Decoder Ring | “Videomate: Men” (Encore)

Dec 3, 2025

Steve Dorman, creator of the 1980s VideoMate project, and Joe Pickett, co-creator of the Found Footage Festival, dive into the quirky world of video dating. They reminisce about Videomate: Men, a VHS tape where men auditioned as potential dates. The duo reflects on how they rediscovered and shared this nostalgic content online, sparking a viral sensation. They also discuss the cultural impact of video dating and how modern interpretations struggle with the vulnerabilities that video demands, revealing profound insights on love and self-expression.

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ANECDOTE

Found Footage Rescues Videomate

Joe Pickett and Nick Pruer found and uploaded VideoMate, turning a 90-minute VHS relic into a viral clip.
Their edit made Videomate Men widely seen and preserved the tape for cultural study.

ANECDOTE

Creator's Hands-On Auditions

Steve Dorman created VideoMate after running large ads and auditioning hundreds of people for the tapes.
He filmed each participant himself, aiming for direct-to-camera pitches that balanced sincerity and entertainment.

INSIGHT

Commitment Was The Matchmaker

Great Expectations invented video dating and treated it like an exclusive membership to reduce stigma.
Its high cost and staff curation created commitment that helped produce successful matches.

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Videomate: Men was a VHS tape released in 1987 featuring 60 single men pitching themselves as dates to women on the other side of the TV screen: “The love of your life could be on your TV tonight!” the box reads. In retrospect, Videomate: Men is a bizarre and hilarious time capsule, but at the time it was one of many manifestations of what was known as video dating. To find out how anyone thought this was a good idea, Decoder Ring examines the weird and forgotten world of video dating in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s to find out why video dating once seemed like the future—and if that future is still yet to come.

On this episode, originally released in 2019, we talk to the creators of the Found Footage Fest, VHS collectors who unleashed Videomate on the internet; ask the creators of video dating services like Videomate’s Steve Dworman and Great Expectations’ Jeffrey Ullman what they were thinking; and talk to participants who used these services but not necessarily in the way that was intended. We’ll also discuss the future of video dating with Coffee Meets Bagel co-founder Dawoon Kang and former host of The Longest Shortest Time Andrea Silenzi.

This episode was written by Willa Paskin and was produced and edited by Benjamin Frisch. We had research assistance from Cleo Levin. Decoder Ring is produced by Katie Shepherd, Max Freedman, and Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com, or leave a message on the Decoder Ring hotline at 347-460-7281. We love to hear any and all of your ideas for the show.

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