12 Things You Didn't Know About Vivid Entertainment

When it comes to porn, Vivid Entertainment knows what they're doing and have been doing it well since 1984. The porn production giants have had a long, fascinating history that has withstood the test of time and fast-changing technology. Chances are, if you've watched any piece of pornography in your life (and you have, you liar) it's been produced by Vivid. Curious why this legendary company has lasted for thirty years, we dug up twelve things you probably didn't know about Vivid. 

1. Vivid's founder was barely out of his teens when he founded the company.
In 1984, Steven Hirsch founded Vivid Entertainment when he was only 23 years old. Penthouse's founder, Bob Guccione, was 35 when he started the magazine... what the F were you doing at 23? 

2. Hirsch was a second generation pornographer.
Porn was truly their family business. Hirsch's father had worked for porn veteran Reuben Sturman in Ohio before moving to southern California to launch his own adult video distribution company.

3. Vivid changed the way America looked at porn.
By erecting an enormous billboard over Sunset Boulevard and creating "couples-friendly" videos with non-nude models on the cover, Vivid showed the world a different side to pornography. This led to the mainstreaming of porn so the industry was no longer seen as a "dirty little secret." 

4. Playboy and Vivid go way back.
Surprisingly, these two porn giants aren't competitors. When Playboy TV began, they hired Vivid as their exclusive suppliers for adult content. Their backing allowed Vivid to invest more money in their productions and use film — instead of video — during their shoots. This led to better quality movies for the masses to fap to.

5. They were the first company to use contracts with their stars.
Back in the "wild west" days of porn, actors and actresses had no legal binding to the companies they shot with. Vivid signed their performers to contracts that provided them with steady pay, but also forbade them from filming with anyone outside the company.

6. They've released thousands of movies.
At one point, Vivid was releasing 60 movies a month. That's two movies a day. In total, they've released over 2,000 titles. Their IMDb page is absolutely staggering. 

7. Vivid has received over 300 industry awards.
Some choice awards include AVN's "Best Educational Release: Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Threesomes" in 2010 and "Best Music Soundtrack: The Bad Luck Betties" in 2009. We didn't know that people actually listened to the music in adult movies. 

8. Vivid was the first company to release porn on DVD.
When DVDs were still blossoming as the non-sh*tty alternative to VHS, Vivid took advantage of this new technology by releasing Bobby Sox in 1996. It's a story about "an aging, alcoholic actor that comes to a small town to promote his latest movie, but becomes involved with a kinky mother and her spoiled teenage daughter." They probably all have sex with each other.

9. HD and Blu-Ray? Still Vivid.
This company knows their audience well and fully realizes that people want to watch people smash guts in high-definition. As well as releasing the first pornographic DVD, they also put out the first Blu-Ray porno and started shooting in HD before most companies caught on. 

10. They were the first studio to introduce celebrity sex tapes.
The Pam and Tommy tape has been widely regarded as the celebrity sex tape to trump all celebrity sex tapes. Vivid was behind that. They also released the Kim Kardashian sex tape, the Kendra Wilkinson sex tape, Montana Fishburne's sex tape, and even the "leaked" Farrah Abraham/James Deen sex tape. They're crushing the celebrity sex tape game.

11. They're all about their superhero parodies.
After the immensely successful release of Batman XXX, Vivid announced plans to continue their superhero porn parodies. Iron Man XXX, Thor XXX, Avengers XXX, and The Incredible Hulk XXX are just a few examples of what they've produced thus far. No superhero is safe. Maybe Aquaman, because he has historically sucked since 1941. 

12. Vivid is a condom-optional company.
For about five years in the 2000s, Vivid wouldn't shoot scenes with performers unless they were wearing condoms. However, since the regulation of testing procedures, they've given their performers the choice of whether or not to use condoms on set. They've also been fighting against the controversial new law, Measure B, which requires all adult movie sets to be condom mandatory.

Jeremy Glass is Supercompressor's Vice writer who has been watching porn since the late nineties, but please don't tell his parents.