Former footballer became Britain's highest-paid adult star after career change
A former footballer made a drastic career change by moving into the adult film industry after his professional dream died.
Danny Mountain signed with Southampton at the age of nine and had dreams of becoming a professional footballer.
Chelsea, West Ham and Spurs were all said to be interested in him. But Mountain progressed well with the Saints, who have produced a whole host of top talents over the years - notably Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott.
He even made a huge impression on two of England's World Cup winners, Geoff Hurst and Alan Ball, with the latter viewing him as a generational talent.
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"Alan Ball paid me a few compliments - you can't get better than that," Mountain told the Daily Echo many years back.
"He and Geoff Hurst were watching us train when I was about 12 and he said to my dad 'every ten to 15 years in this country we have a talent that sticks out from the rest and I believe your son may be that talent.' I was over the moon when he said that - I had the biggest head!"
Mountain was with Southampton until the age of 16 when he suffered a knee injury in a tackle that ultimately ended his hopes of going pro.
He had therapy paid for by Southampton and then proceeded to train as a carpenter. However, at the age of 19, he moved into the porn industry in a drastic career change.
"I was dating a Page Three girl," he explained.
Her agent wanted her to get into porn. She wasn't keen but he gave her the details of an audition in London and I went along. I didn't know what to expect but I was full of confidence.
"I wasn't at all nervous about the sexual part. I was worried about talking on camera - I couldn't control my face I was so nervous.
"When I told my mum she was a bit shocked. She had the same mentality as a lot of people - she thought it was going to be sleazy. But we had a serious talk about it and after a few months she didn't worry at all.
"She was worried that I was OK because I was only 19 but I was having a great time and flying all round the world and she realised how happy I was. My dad's a big kid. When I told him he was like 'go on my son!"
Mountain, a Manchester United fan, moved to Los Angeles and began his successful adult film career before moving into producing and directing.
Previously married to fellow performers Mia Malkova and Eva Angelina, it was once claimed he became Britain's highest-paid porn star and amassed earnings of more than £1 million.
Starring in around 600 films, the 6ft 4in star entered the top 10 highest-paid adult porn stars and won a slew of awards in the porn business.
The 41-year-old did continue to play football while in LA, turning out alongside football hardman turned actor Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham for Hollywood Allstars.
He is still active in the industry and posts snippets of his content on social media, where he has 144,000 followers on X.
Mountain also has a black belt in jiu-jitsu, having been presented with the honour in March 2026. He previously said that he "will never score for England, but it did not stop me from being successful".
Josh Lawless