This is the latest story forwarded to us by Ike Sanders. It alleges a debacle surrounding CJ from Goodlife Modeling‘s plans to open a studio in Las Vegas.
Ike writes: “Here is story number 2 from someone who chooses to remain anonymous. CJ knows exactly who this is.”
The narrative was originally emailed from an anonymous “guerrillamail” account:
Before I begin, I would like to explain why I decided to remain anonymous. Unlike CJ’s former models, you will not find much, if anything, by googling my name. I was unable to contribute anything significant to the industry during my time working with CJ, and have not returned to it after ending my partnership with him. Therefore, the value and credibility my name adds to this recollection is minimal at best. It certainly does not compare to how my name could be devalued by my association with him. Depending on who you are and your reasons for validating this story, I would consider revealing my identity over a more private medium.
To summarize how I met CJ, one of his former models took over my room in Fort Lauderdale. Since he knew my interest in the industry, my former roommate introduced me to her agent. CJ and I had some interesting talks, but nothing materialized and we went our separate ways. It was two years later, shortly after I began a PhD program at Florida Atlantic University, that I received a call from him. I had no recollection of the number, and I couldn’t even put a face to the name until he referred to himself as the porn agent. It was from this point forward that I would have a “professional” relationship with CJ, a partnership spawned by naivety and ended by simple rationality.
CJ seemed quite relieved to have been able to get in touch with me. I had given him some of my ideas in our previous talks, and since the producers he shared them with used one, he figured I could be of service for his grand “venture”: his own production studio in Las Vegas. The idea intrigued me, so naturally I offered my opinions through several talks on the phone. Besides creative content, I also gave him much advice on organization and business and it became apparent to him that I had potential to be very valuable. It also became apparent to me that I was passionate about the idea of being a part of this start-up, so when he asked me if I wanted to be the creative director I had no hesitation in my yes. A couple weeks later, I dropped out of my program and began my grand adventure with CJ.
The first order of business was the 2016 joint XBIZ/CamCon conference. I offered to pick up CJ in New York City along with three of his models and headed there a week before the conference began. This was my first time meeting CJ in person, so I was a bit apprehensive but mostly excited. I have to say that the road trip went pretty well (given that my van broke down on the way up, causing a one-day delay in our trip). CJ and I hit it off and the models were a pleasure to be around. CJ provided a suite in a nice hotel for us to stay in once we arrived in Fort Lauderdale. As him and I talked more business and the models started flying in one by one, I had a great sense of confidence in the whole operation. CJ clearly had talent loyal to him as well as valuable connections. He seemed to at the very least run a legitimate business.
The time before the conference built a lot of confidence. The conference itself, however, was a different story. CJ had promised all the girls and myself a nice hotel room at the Congressional Hotel. When he promised that room, he literally meant a room, as in two beds for the nine-person group. Fortunately for me, CJ and I split that nice room located only a couple blocks from the conference. The models, however, were pretty much dropped off at CJ’s friend’s apartment, forcing many of them to sleep on the floor. Some of them didn’t care all that much. A couple got their own hotel room and prostituted instead of attending the conference. Half of them were fairly pissed, either ditching CJ during the conference or not long after. Despite being fairly isolated from most of the drama (I was like a kid at an adult store), I was aware of the tension caused by all the misleading CJ was doing. That being said, it was obvious CJ knew people in this industry and wasn’t completely full of you know what. We made some great connections and after all was said and done, I had even more passion for the industry. He assured me he could replace the models he lost (which I have to hand it to him, he did) and thus I made the decision to continue pushing forward with him.
The next step was moving out to Las Vegas. After the conference, CJ went straight there while I went back to a community in Virginia. I did not want to relocate until the studio was operational and I had a guaranteed source of income. However, CJ was able to work out a deal with the owner of a swinger’s club: his models could live there rent free as long as they hosted the parties. However, the owner of the club didn’t want the girls living there by themselves and insisted that a responsible man live there with them. CJ “kindly” gave me this opportunity (in other words, he didn’t want to babysit the models). I still resisted the idea until one of the models booked her flight to Vegas. CJ had promised her a room in the house. In hindsight, I should have remained firm despite the pressuring from CJ, but I decided to take a gamble and three days later I arrived in Las Vegas.
Lie #1 – CJ had a big-time investor that was planning to fully fund the studio.
Truth #1 – I highly doubt there ever was one at any point in time, but if there was he or she never entered into my universe. The fact we had $0 in funds came to my attention AFTER I moved.
Lie #2 – I was told I would have my own private room at the property.
Truth #2 – There were no private rooms. All the rooms were used by the guests, meaning I had to vacate “my” room every party night. Although in the category of first world problems, the constant moving of my belongings coupled with the fact I essentially slept on a brothel bed was far from what was advertised to me.
Lie #3 – The owner agreed to let us film our own content during non-party hours and I would spearhead that operation.
Truth #3 – The owner did indeed agree to this arrangement, but CJ and his models never followed through on it. Our videographer (whom CJ also screwed over) had limited availability, and the models were uncooperative to put it very nicely. I came up with all sorts of ideas, but CJ pretty much directed the little content shot. The two opportunities I had to direct were a result of him being too high, drunk and/or lazy to do it himself. Essentially, I was brought in as a babysitter, not a creative director.
Lie #4 – CJ would heavily market this “establishment”, gain influence and essentially run the show.
Truth #4 – The owner turned out to be a controlling, stingy, and pompous buffoon that somehow managed to obtain control of the property, but at least he had a sharp nose for CJ’s balderdash. CJ did nothing to help with the club other than tricking model after model into staying there. Despite CJ attempting to leverage power with his disappointed talent, the owner made it perfectly clear who was in charge there. When CJ tried to rally the girls to “strike”, the owner quickly banned him from the premises.
After Truth #4, I was left with two options: 1. Follow CJ (who was accusing me of conspiring against him and stealing his models) with no shelter and income, or 2. Follow the owner and have a roof over my head until I could find a way out of there. And thus, my “professional” relationship with CJ had come to an end.
I have come to the following conclusions about CJ:
1. He is lazy. He comes up with grandiose ideas yet expects others (like myself) to do all the leg work. Most of the time I was around him, he was either drinking, smoking and/or shooting the breeze. This behavior was especially maddening when the “investor” decided to back out and the mirage I was planning for vanished. He never mustered anywhere close to the necessary amount of focus and hard work to run a studio.
2. He is highly unprofessional. He spends a lot of time lying to his models about business but even more time trying to have sex with them. Some of the girls did not seem to think twice about this behavior and consented. Others flat-out rejected him countless times. I did not witness him coercing any of his models into sexual activities, but some of them confided to me that he made them feel uncomfortable at times. Also, after being banished from the swinger’s club, he called the owner on a fake number and gave him a death threat. The owner immediately called him out on it and threatened to kick his… behind. There were plenty of actions like this that many would deem immature, childish, etc.
3. He isn’t a horrible human being. I haven’t painted the nicest picture of CJ thus far, so I have to admit it wasn’t all bad. I had some really fun, memorable times with him. There were also times he gave me great advice about women and showed me a lot of empathy while I was dealing with a break-up. There are humorous, intelligent and sensitive aspects in his personality that draw people to him. I saw it pretty much everywhere we went.
The Bottomline: I don’t believe CJ to be someone that should be imprisoned, castrated, etc. In my opinion, many of his models had good reason to drop him as an agent while he had good reason to drop many of his models. It was simply a revolving-door situation that had little short-term potential and absolutely no long-term sustainability. I write this account because I do not want people to make the same mistakes I did with CJ. Whatever position in the industry you have or aspire to have, I would highly recommend that you do not invest your time and money into CJ. He is a guy that is great to share some drinks with, but cannot take you anywhere other than a frustrating merry-go-round.
