‘Girls Gone Wild’ stops in Portales

Freedom New Mexico: Mickey Winfield The Girls Gone Wild bus, parked in front of Portales bar Goober McCool’s, heralds the production team’s arrival Tuesday night.

Hundreds of students from Eastern New Mexico University and other area residents flooded Portales’ Goober McCool’s on Tuesday night, drawn by the “Girls Gone Wild” production team on hand to gather footage for a future DVD release.

Goober’s disc jockey Joe Casas said the “Girls Gone Wild” crew had done some shows at a club he works at in Amarillo. About two months ago, Casas brought the possibility of doing a show at Goober’s in Portales.

“The bus got parked here about 1 p.m.,” Casas said, “And we’ve been getting calls about it all day.”

“Girls Gone Wild” videos usually involve a camera crew patrolling a party-heavy area frequented by young adults in search of young women who agree to expose their bodies for the camera, usually in exchange for “Girls Gone Wild” branded clothing.

Gaeaesa Garcia from Clovis said she was considering participating in some of the video footage taken late Tuesday night.

“You never know,” Garcia said. “If I have some more (drinks), then probably (I will),” Garcia said.

She said she wasn’t worried that family members might find out.

“My dad won’t know about this,” Garcia said.

Portales resident and ENMU student Amber Perkins, majoring in criminal investigation, was also considering baring all.

“Yeah, I guess I will,” Perkins said.

The only drawback for Perkins was that her dad might find out.

“He would kill me,” Perkins said.

Goober’s security was also increased because of the event. According to security staff member Alonzo Jimenez, a typical Tuesday night requires just one person for security — with “Girls Gone Wild” at the bar there were eight people dedicated to security.

“It’s going to be tough,” Jimenez said. “It makes us nervous because every guy here is waiting for a girl to flash him.”

ENMU sophomores Nick Espinoza and Carlos Marrujo, both from Roswell, were at the bar early Tuesday before the crews started filming.

“This is going to be my first semester here (at ENMU) and this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this,” Espinoza said.

“I’ve always seen (Girls Gone Wild) on TV, and I thought we would come out and have a good time,” Marrujo said.

Portales resident Chance Carter was amazed that their small-town bar would get a visit like this.

“This is the first time Portales has had anything like this,” Carter said.