Absolute Mayhem

• About the Author
  
• Title Page
  
• Copyright Page
  
• Dedication
  
• Prologue A DANGEROUS BUSINESS
  
• Chapter One MOTHER DEAREST
  
• Chapter Two MY BRILLIANT CAREER
  
• Chapter Three LONDON CALLING
  
• Chapter Four LIKE A VIRGIN
  
• Chapter Five CALIFORNICATION
  
• Chapter Six MAINTAINING CONTROL
  
• Chapter Seven COMPILATIONS AND VIOLATIONS
  
• Chapter Eight HEALTH BEFORE WEALTH
  
• Chapter Nine BEYOND THE MONEY
  
• Chapter Ten A PERFECT CIRCLE
  
• Chapter Eleven PORN STAR, ROCK STAR
  
• Chapter Twelve I STILL CALL AUSTRALIA HOME
  
• Acknowledgements
  

MONICA MAYHEM
is originally from Brisbane, Queensland,
and moved when she was 16 to Sydney, where
she began a career in financial markets. She quit finance
to become an exotic dancer at the Spearmint Rhino
club, transitioning to hardcore porn after moving to
Los Angeles in December 2000. She has since won
many adult-industry awards, including the XRCO Starlet
of the Year 2001, FOXE Vixen of the Year 2002 and
KSEX Hottest Radio Babe 2006. She has also been
inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Erotic Museum
in Las Vegas. Over-18s can visit her website at
www.monicamayhem.com
.

GERRIE LIM
was educated in Western Australia and
Southern California, and met Monica Mayhem in 2001
when he interviewed her for
AVN Online
, the American
adult-internet trade journal. At the time, he was based in
Los Angeles as the 'Cinema Blue' columnist for
Penthouse
Variations
magazine. He is the author of five previous
books, most notably
In Lust We Trust: Adventures in
Adult Cinema
and
Idol to Icon: The Creation of Celebrity
Brands
.

Confessions of an Aussie

PORN STAR

Monica Mayhem
Gerrie Lim

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the
Australian Copyright Act 1968
), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Absolute Mayhem
ePub ISBN 9781864714197
Kindle ISBN 9781864716467

An Ebury Press book
Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060
www.randomhouse.com.au

First published by Ebury Press in 2009

Copyright © Monica Mayhem and Gerrie Lim 2009

The moral right of the authors has been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by
any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except
under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian
Copyright Act 1968
),
recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without
the prior written permission of Random House Australia.

Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at
www.randomhouse.com.au/offices
.

National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry

Mayhem, Monica.
Absolute mayhem: confessions of an aussie porn star.

ISBN 978 1 74166 642 7 (pbk).

Mayhem, Monica.
Actresses – Australia – Biography.
Pornographic films.

Other Authors/Contributors: Lim, Gerrie.

791.43028092

Cover and picture-section design by Adam Yazxhi/MAXCO
Cover photography by Chris King
Internal design by Midland Typesetters, Australia
Typeset in 13/18 pt Minion by Midland Typesetters, Australia
Printed and bound by Griffin Press, South Australia

Random House Australia uses papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable
products and made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging
and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental
regulations of the country of origin.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my cat, Smokey.
My ray of light in this dark world!

Do you really want to know what it's like to be
a porn star? Brace yourself, because I'm not
going to pull any punches. Here's what a 'busy day at the
office' might mean for me.

In September 2008, I did a video shoot in which we
filmed three scenes in one day. When you're the star of
the show, it's normal that you'll perform in three of its
scenes, but shooting them all in one day is a big task.
The shoot was organised by Robbye Bentley, a photographer
friend of mine who had shot some of the very
best of my early photos back in 2001, my first year in
what we folks in porn jokingly call the 'jizz biz'. She had
now turned director and was making a comeback in the
industry after a few years off . We were on a tight budget,
so I was going to have to work my ass off (not literally in
this case, thankfully).

The first scene, in which I played opposite Tommy
Gunn, was an office set-up in which we were two
colleagues working late who decided to have some fun.
Off -camera, we rubbed baby oil on each other's bodies
so that we'd look all hot and sweaty, but this meant
we found ourselves slipping and sliding everywhere. We
tried to fuck on an office desk in the missionary position
but we kept slipping off . The scene ended with us on the
floor in the spoon position, but this meant I got a bunch
of carpet-burns all over my body.

Then came the next scene, a girl–girl with the gorgeous
Ava Rose, who has a nice big ass that I just love.
The set-up was really cool: I was dressed like a total
lesbian, in overalls and a wife-beater, with a bandana
on my head, and I straight-up looked like I should have
been on
The L Word
. We were working in a factory, by
a conveyor belt, and Ava came in as my boss, dressed
in a sexy little uniform and stilettos, telling me that
I needed to work even more overtime. So I got pissed
off and grabbed her and ripped open her dress, and
we started fucking. This was difficult to shoot, though,
because all we had to work with was the conveyor belt.
We did some standing pussy-eating and then laid down
some cardboard and went to town with the toys. It was
a hot scene.

The third scene was a solo. By that stage, it was 9 pm,
and we'd started the day at 9 am, so I was exhausted.
Mercifully, we did have short breaks in between each
scene, while the crew moved the furniture around, and
these let us loose on the huge spread of food that was
laid on (I get really hungry on shoots!). I managed to get
a second wind right before the cameras rolled. It was the
same factory set-up, only this time I was wearing a sexy
bikini with cut-off denim shorts and strappy heels. I did
a sexy striptease, then masturbation, including toys.

The way it was shot was beautiful: lots of close-ups of
my face, my body, the hardcore action and, of course,
the wide shots. I know, I'm getting very technical here,
but these things make a huge difference to how a movie
will look. Good lighting is key, too. The production team
were great – they made sure everything was taken care
of, and each set looked amazing.

Even though I had to pull a 13-hour day, it turned
out really well and it was a great shoot. Pity that I don't
know the name of the movie, or if it even came out. That's
typical in porn, where a lot of movies get shot with no
working titles and it's difficult to track them down later.
Afterwards, I was so tired that I just went home. I took
a hot bath, then lay in bed and watched TV. It was a
long day, one of those days where you just head home
and crash.

Sure, it was hard work, but I've had a lot of experience.
I've been on this career path for over eight years
now, and it's amazing to think that after turning 30
back in March 2008 I am still exposing my body for a
living. Eight years is a really long time in the adult-film
industry. The burnout rate in this business is brutal, and
many girls don't even get past the first year. They quit,
get lost in drugs or therapy, turn to full-time escort work
or find something else to do. This is a US$12-billion
industry that really runs like an incestuous little private
club, where many are called and few really get chosen.
And by chosen I mean make the cut, as in stay working
longer than the first couple of years.

There are many, many things most people don't know
about what it's really like being a porn star – such as how
expensive it is. I paid US$6000 for my breast enhancements
and still spend at least U$2000 a month on
keeping up my appearance for the cameras and the fans.
It breaks down to something like US$260 for my chiropractor,
US$200 on hair, US$200 on nails, US$200 on
acupuncture, US$110 on massages, US$140 on tanning,
US$120 on STD tests, US$120 on facials, US$40 for the
gym and the rest on constantly updating my wardrobe
with clothes for shooting in and outfits for red-carpet
events and nightclubs.

It's also a dangerous business. From potential STDs to
living in a world where drug use happens openly every
day, there are plenty of ways for a girl to get dragged
down. You really need to erect a barrier between your
true self and your professional persona, for your own
protection. There is the 'sexy, mysterious porn star
me' and then there is the 'regular me' outside of work.
I compartmentalise. That's how you maintain your own
standards, pertaining to what you will or won't do. And
you have to do this all the time, every day.

So what am I still doing here, more than 400 movies
later? Why am I still busting my hump for the viewing
pleasure of millions who procure my good looks on
DVD and the internet? Crudely put, I've pretty much
sucked and fucked everyone I've been cast with (some
of them multiple times and not always enjoyably so) and
bared myself body and soul in more positions that I can
even remember.

The basic answer to that question is the same one
I tell reporters when they interview me. 'I just love getting
fucked,' I tell them, and watch them try not to react. But
there's more to it than that. Honestly, it's being desired
that is my drug of choice. That's what I truly crave.

And if you really want the full answer, you should also
remember this. The road to LA and my life as a porn star
started for me when I was 14, living in suburban Brisbane,
on the night I kicked my mum across the room.