adult, you can have an influence on the daily lives of people.
"I always took satisfaction knowing that perhaps my work made someone laugh or smile. I really enjoy shooting photos, but after eight years in the business, there are no more challenges. It's become boring. I've always been goal-oriented and fearless to take on new challenges, as when I first took the leap of entering the adult business. I have always been a military-history buff and appreciate as much as anyone the sacrifices made by those who serve and their families."
Mena said he is unsure of what will happen with IBangPornstars.com, which initially launched with Mayor's Money. DeeCash purchased Mayor's Money earlier this year.
"IBangPornstars.com is still one of the top sites and fans will be able to enjoy the 19 episodes that have been produced. Twelve of 19 have been added to the member's area, so there are still seven episodes to go. It's a commercial success and I take tremendous satisfaction from producing a site that at one time was in the top 1,000 most visited sites on the entire Internet.," Mena said. "I lived the life of a man of leisure! But in the end, it didn't satisfy me as a person. The sex was great, shooting the photos and videos [was] a ton of fun. I love entertaining the customers, and they loved it, too! But now, it's time to set my sights even higher.
"Joining serves two purposes: It assists me in furthering my career aspirations to become a photojournalist, and it gives me the chance to prove I'm as good as anyone and that I appreciate the freedoms that I have been thoroughly enjoying.
"More than anyone, I know I have been living a life of leisure, banging porn stars and making money doing it. This is my way of saying that I don't take it for granted. I will kick in and do my part to preserve those freedoms."
Mena said he plans to spend time with family and friends in California and Mexico before leaving for basic training.
