I’ve BEEN to that Naughty Massage Parlor on Mesa

Joy Spa Massage seemed to be open at all hours. The customers all appeared to be male and they would often park FAR away from the entrance, even if there were available spots.

Also, neighboring businesses said they could hear sounds of people having sex coming from the establishment.

Following years of local, state and federal investigations, the El Paso County Attorney’s office has shut them down. The shut-down is “temporary”, but it sounds like prosecutors likely have enough evidence to shut down Joy Spa Massage for good.

Here are some of the most interesting facts about this case followed by a personal anecdote about this exact place.

It’s in a regular strip mall. It’s in Colony Cove III at 7224 N. Mesa.  The neighbors on one side are an optical shop and, on the other side, a place that gives dance lessons.

Witnesses say the customers seem to be exclusively men in their sixties, driving “really nice cars”.

According to the investigation, Joy Spa Massage didn’t keep credit card receipts or billing records. One of the “employees” said that most customers chose to pay in cash.

Now, my personal story about this place. I’ve told this story on the air many times

Ten or fifteen years ago, one of our friends, a prominent El Pasoan, invited the entire MoSho to join him for a surprise treat. He wouldn’t tell us what it was, but we assumed he was taking us to a restaurant. He only gave us an address. At the time, the show was me and three others...one of them my female co-host. When we get to the address, we find we’re not eating lunch, but going in a massage spa for a relaxing foot massage. My co-workers all SAID they enjoyed it but, for me, it was anything but relaxing. For starters, I’m uncomfortable being touched physically by strangers. I can make it through a haircut or a dentist appointment but anything beyond that I find too intimate to be comfortable with. It’s a quirk I have.

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Secondly, I had already heard about “Asian massage parlors” and their seedy reputation. But, clearly, this was NOT one of those places. Or so I thought.

For one thing, there was nothing even remotely sexual or even sensual about this place. It had a suspended ceiling with fluorescent lights, probably like the offices many of you work in. Also, the foot massagers were ELDERLY CHINESE WOMEN. Well, they looked like they were mostly in their sixties but they were wearing the same kind of face masks that became ubiquitous during the Covid-19 pandemic. The point is, this place was the OPPOSITE of sexy.

Guess what! The foot massage was exactly that. A foot massage, nothing more.

A few years after that, I was hanging out with some guys and they were telling me that ALL the Asian massage places were fronts for prostitution. Surely, I thought, not all of them can be “happy ending” places. To prove my point, I told them the story I just laid out, exactly as I’ve told it to you. They asked which place, and I told them. Knowing glances were exchanged and at least one person snickered.

They all assured me that the place I referenced WAS a wank factory. I was sure they were putting me on until I saw this report in the El Paso Times.

In the past when I’ve told the story, I mentioned the name of the friend who treated us that day. I’m not going to repeat that here. Suffice to say, I am 100% sure that our nameless friend was the ONLY Joy Spa customer who actually went for the foot massages.