Meet 'Big Ben,' Peaches Geldof's Oversharing Heroin-Using Lover
Ben Mills lives in Williamsburg and has "Big Ben" tattooed on his penis. He set the internet aflame with nude photos of British rock heiress Peaches Geldof taken during an alleged heroin-fueled Scientology sex party. Let us introduce him. [Updated]
In his now-famous post to a Reddit comment thread "What's your most WTF one-night stand story," Ben described getting "high as a kite" and "hot and heavy" with Peaches—and waking up in a pool of vomit at Hollywood's Scientology Celebrity Centre. Peaches' lawyers dispute elements of the story, and Ben has yet to respond. He's ignored multiple requests for comment; his MySpace and Facebook pages appear to have vanished. But with a man-about-town reputation and a well-archived life on the internet, a portrait is emerging. Here's what we know about Big Ben.
- He had sexy time with Peaches Geldof, photographed it, and posted it online. Peaches' lawyer says Ben's photos "were taken for private purposes," and though the lawyer casts doubt on certain parts of Ben's story, the photos are real and so was at least some of their passion.
- He's a mysteriously wealthy Williamsburgian. According to Crushable blogger Drew Grant—who has been "on-and-off dating" Mills for three weeks—Ben used to share a "giant loft in Williamsburg with two puggles," a pet dove, and roommates. With varying levels of certainty, two friends mentioned a trust fund. One adds, "He also makes money like crazy" from a "sorta shady Internet start-up." Update: Paul Abrahamanian, founder of media/entertainment startup ADOPE (Another Day on Planet Earth), tells us Ben "doesn't make money at all, he is my intern/assistant." Paul vouches for Ben's honesty and notes, "He is a good guy. Took him to israel last year."
- And he's pretty Williamsburg-y. Describes a friend: "He's a laid-back kind of California surfer dude who is really personable and has his hand in a lot of different pots (like he's one of the founding members of that Bushwick trailer park, but you won't find his name in any of the articles about the place)"
He has 'Big Ben' tattooed on his penis. Ben says he and Peaches first bonded over their tattoos, "which both of us have a good amount of." On his right breast, blue waves lap an ornate red skull. Drew Grant describes seeing his penis tattoo at a Jewish Purim party:
me: i went to a purim party last night in the hasid district and my date whipped out his dick at this orthodox get-together because his name is ben and his dick said big ben.
Smash: tattoo?
me: no, his dick yelled it. yes, it was a tattoo.
- He's a motorcycle enthusiast. Ben regularly posts on motorcycle forums and has a long track record of buying and selling bikes and parts online. In the past two years, he's owned a Suzuki, two Ducatis, and a Honda 954 that was stolen last February in New York. When his bike got jacked, Ben posted a note online saying that he "would be happy to offer a reward or a few beers at a bar or something else." Between this guy and Jesse James, this week is a renaissance of tattooed biker sex lives.
He loves the internet. Ben found infamy on Reddit, but he's appeared on many other internet sites over the years. When this latest scandal broke, he shut down his Facebook and Myspace accounts, but we found his old pages on EBay and Stumbleupon along with the cached version of his Myspace that identifies him as being 23-years-old. We also spotted Ben commenting on pictures of himself dancing with some lucky lady on the web site of party photographer Nicky Digital and using something called ThatsMyFace.com to see what he would like as an African, Asian, or East Indian.
- He told the Peaches story far and wide. "The time I woke up with a British fameball in Hollywood's Scientology Center" was a go-to story for Big Ben (hey, we've all got one) and friends in New York and South America say they heard it—and saw the pictures. An old roommate says Ben "lent me the camera when i went to brazil for carnival. The photos were on the camera."
Ben takes a young lass for a turn on the dancefloor at the 2006 Robot Rock party at the now-closed West Village club Movida. [NickyDigital]
Update:
- He got into trouble in college, and it was scary. At Drew University, Ben Bluett-Mills—our friend Big Ben's other name—was, according to the local police blotter, arrested on March 5, 2007 for "aggravated assault, terroristic threats, criminal restraint, and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes." A female student said Ben "locked her inside her residence... held a knife to her throat, and threatened to kill her." Just over a month later, on April 10, 2007, he was arrested again and charged with witness tampering after allegedly trying "to solicit another Drew University student to convince the victim to drop the charges" for $5,000. Local officials were unavailable, so we don't know the outcome of the case.
Previously:
- Peaches Geldof's Heroin-Fueled One-Night Stand at Hollywood's Scientology Center—With Pictures
- Peaches Admits to Nude Pics, Denies Heroin and Scientology Allegations
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