Roger T. Pipe

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Roger T. Pipe
Roger T. Pipe (right), with pornographic actress Trinity, at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, 2000.
Birthdate:	October 16, 1967 (1967-10-16) (age 40)
Birth location:	California, United States
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	215 lb (98 kg)
Eye color:	Blue
Hair color:	Brown
Orientation:	Straight
Ethnicity:	Caucasian
Stage Name(s):	Rog T. Pipe
Official Website

Roger T. Pipe (born October 1967) is the pseudonym of an American pornographic film critic, adult radio commentator and occasional writer and director ^[1] residing in California. Pipe operates a website, RogReviews which sports reviews of movies, sex toys and websites involving the adult entertainment industry, as well as audio and text interviews with stars, directors and other important figureheads. He is an active member of the X-Rated Critics Organization.^[2]

1 Biography
- 1.1 Personal life
- 1.2 Career
  - 1.2.1 Views on the Industry
  - 1.2.2 Professional Relationships and Disputes
2 References

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Pipe was born in October of 1967 ^[3] and grew up in San Marcos ^[4] in southern California. He went to Cal-State Fullerton and graduated with a degree in Communications ^[5].

Pipe is currently married, and has been for 15 years. His wife is consistently referred to only as “Mrs. Rog,” ^[6] who is supportive of his career ^[7]. He has confirmed that he has children, but their names and ages have not been revealed. He has also stated that Mrs. Rog does occasionally join him in watching porn, though not nearly as often as he would like. ^[3]

[edit] Career

Pipe began watching pornography consistently starting in 1985. ^[3] It wasn’t until 1995, while doing a search on the internet for a rare porn title, that he stumbled across a website where individuals were discussing and reviewing pornographic titles. After several days, Pipe decided that he would try his own luck by reviewing movies from his private collection, writing “from the heart of a porn fan.” ^[3] The response was seemingly overnight, and soon, Pipe’s reviews were being included on distributor websites to establish a more personal connection with those buying the videos.

Eventually, Pipe launched Rog Reviews in 1998, intending only to showcase his reviews, a decision made partially in retaliation against the Adult Video News Awards, for which he had briefly worked for. The experience left Pipe jaded against the more mainstream avenues, but has since worked out to be “very beneficial.” Pipe has said in interviews that the same individual who dismissed him (Mark Kulkis) has ensured Pipe’s accessibility to every major adult film premiere for the companies he represents, suggesting that while they way in which they parted was not ideal, there still held an attraction to his ability to write. ^[7]

During the early years of the site’s launch, Pipe also had a day job as a warehouse and office manager for a local software company. ^[7] At this time, Pipe also worked on several amateur scripts, the most hugely popular being “Guilty Pleasures,” which Pipe failed to receive credit for in the final cut. ^[8] By 2002, Pipe began including sex toy and website reviews, enticing outside free-lance reviewers to contribute, the most prolific of which is midwestern college co-ed Savana Switzer.

In 2005, Pipe joined The Daily Noise, an uncensored entertainment radio talk show broadcast out of Las Vegas, hosted by spin jocks Kaan Soler and Jimmy Diggs, as a weekly guest commentator. The Daily Noise folded in late August 2007, signaling the end of a successful three-year run. Prior to the Daily Noise, Pipe also had a number of appearances on the radio show “Lovebytes,” hosted by Dr. Bob Berkowitz on Eyada.com, and had been in the process of negotiating a deal for his own news show when Eyada went off the air. ^[7]

Earlier this year, Pipe introduced interviews with industry members through podcasts, a decision which has increased his site’s exposure considerably. In addition to the podcasts, his site also offers textual transcripts of the interviews, galleries of industry giants and amateur fans, and a wide selection of reviews of websites and sex toys.

[edit] Views on the Industry

Despite being at the heart of the industry, Pipe grapples with the implications of porn in regards to the long-term effects it can have on its stars, urging aspiring actors and actresses to be absolutely sure they want to get involved in adult entertainment ^[9]. However, Pipe maintains he is one of the most open-minded in the business, believing that “all women, in all shapes, sizes and ages should be appreciated by the men who appreciate them. As far as perfect sizes, I’m the wrong guy to ask. My idea of perfect varies from woman to woman…I find beauty in just about every shape and size.” ^[7]

Pipe has also voiced his frustration about the treatment of women within the industry, criticizing many as being hurt by the “Jackassization,” (a term referring to the MTV show, "Jackass," which popularizes a group of individuals performing dangerous—and arguably, degrading—stunts for laughs and shock effect) of many of the industry’s most popular films. ^[10]

Following the outbreak of HIV among five actors (beginning with Darren James) in the spring of 2004, Pipe expressed his disappointment that the advent of the Internet had opened up the door for anyone to shoot, which can exclude those involved from being in safe, professional environments and circumstances. ^[3]. He did, however, commend the industry for avoiding replicating the mistakes of the previous outbreak in 1999 (where Tricia Devereaux and Brooke Ashley were blamed for “venturing outside the industry” until it was revealed that the infected "Patient X" was actually star Mark Wallice ^[3]) and for companies such as Platinum X covering the cost to continually test their talent.

[edit] Professional Relationships and Disputes

Pipe admits to sustaining several “professional crushes,” the most publicized of which has been contemporary starlet Aurora Snow. ^[11] More recently, he's referred to Shay Jordan as his 'next ex-Mrs. Rog' ^[4]. He also reveres former adult superstar Christy Canyon, who starred in many porn movies during the 80's, identified as his "first porn crush." He’s also expressed that his favorite stars of all-time are Kaitlyn Ashley and Tom Byron.

However, Pipe has also been at the heart of several controversies in the adult entertainment industry, including a public feud with director Skeeter Kerkove. Though the exact nature of the dispute has never been revealed, it is widely believed it resulted from Kerkove’s ex-wife, former adult actress and director Bridgette Kerkove, tossing a drink in Pipe’s face. ^[12] Although she later called Pipe and apologized for the incident, Kerkove has continued to deny Pipe’s version of events. ^[13]

The rivalry exploded in July of this year, when porn gossip columnist Gene Ross blogged about a conversation he had with Kerkove, who swore that Snow had told him she had slept with Pipe in a secret point of view pornography scene to get ahead in the industry and likewise contended that lesser-known actress Layla Jade had also shot a secret scene with Pipe. ^[13] Pipe responded to the allegations, stating “No such scene was ever shot. Come on....if I had shot that, everyone would know about it. I would be showing everyone on the freaking planet. That isn't the sort of thing you hide from.” ^[14]

Although Snow and Jade have remained silent on the issue publicly, adult film star and director Jay Ashley (who also happens to be Snow’s boyfriend) defended Pipe and Snow against Kerkove’s statements, insisting that Snow has “earned everything she got,” and that the story of a secret scene between Pipe and Snow has no credibility or substance. ^[15]

Kerkove attempted to further fan the flames by shooting a scene in October specifically ‘dedicated’ to Pipe. ^[16] The homage is in tribute to a review Pipe had written for the movie “Triple Threat,” in which he characterized two characters having sex on a barstool as coming from “a page in the Jules Jordan handbook” ^[17] . Kerkove and “Triple Threat” director Otto Bauer (during the Aurora Snow controversy) each expressed their resentment of his critique, despite the fact the review had been posted over two years earlier. ^[13]. The argument was resurrected again with another tangent directed at Pipe, but has since died down. ^[18]

However, at the 2008 Adult Entertainment Expo, according to Pipe's website, he and Bauer had a chance to bury the hatchet. ^[19] Pipe wrote on his website:

As some of you may recall, Otto had a few words for me on Gene’s site last summer. I didn’t comment much at the time because I’ve never met Otto and certainly have nothing against him. Since that I time I had been looking forward to a face to face. I introduced myself and asked Otto for one minute to set the record straight. He granted me that minute, listened as explained to him that some of the things he was told I said did not come from me. Otto listened to me, shook my hand and said “I don’t have a problem with anything you have said. I have a problem with things you didn’t say. So we have no problem.” We talked for a few minutes about the review in question, the way things get fucked up and agreed that from now on, we have no been and that both of us would talk to rather than about one another. I couldn’t have been happier with how things went.

Pipe has also had some public exchanges regarding former adult film superstar, Asia Carrera ^[7] However, when Carrera’s husband, nutritionist and author Don Lemmon, died in a car crash in June of 2006, Pipe solicited his readers for financial and emotional support for the grieving Carrera ^[19]