I thought that you guys want to know what goes into doing a shoot for the blog. Kinda like seeing how the sausage is made, to borrow a phrase. We normally shoot in either Atlanta, GA or Birmingham, AL. Birmingham may seem an odd choice but we have found some of our best models there. They include Chandler, Nate, Nathan, Mike, Josh, and the list goes on and on. And our current photographer, Taylor Campbell lives there as well. So it makes it just easy to drive the 2 hours to Bham!

The Shoot starts about two months out. I send the first emails to brands to see who is interested in participating. I take reservations and as we gain brands this will gauge how many models we have had. I think the most models we had for any shoot was 5. In the early days of the site, we would book 5 in the hopes of 2-3 actually showing up. Now, we try to work with regular guys for shoots. I also try to rotate guys so we don’t have the same guys in every shoot. That’s why you see some guys a few times. Plus, these are guys I really love working with at shoots.

After the models are booked, I get back with brands and send in sizes for pairs for the shoot. Those usually come in about 2-3 weeks before the shoot. After we have everything I create a master shoot list. It used to have pics and price and be really detailed. Now it’s an Excel spreadsheet that has the brand, pair, color, link and price. When I work with models I don’t want there to be any surprises. They know exactly what we are shooting.

This current shoot we did on a Sunday. Some shoots I drive over early in the morning, do the shoot, get lunch and head home. Since this was a Sunday, I got a great deal on a hotel and drove over the night before. I used this time to cut all the tags off the swimwear and group them by brand. this is so we can get started.

Call time was 9 AM, but we rarely start on time for various reasons. It could be traffic, late people or sometimes it was me not being prepared. The models usually do some simple workout to get pumped and we start. This shoot we started closer to 10 AM. Having 16 pairs to shoot, it was about an hour. Gone are the days where we have over 40 pairs to shoot. We try to keep it under 20-25 at the most.

The location was one that should look familiar. We shot there in our 2014 and it’s the home of Martin & Andrew. Our two video reviewers. In some of the video, you can see Andrew in the background. They have a great pool that we love to shoot our swimwear shoot. We luckily missed the rain. About one hour after I ran into rain on the way home!

The three brands in the shoot are JOR, Cocksox, and L’Homme Invisible. We have worked many times with the first brand but L’Homme invisible was new. The models are Jacob (you have seen in the Christmas shoot) and Casey (who is brand new but so much fun to work with). There was lots of diving, I found out Casey was a diver in college and it showed. Lastly, there is even a Unicorn in the shoot!

After we are done the models get to keep whatever they modeled. Unless it’s a sample to send back to a brand. Those are pretty rare lately. This was the first shoot I didn’t have to take any extra suits home! The guide will be out very soon but this is a behind the scenes here at UNB!

I was going through my news app and came across something interesting. The BBC reported that tight swimwear, aka swim briefs, is the most hated piece of clothing in the UK. It ranks above leather pants and Crocs. It got me thinking if this was a wider issue in the US and rest of the world?

Every year we do our Swim Brief Challenge, to have guys wear swim briefs where they feel comfortable. It could be a private sun deck, private pool, public lake or beach. It’s about easing into it with your comfort level and building on it. I have worn swim briefs since I was 18, both in private and public. I love the fit and feel of them and prefer them as swimwear over board shorts. More of our readers gay/bi/straight are starting to wear them as well.

My biggest concern about the article was, “are guys wearing the correct size?” If you’re into underwear/swimwear you know sizing varies per manufacturer. If you wear a size too small it feels like your manhood is in a vice and being squeezed to death. If too big it offers no support and can be baggy. Also, different body types look better in different designs. For example, I’m a bigger guy and a 3-inch side swim brief fits better and looks better. If you’re a muscle guy, going for a 1-inch side can look great. It depends on your body composition and comfort level.

Outside of us underwear guys, very few guys talk about underwear and swimwear. If you have fallen into the trap of wearing the wrong size or not knowing about different sizing, you don’t have anyone to ask advice to about the gear. We need to be more open about gear and talk. It’s a process I have been advocating for over 10 years!

I”m curious as to what you guys think about this article? Why do you think it’s the most hated clothing in the UK? What can be done to change the image of the swim brief? Both for the US and UK. You guys are pretty smart and always bring up great points.

Read the BBC Tight Swimwear article

It’s time for Underwear Deals! If you missed some of the Memorial Day sales, never fear, Baskit is here to help you expand your underwear drawer. This weeks $12 Tuesday pair is the Luxe Boxer Brief. You can get the classic colors or add some fun into your underwear drawer. Remember its only on sale for one day.