Video 10

In a rather unobtrusive bungalow straddling the border of Hollywood and West Hollywood, the offices of Video 10, distributor of gay videos, can be found. Video 10 was founded in 1987 by the current owner, a man who, like the bungalow, keeps a low profile. The circumstances surrounding the company's inception are somewhat unusual. Huge Video and Falcon Studios, two well-known production companies, decided to break away from they're, at that time, current distributor, and needed a new distributor to handle their titles. They approached the owner of Circus of Books, a book and video store catering to a gay clientele, and helped to establish Video 10. Very soon after the initial negotiations, Jeff Stryker, unarguably the biggest name in gay porn, also came on board with his production company. From the onset, Video 10 represented some of the major powerhouses in gay porn production, a distinction conducive to imminent success and eventual company longevity. Though these initial companies are no longer represented by Video 10, the distributor continues to maintain a solid industry presence representing mainly "modest productions" with high production values.

The voice and face behind Video 10, both in the business world and for this interview, belongs to Freddie Bercovitz. Because of the level of control delegated to Freddie by the owner, many customers think erroneously that he owns the company. Freddie came to Video 10 in 1991 after working at Catalina Video and at the Malibu Sales division of Advocate Men. (Freddie also worked as a video reviewer for Advocate Men in 1987, under the nom-de-porn Hands Solo.) His background, which contributed to a firm understanding of the inside workings of both production companies and the press, was tremendously helpful to him in his current position. He thinks of himself as more or less an "investment manager" because of the manner in which he handles all aspects of the business, from meeting with and determining which producers to take on as clients, to promotion and distribution of titles, to answering the telephones and taking orders from the distributors, who rely upon Video 10 to ship them the types of tapes they will in turn distribute to various video stores around the country and world.