Vivid Entertainment Group co-founder Steven Hirsch, L.A. Direct Models owner Derek Hay and Doc Johnson CEO Ron Braverman were listed among the most influential people in Los Angeles by Los Angeles Magazine.
The December edition of the magazine, now available, names the three adult industry veterans as part of its “Power Issue” which outlines the city’s most influential people in 22 categories that include sports, politics, faith, money, media, art and science, among others.
Of Hirsch, the magazine said “Since co-founding Vivid Entertainment in 1984, Hirsch has done more than anyone in L.A.’s Porn Valley to bring X-rated video into the mainstream. Relying on a stable of “Vivid Girls,” who work under exclusive, long-term deals, he has created an Old Hollywood star system that generates an estimated $100 million a year.”
High-powered agent Hay also made the cut with his L.A. Direct dubbed the C.A.A. of porn, by the magazine, in reference to the Mike Ovitz-founded Creative Artists Agency.
“A chiseled, bald-headed, icy-gazed Brit who has appeared in more than 350 adult films, Hay the agent, is even more formidable,” the magazine said.
“Known for getting his actresses to shoots on time and ready, the chief of L.A. Direct Models is widely regarded as the toughest – disciplined to his admirers, scary to his detractors – booker in the business.”
Doc Johnson boss Braverman also elicited kudos for his leadership role in the industry by the magazine which said: “As chief executive of North Hollywood-based Doc Johnson, the world’s largest designer and manufacturer of sex gadgets, Braverman boasts a catalog of more than 5,000 novelty items, including the lifelike replicas of your favorite porn star’s equipment.”
Neither, Hirsch, Hay nor Braverman were available for comment.
The others listed in the sex category were Mary O’Connor, Hugh Hefner’s longtime executive secretary who is known for banning people from the Playboy Mansion; and urologist Jennifer Berman, who wrote the book “For Women Only: A Revolutionary Guide to Reclaiming Your Sex Life.
The list, which is issued each year by the magazine, lists 122 people that includes such luminaries as Bob Dylan, L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez, USC football coach Pete Carroll, Walt Disney Co. President and CEO Robert Iger, filmmaker Steven Spielberg, former Lakers’ guard Magic Johnson, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, former L.A. school district superintendent Roy Romer, Roman Catholic Archbishop Roger Mahony and others.
Although the magazine’s editors noted the list is “more art than science,” but admitted it was their way of showing a guide as to the city’s reach and pull.
“To make the cut, it was not enough to be merely powerful, much less rich or famous,” the magazine said.
“Our guiding principle is… a vision, a commitment, an obsession, often laudable but occasionally repugnant, that inspires others to join in or forces them to adapt.”
Pictured: Steven Hirsch.
