The Glamor and the Glitter

Of course, there's nothing like getting some recognition from your peers and colleagues, regardless of what you do for a living. In the field of pornography, that usually takes the form of a gala awards ceremony. We just got back from one of the biggest and best such events in the world of gay adult entertainment: The GayVN Awards.

In case you are not familiar with it, let me give you a little background. The adult entertainment industry is blessed with a few key news sources. Among these, one of the biggest and glossiest is the Adult Video News, or AVN. AVN has been publishing for years, and now has a number of editions, including the main Adult Video News magazine, a sister magazine called AVN Online, and complementary websites for these and a number of other specialty niches.

We knew CyberBears, our company, had arrived when our first release, Dore Alley Bears, was listed in the AVN ranking of the 75 top rentals for gay adult videos in January of 2004, one month after it hit the stores. We weren't the first bear video company to achieve this honor, but we very well may be the only company with a bear video which ranked as high as 36 on the list, against mainstream and fetish titles alike.

So we were thrilled when our distributor called us in January to tell us that the AVN judges had requested copies of our most recent release, Workshop Bears, to consider for best title in the newly created Specialty: Bears category at the GayVN Awards. This is not only the first time GayVN has recognized the bear video niche as worthy of attention, it was also the first time since the Gay Erotic Video Awards in 1994 that a title I was personally associated with had been nominated for an award.

The awards ceremony was held on March 10, and I will not keep you in suspense any longer; we did not win our category. Yeah, it's an honor to be nominated, but I'll admit that I really wanted us to win! We were up against entries from the bear divisions of some of the biggest and best mainstream studios in the business. Even so, I thought a little upstart two-year old company like ours really had a chance to pull it off, and walk away with our own lucite slab of validation. But despite the disappointment, we chatted with old friends, made some new contacts, hung out with our U.S. distributors from Arena Entertainment, and overall just had a great time at the event.

AVN pulls out all the stops when it comes to hosting a show like this. The catered buffet was amazing, the drinks were free, and the eye candy was everywhere. Chi Chi LaRue, one of the most prominent and well respected directors in the business, hosted the ceremony with an entourage of hot men culled from the ranks of fantasies the world over. Nobody in the business has her act together like Chi Chi. That might be partially because she spends the rest of her life as a man, with the balls to don the outgoing, telegenic persona of Chi Chi LaRue for public appearances.

One of the most memorable aspects of the event was the presentation of the lifetime achievement awards, given out by veteran director (and my personal mentor) Gino Colbert. If there is any doubt among you that this industry is full of respectable, decent, hardworking professionals, and deserving of its small slice of the entertainment pie, all you have to do is listen to Gino talk about the history and talent behind the products, and any doubts will be banished.

Despite the expected theatrics, which help bring the public back for more than just the hot men, there was a genuine atmosphere of camaraderie and supportiveness everywhere. It may be related to the fact that this industry grew out of an oppressed minority, and every one of us has had to struggle against social pressures to find our place here. Sure, Chi Chi feigned horror when Michael Lucas won an award, and Lucas returned the favor by comparing himself to Jesus and suggesting that there were many in the audience who might want to crucify him. But the occasional outburst of staged bitchiness is clearly a facade, put on to glamorize the cooperative, supportive nature truly embodied by the players in this tiny world.

I came away a loser, but I'm definitely going back for more. These people are some of the best this world has to offer. They've overcome incredible odds to find themselves right where they knew they had to be, no matter what anyone else had to say about it.