You may know the brand MWearNYC, but did you know the master mind behind the amazing underwear brand also helps design costumes for Broadway Bares? If you are unfamilar with the show it’s that broadway performers put on to raise money for Broadway Cares, Equity Fights Aids.

Matthew says this about the fundraising:

Broadway Bares, now in it’s 28th year, is the largest annual fundraiser produced by and benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. It’s a large scale burlesque strip show made up of 200 of Broadway’s hottest dancers, designers and choreographers who all volunteer their time and talents to produce this one night, 2 performance event that raised $1.9 million last year alone.

The money we raise will help provide lifesaving medications, nutritious meals, health care, counseling, emergency financial assistance and so much more to men, women and children in all 50 states living with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses.

Broadway Cares also is the single largest financial supporter of the essential social service programs of The Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative and the Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts.

I have been apart of this organization and event for the past 7 years as a costume designer. This year I am designing the costumes for the sexy sailors in the Battleship number for Broadway Bares: Game Night! Wanna Play?

Donate to Matthews page now! Let’s get him well above his goal!

I was having a text convo with a friend who loves gear as much as I do. We have been friends for about 12 years. We were both saying that we are both starting a work out schedule to look better in our gear. We are both over 6’2″ and considered beefy. That is over 36 inch waists. Our pics and such feature guys who work out and should have no issues rocking a swim brief on the beach. Rarely does it seem guys over 36 inch waists are encouraged to wear a swim brief!

I think beefy guys look awesome in swim briefs. We as a group of guys should never rule them out because others think we don’t look good in them. I have talked to several guys over the years who feel they are being judged when going to a pool party and the muscle boys are in them and when they drop their shorts. The guys look over their sunglasses and nod no and look away. Have I had this happen to me, I’m sure I have over the years. At times I didn’t give any fucks, other times it made me feel insecure.

Very few reading this blog could walk out in front of a camera and be considered an “underwear or swimwear” model. Most of us are average guys. And I’m sure most of us are happy being average. I have said many years ago that I will never have abs because I will never eat that good nor will I work out that long. My goal for health and my well being is a 36-inch waist. There will be no 3-4 hour work out sessions 6 days a week. I have work, the blog, and a social life.

I plan on wearing swim briefs this summer when possible this summer. Being stuck in Atlanta there aren’t many places to wear them. We aren’t near a major body of water and private pools are few and far between. I hope more of you “beefy guys” will consider wearing them. I will continue to post my “body image” journeys here on the blog. I think it’s important to know that you are not alone in your concerns. It would be awesome if we could have a swim brief weekend somewhere with guys reluctant to wear them in public but get courage and confidence from others!

If you are a beefy guy and need courage, email me and I will def talk to you and share experiences. It’s about sticking together no matter if we are gay, straight, or bi. This blog is for all guys who love undies/swimwear/spandex and more. Note I don’t really have a picture to share of a beefy guy on the post.

We are about 400 followers away from 10K on Instagram! We run some behind the scenes and some stories that you can only see on Instagram. Some up coming will be from our Swimwear shoot that will be released soon. See some video you won’t see anywhere else. Go over to the UNB Instagram and follow us.

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