Mena spent nearly eight years in the adult industry at various jobs including stints working for Elegant Angel, KSEX.com, DVDSuperstar.com and his own design company. Mena left the business last December and later found work in an administrative position at the city-owned Surprise Tennis Center.
While Mena told XBIZ that he disclosed his prior involvement in adult to his superiors and on his application papers before being hired for the city job, he was dismissed from his position on Sept. 11 after working at the tennis center for a month. He said no reason was given for his firing.
“At the very least I’d like to know the reason why I was fired,” Mena said. “I know the law says that they don’t need to give a reason, but this is discrimination and a violation of my 1st Amendment rights. It would be the same thing as firing me because I was fat, gay or old. It’s not like I didn’t disclose my adult industry experience with them prior to being hired.”
Arizona is a right-to-work state and employers don’t have to disclose reasons for an employee's termination within the first six months of employment, according to city spokeswoman Diane Arthur.
Mena feels that he was discriminated against. He believes that his firing was the result of an anonymous letter sent to his superiors.
The letter read in part: “I was recently invited to play tennis with a friend of mine at the new Surprise courts ... My friend and I were talking to the tennis pro, Geoff Mena, about lessons, tournaments, etc. for our families. Once we returned home, we decided to Google his name to check his teaching credentials. It was at this time that we discovered that he also is involved in the adult entertainment industry. As a former Marine, I am certainly not a prude, but, after some discussion, Mr. Mena’s other career made us wary of him teaching our wives, daughters and their teenage friends.”
Mena said that he is contemplating legal action against the city, but because money is tight, he’s looking for a lawyer to take on his case on contingency. Mena’s story has been featured on AZCentral.com and will be broadcast on the local Arizona NBC affiliate.
After his brouhaha with the city of Surprise, Mena has returned to the adult business with iBangPornStars.com, a site whose appeal, he says, is “watching a regular guy bang porn chicks.” The site, part of the Mayor’s Money affiliate program, is in beta now with plans for a full launch in the coming months. Mena bills the site as the ultimate reality site.
The site launched with a scene featuring Candy Manson and future updates will include Trina Michaels, Carly Parker, Tyla Wynn, Rachel Roxxx and Denise K.
“Hopefully this story gets people talking frankly about sexuality,” Mena said. “There are lots of people in the adult business or regular folks who post their pictures online or surf adult sites. It doesn’t make them sexual deviants. It doesn’t make them criminals. It should not preclude them from having a job at the local tennis center.”
