This is an odd post for me to write. All my life I have worn swim briefs and not given them a second thought. I am not a “bigger guy” and occasionally wear them and it’s not a big deal to me. It’s usually in a place that its friendly for all guys to wear them. Not just the muscle guy. And no one really cares either! However, I’m joining a gym and doing some lower impact exercising. This is due to feet issues that hopefully will be cured!

I initially thought of swimming. I love to swim and used to be on a masters team years ago. I sat down and was planning everything I need to get back into the pool. When the swim brief came up I was like NO. Being in a friendly place or pool is one thing in a gym, It didn’t send me into a panic but more dread. I started to look at Jammers. You know those bike short looking ones that Olympic swimmers wear. But, the highest they went up too is a 38-inch waist. Right now I’m a 42-inch waist and want to get down to a 36-inch waist. So I found Jeffrey Scott who makes custom Meggings and he will make me a jammer style suit.

I had to sit down and think why would I wear a swim brief at a “gay pool” or friends but not to a gym. I mean here I sit preaching guys should wear them and I”m bailing on the notion. It has a lot to do with body image. Which can be a bitch. We all have our issues with it. No matter if we are a bear or a bodybuilder. At times we aren’t happy. I am planning to make changes and live a better life. UNB has always been my “safe” place where I feel most comfortable. We are a group of amazing guys that span ages, sexual orientations, and races. We support each other and I have met some of the most amazing people from UNB.

This safe place for me doesn’t carry over to a gym. It’s a foreign territory to me. I haven’t worked out in over 10 years. The reason it’s not a safe place is I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s intimidating to just walk in and not know what to do and get into a routine. Once I am in it, I’m good. We have to start with what we are comfortable with and push the boundaries when getting comfortable. That is my plan.

My goal is to get back into a swim brief to swim laps. I prefer them swimming laps for exercise. Board shorts or regular shorts suck. I will keep you posted on my journey. I just needed a bit of therapy and share this with you guys. I try to be 100% honest with you guys. So know, even I have issues wearing a swim brief. How do you guys overcome body image issues?

I know we all want a deal on underwear. Buying brand name undies isn’t cheap. Most pairs of underwear retail around $25 bucks. If you’re like me and on a budget at times, you limit what you buy and stick to things you know you will like. Over the last few years, sites have popped up that let you buy what seem to be brand name undies at rock bottom prices. I’m not talking sites like Cheapundies.com that offer closeouts. Sites that are based outside of the US and offer “look a like undies

At first look, these sites look like a great deal. They have the same pictures as the top tier men’s underwear brands. They must be the company that is making the top tier’s undies, right? No, usually they are not. They take the design and make the underwear with lesser quality materials and construction. You only get a few wearings of these pairs before they loose their shape or the stitching falls out.

There are things, if you’re buying these pairs you should know:

• These are not seconds or irregular undies from the brand name.
• The pairs are not always made up the same quality as the name brand.
• Brands like Andrew Christian will list sellers that are making lower grade copies of their underwear.
• The pictures that are used from the brand name undies, does not feature the pair being bought.
• Fabrics and Materials are usually not the top quality

If you’re going to buy these undies I wanted to pass along this information. Yes, there are some pairs on the sites that are good. It takes a lot of searching to find them. I prefer underwear that lasts. If you want to get into underwear on a budget I would suggest Cheapundies.com to start and clearance sales. Unless you’re going out with another big underwear fan, very few know you bought a style from last season! But in the meantime Buyer Beware!

As I said before I’m venturing back in the dating world. And no there have been no dates as of yet. There are a few guys that I have an interest in but nothing firm set. I am taking my time and letting things happen. Which I think is the most important. I am one of the few single guys on the site. The only other one that comes to mind is Undiesdude! Everyone else is married or dating.

We have two great brief talks coming up. One with UNB Mike talking the differences between gay and straight dating. Which I don’t think there is much of a difference in undies and dating, but we shall see. Then we have another great talk with one of the of our favorite guys on Twitter. I won’t say who it is just yet but he’s known for his honesty and love of undies. Plus, he’s written a few things on UNB. We will talk on the gay side of things!

The point of these talks is to address some of the issues guys face when they share their love of undies with someone they are dating. This will include those who are fans of underwear and those who are not. I have heard so many stories over the years, not just from straight guys, but from gay ones too. Their significant other either make snide comments about their underwear or laughs at them.

If this was to happen to me, the ride is over! I wear what I want to feel good about myself. If someone can’t accept that then I don’t need to be with them. I’m not saying they have to like everything I wear but if I put on a thong, singlet, or bikini. I expect them to be open to the styles. And not stop the moment with negativity. UNB has always been about positivity in men’s underwear and swimwear.

Just know UNB has your back and your love of what you want to wear. When you want to wear it! The Brief talks will be out in a few weeks. Stay tuned. I will be running a poll with both of them to ask you guys some questions.

We love asking you guys poll questions and then sharing the results. The last poll was what did you wear last summer as swimwear. You guys told us and here are the results;

I”m super excited the swim brief was the style most worn. And that board shorts were down to the bottom! We may not be in the swim brief friendly place but more guys are wearing them. Then we asked did you wear a swim brief or thong for the first time.

I was not expecting such a large number of you would have tried swim thongs! More and more guys are wanting to wear these to the beach or pools. Many have skipped the brief and gone straight to the thong.  We asked guys what made them wear these styles for the first time. Here is what you guys told us.

• To get the best possible tan and I figured I earned it working out so much. No one judges and people have been wearing them for a long time.
• Don’t mind what others think. Wear what I like to wear.
• Reduced tan line
• Sexiness of the brief
• I was in the Caribbean, so it made it easier to get away with wearing a thong.
• Decided to take the plunge
• I always wanted to wear a swim thong, but never had the place to do it. I wore one to a secluded beach and in my back yard, so freeing. Hope to do it more again soon.
• Because it’s great. Big shorts are unnecessary. The sun, breeze, etc feels great why not expose as much skin as possible. Hopefully, I will get to wear a thong or be nude outdoors next summer
• Love how they look and feel in me and other men
• I finally built up the courage… I have worn thongs as underwear for years but was always nervous to in public. I was wearing a Joe Snyder thong which is also swimwear
• I have worn thong underwear for a while and decided to finally give a swim thong a try

Thanks for sharing guys. We hope this will get more of you to wear a brief or thong!