Where Are They Now: Derrick Hanson on His Unlikely Path to Porn, His Passion for Sex Work, & His New Life Abroad

How do you measure a Porn Star? By inches (of course...), by Twitter followers, by the number of movies they've made or awards they've won. All these are great indicators of how popular a star is, but what most establishes a unique presence in this business is longevity. Most performers come on the scene and leave within a span of under five years. But then there are a select few whose presence lasts for many years and across a variety of studios and genres.

One such legend is Derrick Hanson. With his killer smile, buff bod, and simultaneously sweet & dirty persona, Derrick was a performer from the late 1990s to the 2010s, who worked for all the lead studios and directors.

He joined us for an interview to reflect on his time in business and to update us on where he is now.

Could you share with us your journey from first joining the industry to becoming a star? 
I worked in porn for over 15 years.  And as a sex worker for even longer, over 20 years... I had a very unique experience. I never sought out working in porn. I never contacted any studios. I never sent in any pictures. I never auditioned for anything. To be perfectly honest, how it happened was that I was literally crossing the street one day in San Francisco at the corner of Market and Castro Street, and was stopped in the middle of the street by a man that gave me his card and asked me if I wanted to be in videos. I kind of laughed it off but I kept the card. A few months later, I needed a little bit of money, so I called him up to find out more about it. He worked for a VERY small studio, Defiant Studios, which focused on straight skater guys. Which I am absolutely not… LOL. But I figured what the hell—I would do just this one video because it was such a small distribution and such a small company that I figured very few people would ever even see it…plus I needed the money. So, I did it and it was actually pretty fun. After that first video though, I had to really ask myself whether or not I wanted to pursue this. It seemed to me that anybody who was going to judge me for being in the adult film industry would already judge me for doing even one video just the same as doing 100. So, I decided since I'd already done one, why not do more because the studio kept calling and asking me repeatedly to do more and more videos. Then, one day a few years later, I got emails on this same day from both Chi Chi LaRue and Michael Brandon both asking me if I wanted to be in videos. They had seen my profile on BigMuscle.com. I was shocked and kind of felt like it was a sign with these two huge porn moguls contacting me on the same day,  so I said yes. I went and I met with Michael Brandon at Raging Stallion Studios and did my first big movie. After that, I worked with Chi Chi LaRue. Then from there, I don't even know exactly how it happened, but Titan Studios called me and Michael Lucas Entertainment called me. Studio after studio after studio just started contacting me out of the blue asking me to do movies. I just felt as long as they keep contacting me, I wasn't going to say no. It was a very unique opportunity, and I am so very grateful for it. There are SO many guys out there that really want to do porn They aspire to do it, which is great and all, but for me, it just fell into my lap. I'm so appreciative of that as well. It has been a very big part of my life, and I'm so glad I was given this opportunity to experience and enjoy that world for as long as I did. As soon as I started doing movies, I also started being nominated for awards. The first year I worked, I was nominated for Best Newcomer at the GAYVNs. I was absolutely not expecting that! From thereafter, for the next maybe eight years or so, I was nominated for multiple things at all the award shows every year. I won a handful of them, but it was always such a surprise and shock to be recognized by my peers in our industry!

Could you tell us about the culture at the legendary Lucas Entertainment?
This is a funny question. I'm not really sure how to answer it either. I was lucky enough to be in many Lucas Entertainment films. All I'm gonna say is that I have always been very fond of Michael Lucas. He has always treated me with respect, been super nice to me, and was a pleasure to work for. I'm retired, so I'm not “just saying” that either... He has this reputation of being such a bad guy, which I think he ultimately loves, but that's not the Michael I know. Working for his studio was an honor.

What was your favorite scene and why? 
I'm not sure I have a “favorite” scene. I lost count of how many there even are. But I know there are over 200 scenes out there. I think my experience is unique in the fact that I really enjoyed working in this industry. In those 15 years, I think maybe there was only a small handful of times that were “less enjoyable”. I wouldn't even go as far as to call them “bad”, but just maybe "not fun.” If I HAD to pick one scene, I guess the one that comes to mind is one I did for Dark Alley Media near the end of my career. I'm not sure the official name of it, but I think it was something like “Folsom Foursome”. It was filmed by Nick Moretti, who I love and is an old friend of mine. I think I enjoyed it so much because it just felt very natural. All four of us performers got along really well. It was a very fun day. I love working with Nick. The end result turned out really, really well. I think it was the most-watched video on Dark Alley’s website for like two years. It's a very hot scene. But what was great about it was that we all had worked in this industry for a while, so it was just really easy and felt natural and everyone did a great job!

Who were some of your favorite fellow performers and why? Still in touch with any? 
There are a lot! As I said before, I really enjoyed almost all of the movies I made. It was such a great and fun experience. I think I really got along with almost everyone I worked with. I do have to admit though that I did have a fanboy crush on Chad hunt. And I even requested to work with him and was finally able to in a Michael Lucas film Fire Island Cruising 7 (or 8). I had had a little crush on him for years and surprisingly NOT because of his big dick. I just liked his handsome face. Anyway, we finally met and we really hit it off! And yes, we still talk quite often today. He's a very beautiful man, inside and out! I have to say I was also super close with Michael Brandon from Raging Stallion Studios. We never filmed a scene together, but he was kind of like a “father” figure to me for many, many years. I called him “porn daddy.” Unfortunately, we've lost touch over the past few years, but I am really so incredibly thankful for the relationship that we had for so long! Surprisingly, I'm in touch with a lot of the guys from back then. I think we held a very unique brief moment in time in the adult film industry. We will always have that in common. So, I'm very thankful that I have been able to stay in touch and in contact with so many of them. They're like brothers to me… in this big family of gay porn.

Anybody you didn't work with, but wish you had?
This one is easy! I met everyone I wanted to meet in gay porn EXCEPT for one person! The man who is actually my namesake: Eric Hanson. In the first video I did, they asked me what name I wanted to be called, and I really didn't know. I hadn’t ever given it much thought since I hadn’t sought out doing porn. So, I just thought to myself, who are some of my favorite porn stars? At the time, Eric Hanson was number 1! He was “prince charming” in my opinion… So that's where I came up with the name Derrick Hanson. I felt like I could be his little brother in some way. I had that hope that maybe one day we could do a hot brother scene together or something. Unfortunately, he retired the year I started. So I never ever got to meet him. I did talk to him on the phone once, and he was very nice. But he is by far the one person in gay porn that I wanted to meet and never did. Of ALL time though, I would say Al Parker, but that was way before my time. Al is definitely one of my all-time favorites and it would have been such an honor to meet him.

How do you look back on your time in the business?
I am so grateful and appreciative when I look back at my time in porn. I had so much fun! They were definitely some of the very best years of my life so far. I got to meet so many wonderful people. Got paid to travel and go to parties. I was recognized just about anywhere I went for many years. I love sex work in the sense that it helps others. This is why all of my other work has been in counseling and therapy. I just want to help others in this life. My sex work was so rewarding because I was able to do that on such a personable and intimate level with so many men. And I was happy to be that person for them. I loved being a sex worker. I wouldn’t change that path for myself even if I could. Sex is such a universal interaction and human need; I’m honored that I was was given the opportunity to be a part of that for people around the globe for as many years as I was.

How are you today? Where are you at in your career and in life?
Today, I am the greatest I think I’ve ever been! Like everyone, I have absolutely had my downs and ups throughout this life, but I’m absolutely in one of the best times of my life right now. I worked in San Francisco for over 12 years as a harm reduction and sexual health counselor at both the one and only clinic in the United States specifically for sex workers and also for the city of San Francisco at their primary sexual health clinic, SF City Clinic. I worked at both of these prestigious and wonderful organizations for many years as a counselor. However, as I’ve gotten older, the more independence I've wanted. I decided to turn my world upside down and go back to school and get another master’s degree. I figured if I was going to do this and “turn my world upside down”…. Why not turn my world upside down LITERALLY?! I found an American Master’s program in Athens, Greece, and moved to Europe in January 2021. This past year, I have been living abroad and focusing on my advanced studies. I love studying abroad because not only is it less expensive, my degrees will count in both the United States and also anywhere in the EU. I’m over halfway down with the program and I have really been excelling in my program. My years of counseling experience give me a major upper hand in the program. Plus, my life experiences in porn and sex work have led to my decision to write my thesis on the effects long-term sex work has on intimate relationships. I’m going to focus on fellow colleagues that worked in the industry longer than 10 years and ask questions about their personal relationships both during and after their time in porn/sex work. I feel like I am at such a wonderful privilege to shine some light on this often neglected and overlooked unique population. I’m extremely excited to see what this study will produce. In the meantime, I have been traveling all around Europe, the Greek Islands, and the Balkan States. My future is so extremely bright and I will always be so thankful for the unique mindset that I have to offer the LGBTQ+ community from my years and years servicing them both as a sex worker and a porn “star.” My friends and close relationships call me a porn success story—which is flattering, but at the same time, I have absolutely and unfortunately known so many others in this industry that their lives were cut short in part due to their involvement in this industry. I myself should have died multiple times over the course of my involvement in sex work. This might be a question for further exploration later.

Do you follow the industry today? Do any of today's performers impress you?
No. I don’t even watch porn anymore. I have absolutely zero ideas about anyone working these days except for some of the guys from way back when that are still active. The whole industry has changed. From what I can tell, it’s not at all like how it was back when I was working. I’m in no position to comment on whether it’s changed for the better or worse because I just don’t know what it’s even really like now. What I can say is that I am really glad I worked in it at the time I did. I feel like it was a really unique and strong moment for porn. Others may disagree, but I loved the big porn studios. Entire porn movies, not just random scenes. I feel like from maybe from 1998 to around 2012 or so, gay porn was in its professional prime. It was profitable for everyone. Porn actors were in some ways “gay celebrities.” After the industry started turning away from the big studio, big production movies, and more towards amateur porn and personal uploaded clips, it all changed.

Would you ever consider a comeback?
No. I enjoyed my time in it, but I’ve moved on and now I’m enjoying my time doing other things. My focus now is on finishing up this master's program and then starting my own private psychotherapy practice. Porn was really great, but it is NEVER a lifelong “career." I’m so glad I was able to enjoy it when I did, and even more grateful that I have also successfully moved on.

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