After I wrote the post about Joey Stefano, I started thinking about another series of male videos that were produced around the same time Joey Stefano reached his peak. Just a little bit of gay culture/history, because so much seems to be disappearing these days.

I remember these films well because they stood out from all the rest. I’m still not exactly sure to this day why they stood out, but I’m clearly not the only one who noticed them. I think it had everything to do with the reality factor, which was long before reality anything became popular.

One in particular was titled “Sgt. Swan’s Private Files.” You have to remember that the Internet was nothing in the 80’s and early 90’s and to get these videos you usually had to go to an adult video store. And the Sgt. Swan video covers stood out from all the rest. I didn’t go to adult video stores often back then (I was very young: underage), but what kind of a gay man would I be NOW if I’d never set foot in an adult bookstore? That doesn’t even make sense, not even in today’s world, where there’s now a “Q” at the end of LGBT, and I’m trying very hard to embrace a word that represents nothing but hate to me.

But I digress, with a smile. When I started to wonder about what had happened to Sgt. Swan, I did a little reseach. There’s actually not much out there, which surprised me. But I did find this web site, Below the Belt, which is a web site for adult entertainment news in South Florida.

I also discovered that Dirk Yates is actually a stage name for Rick Ford. Never knew this either.

Well after 20 years I felt that it was time that people know that Dirk Yates and Rick Ford are married, so to speak. It also came to my attention that there were a couple people out there that were telling models that they were Dirk Yates and luring them into making videos under false pretense. One guy, I heard about, was doing this in Hawaii.

In the early days I discovered that bringing real sailors to my home and videotaping them provided a fetish type military fantasy for viewers. I kept myself off the camera in order to help promote the fantasy that anyone could pick up a military guy. All the guys I shoot, as Dirk Yates, are real military men, not like some other videos out there that claim they are using real military guys.

This came from an interview with Rick Ford. You can read more at the link above for “Below the Belt.” And there are plenty of photos, both now and then, of Rick Ford…aka Dirk Yates.

And here’s a web site for Dirk Yates that seems quite up to date…for a different kind of awesomeness than you’re used to seeing.

The “about” page is fascinating:

Dirk Yates has been entertaining gay men with his famous military guy sex videos for nearly three decades. But it wasn’t until 1993 that he became a household name when CNN discovered that Camp Pendleton Marines had been appearing in his “Private Collection” video series.

Who would have guessed THAT! You can read more at the link I’ve included above as well for Dirk Yates.

The only thing I couldn’t find much about was the guy who actually was Sgt. Swan…Glenn Swann. But here’s a link to more about the movie, with this blurb:

The movie that started it all for acclaimed Director Dirk Yates in 1985 available on DVD with special bonus content. A Seabag Production starring Glenn Swann with a special appearance by Rick Donovan. Working as a Drill Instructor (DI), SGT Glenn Swann has many experiences with marines and while off duty has more than his share of contact with sailors. In his Private Files, Swann relates a few of his fantasies including: – Individual instruction for his hot aide and attendant, Scott O’Hara. – R&R with his personal friend Rick Donovan and his partner Ed Jerome. – A thorough workout with his buddy Troy. – A climatic scene with a barracks full of hot marines. More…