Giving you the whole banana, with Banana Swimwear

Tell us a little about your new brand Banana? What made you start a new swimwear company? Are there features you think Banana has over other brands?

Banana Company is a men’s bathing suit company that specializes in providing fun printed swim briefs and trunks. It was founded by me (Ryan) in anticipation to provide the US market and the rest of the world with some interesting brief designs that were never seen before.

I wanted to create a swimwear company purely since I thought there weren’t many US-made swim brief companies out there tapping into this market. I also wanted to have an enjoyable side project to let my graphic design juices flow and design some patterns for suits.

I think one thing that we offer that most brands do not are a wide range of sizes. Currently, our swim briefs range from 28in-44in. Most other companies stop at 40in or even smaller. Another great feature that other companies do not have is our uniquely designed Banana logo. I had designed this logo a while ago, wanting to use it for a cheeky company, what is more, perfect than a swimsuit company!

One thing that I LOVE is that your sizing isn’t just for the typical guy. You have larger sizes; what made you include these sizes?

Of course. Having a range allows more inclusivity, making any man proud to wear a brief. I wanted there to be a wide range of sizes so that any guy could shop at Banana. As I like to say, not all bananas are the same, so why only limit or define what the market has said in the past to be the “normal” or limited sized selection. Everyone deserves the chance to strut their banana in a brief. Whether that be a swim brief or regular underwear brief. Briefs bring out the sexy in anyone! Maybe that’s why my favorite underwear style is the brief, and it captures every man’s asset in the best ways.

I think swimwear should have solids and prints. I love the first collection of colors, and of course, you had to have a yellow. But what made you pick the prints you did for the first collection?

Thank you for the compliments. The prints were a mix of random and inspiration. I knew I wanted a split between solid colors and prints because not everyone wants to be as out there as the next guy. For the solids, I wanted the colors to be vibrant but also soft. Something that screamed beach and party time. The yellow is a great color on any skin tone; I love it too. For the pattern prints, I wanted these to be all different. From the colors to how the patterns make you feel when you wear one. The Tropical Palms was inspired by a warm summer day. The Weatherman was inspired by my boyfriend, who is a meteorologist. The Strawberry Swirls was inspired by my favorite ice cream, strawberry. And the Space Cakes were just random (lol).

Side story. The Space Cakes actually started with a different color scheme. It was originally a purple-blue color with orange cupcakes. But after seeing the sample print, it just looked like popcorn, nothing like cupcakes. So, I changed the colors and added a few other elements, and now it’s probably our most popular brief design yet.

Who is the guy who’s going to wear Banana swimwear? Who is your guy?

The man who loves to express himself and doesn’t care about how others feel about how he looks. Banana swimwear is really for anyone. While I am a gay man, and the brand tends to lean more marketed to gay men, anyone can wear our suits. And if you aren’t ready for a swim brief, we have swim trunks as well.

Hahaha, my guy is the man I have next to me now. Fun, enjoyable, and cute all around. What can I say, once you find the one you know.

What has been the reaction of your brand on social media and your first customers?

People have been loving the brand (not to brag). I have received many messages on Instagram from many different people asking about my suits, or about my brand, or just saying that they really like the name or company in general (and they haven’t even bought a suit yet!). My first customers are excited to get out there in the suits and rock them by the pool or on the beach. I haven’t received too much feedback from the first orders, but I am excited to see how things go once we get into warmer weather and the summer.