He got the funding, a distribution deal and it wasn't much longer before he was on set saying action.
Two decades later he's finally said cut.
The writer-director-producer-editor is hoping to strike lightning with "Discipline," a sometimes sadomasochistic story of a college student who falls under the influence of an evil professor.
Over the course of filming, star Courtney Gains went from 20-something to 40-something.
For Mayo, that was not a problem.
"We have a lot of close-ups even from the newer footage, but with a little bit of make-up and also some swift cutting, no one can tell," he said.
Mayo lost funding during filming, fought with investors, bought them out and saw his apartment destroyed by fire.
He kept raising money to finish his film, sometimes only having enough cash to shoot one scene before he was broke all over again.
"The first 10 years I'd get a call every six months going, 'Courtney, we're going to finish this movie,' and then finally we'd do some more shooting. And then I'd get more calls and then I'd get more shooting," Gains said.
"I kept at it, kept at it and kept at it," Mayor said. "Now that I've finished my film, I can say it may have taken me 20 years but I'm a person who finishes what they start."
While "Discipline" takes viewers to the dark side, Mayo finally sees the light and can finally move on.
"I do have nine scripts. They're all high concepts," he said. "They're adventures, they're horror, they're thrillers, they're action. I can make a movie. I've had 20 years of schooling."
