*Front page of The Sun*
With a little help from his friends.
By BRODIE FENLON AND BRETT CLARKSON, TORONTO SUN
Sexual innocent Geoff launched a website on a bet and needs 5 million hits in 30 days to lose his virginity. Platonic friend Jen, says she’ll help him with his “problem” if he pulls off the online stunt. With two weeks to go, he’s logged 3 million votes of support. (Craig Robertson, Sun)
He claims to be a 25-year-old virgin from Toronto who needs five million hits on his website in 30 days to score with a platonic female friend.
Tracked down in person by the Sun yesterday, Geoff insists he's the real deal: A sweet, sexually inexperienced guy who made a barroom bet, pasted his mug on a website with the help of friends, and is now at the centre of a major media storm even he finds a little frightening.
The story -- and Geoff's sticking to it -- is that he was 22 when he learned his fiance was cheating on him despite their promise to hold off on sex until their marriage. Devastated, he swore off dating for three years.
But things changed during a recent night out at a bar in Hamilton.
Geoff claims his friend Jen, 21, promised to help him lose his virginity if he could get five million hits on a website in 30 days, similar to a recent online stunt pulled by an American who had sought two million hits in exchange for a threesome involving his girlfriend and another woman.
Geoff's website, avirginsplea.com, has clocked three million hits since it went up May 1. Since then, he has been propositioned by several men and women, received images of the female reproduction system by e-mail, and was contacted by a doctor who offered sexual advice and grooming tips.
All the big American networks have called, there's talk of a movie and book deals, and blogs around the world are urging their visitors to click on his site to drive up traffic and ensure him a romp in the sack.
Yet the soft-spoken web designer, who asked that his last name not be used, appears to be a reluctant media star.
"I have a life, too. I can't spend all my time doing this," he said, explaining why he initially refused to meet with the Sun until he was tracked down yesterday to a small Etobicoke website and marketing firm, where he works.
"Now it's a little worrying that the entire world knows me as the 25-year-old Internet virgin," he added.
"He got more than he bargained for," said friend and colleague Patrick Vipond, 24, who helped design the website.
"He was very sheltered," added friend Sean Keast, 26.
It's a tale juicy enough to make any TV producer drool, but it's hard not to be skeptical: Until yesterday, the friends were selling T-shirts from the site, which they claimed was necessary to pay for extra bandwidth. Late yesterday, the site began carrying a racy ad for adult personals.
Meanwhile, Jen's identity could not be verified by the Sun and requests for her contact information were not answered.
Geoff said Jen has been a good sport and will live up to her end of the bet if the site gets five million hits.
"We talked about just getting a hotel room, getting a few drinks, and getting down to business," he said.
Although he's had many requests to do the dirty deed online or on video, Geoff said he expects he will simply update the site once his virginity is lost.
http://avirginsplea.com/
With a little help from his friends.
By BRODIE FENLON AND BRETT CLARKSON, TORONTO SUN
Sexual innocent Geoff launched a website on a bet and needs 5 million hits in 30 days to lose his virginity. Platonic friend Jen, says she’ll help him with his “problem” if he pulls off the online stunt. With two weeks to go, he’s logged 3 million votes of support. (Craig Robertson, Sun)
He claims to be a 25-year-old virgin from Toronto who needs five million hits on his website in 30 days to score with a platonic female friend.
Tracked down in person by the Sun yesterday, Geoff insists he's the real deal: A sweet, sexually inexperienced guy who made a barroom bet, pasted his mug on a website with the help of friends, and is now at the centre of a major media storm even he finds a little frightening.
The story -- and Geoff's sticking to it -- is that he was 22 when he learned his fiance was cheating on him despite their promise to hold off on sex until their marriage. Devastated, he swore off dating for three years.
But things changed during a recent night out at a bar in Hamilton.
Geoff claims his friend Jen, 21, promised to help him lose his virginity if he could get five million hits on a website in 30 days, similar to a recent online stunt pulled by an American who had sought two million hits in exchange for a threesome involving his girlfriend and another woman.
Geoff's website, avirginsplea.com, has clocked three million hits since it went up May 1. Since then, he has been propositioned by several men and women, received images of the female reproduction system by e-mail, and was contacted by a doctor who offered sexual advice and grooming tips.
All the big American networks have called, there's talk of a movie and book deals, and blogs around the world are urging their visitors to click on his site to drive up traffic and ensure him a romp in the sack.
Yet the soft-spoken web designer, who asked that his last name not be used, appears to be a reluctant media star.
"I have a life, too. I can't spend all my time doing this," he said, explaining why he initially refused to meet with the Sun until he was tracked down yesterday to a small Etobicoke website and marketing firm, where he works.
"Now it's a little worrying that the entire world knows me as the 25-year-old Internet virgin," he added.
"He got more than he bargained for," said friend and colleague Patrick Vipond, 24, who helped design the website.
"He was very sheltered," added friend Sean Keast, 26.
It's a tale juicy enough to make any TV producer drool, but it's hard not to be skeptical: Until yesterday, the friends were selling T-shirts from the site, which they claimed was necessary to pay for extra bandwidth. Late yesterday, the site began carrying a racy ad for adult personals.
Meanwhile, Jen's identity could not be verified by the Sun and requests for her contact information were not answered.
Geoff said Jen has been a good sport and will live up to her end of the bet if the site gets five million hits.
"We talked about just getting a hotel room, getting a few drinks, and getting down to business," he said.
Although he's had many requests to do the dirty deed online or on video, Geoff said he expects he will simply update the site once his virginity is lost.
http://avirginsplea.com/
