Over this month we will bring you a variety of pics over the last 9 years of UNB. Our shoots have matured and we have learned a lot doing them. A lot of these pictures are personal favorites and some have stories behind them. This was a shoot we did in Birmingham in December of 2012. I had oral surgery the day before and couldn’t eat. But it was the first time we shot David and Josh. This is one of my favorite pics of the day. David wearing N2N Air trunk.

I hope you enjoy this look back at UNB and some of the behind the scenes stories we will tell.

This is a picture we did with Ignacio Rivera Jr. featuring Josh in Clever. This was the second shoot we did with josh. We did three total over the years with him!

UNB is 9 Today! It’s been a roller coaster ride over the past nine years. There have been ups and downs, like most things in life. But, I tend to remember the good things that have happened. UNB was formed a little before now, but it wasn’t UNB. I had a personal blog that I posted underwear stuff on. Then on October 5th, 2008 I registered the domain! And the rest is history!

Here are some things that have been the highlights of UNB

• Friends – Have made so many friends in the men’s underwear industry. They range from brands, retailers, readers and current/former staff members. I have surrounded myself with good people, and I hope it shows. The men’s underwear industry is an amazing group of people.
• Straight guys – When I launched UNB 9 years ago I kept things very middle of the road. I always hoped that straight guys would read the blog and fall in love with undies as I had so many years ago. Well, not only did this happen but it happened way bigger than I thought it would. Our staff has a majority of straight guys. Our past asst. editor and also our current one is straight (the current is ThongedGinger).
• Travel/Las Vegas – I love to travel, and since 2010 I have fallen in love and gotten to know Las Vegas. The current situation makes me very sad because I know the area very well. My thoughts go out to the family of those killed an injured. I won’t get political, but if you’re on my personal Facebook you know… I also have traveled to Los Angeles and other places to meet with brands and men’s underwear people.
• Steve Grand – Our interview with him has been the biggest post we have ever done. It got picked up by so many media outlets because he addressed the swim briefs directly. We haven’t had much follow up with him since the interview. We intended to show a public figure not afraid to wear them and get other guys to wear them. I don’t think he or we thought it would get so big. We still love Steve and hope he’ll do a follow-up interview with us. Right after the interview, he wanted to be known for talent and not swim briefs. Now he’s embraced it and still looks awesome in a swim brief.
• Underwear/Swimwear – being exposed to so many underwear companies I would never have known about if I didn’t run an underwear blog. This includes brands seeking us out and us working with them. There is such innovation in the market, and each year it keeps getting more creative.
• UNB Guys – Thanks to all the current and former UNB guys. We have had so many guys over the years. They all made UNB what it is today. Each of them left an impact on the site and me. Many of the former guys I”m still in touch with and still friends with. I hope we grow this family more!
• Readers – All this would be nothing if it wasn’t for our steady readers.  We have improved over the years and grown. If you look at our archives, you will see. Many of you have been with us since the beginning. The best one was the ThongedGinger read UNB in High School! He still gives me grief about some of the mess ups in the early days! I hope you guys keep reading and supporting us. I have no plans of stopping UNB anytime soon. We have been offered to be bought out, but I have always turned them down due to the love I have for the industry. Sometimes I get burned out, but I come back stronger than ever.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to UNB. This includes brands, retailers, staff, readers and the loved ones who always humor our underwear love! Here’s to 9 more years.

Do you love seeing new photo shoots every month? Maybe even some awesome underwear related videos? Such as one where we interview guys on the beach wearing swim thongs? Interviewing guys who have never worn great underwear? Are photos your favorite. We have the opportunity to have monthly shoots with photographer Armando Adajar. But all these things cost money.

We have had a Patreon we have shared a few times but this time we have a few new goals. First, we have expanded our video reviews. This is the first step in expanding our videos. We will have them on a regular basis featuring Martin and his husband Andrew! In order to continue our video and photography, we need your help. If we reach our goals we can have Martin make more videos for us!

Here are our goals

• Reach $70 a month cover back up and operating the costs of the blog for one month
• Reach $150 a month and we will let our readers pick one pair to review a month. Could be any pair you guys want! From any brand in the world
• Reach $1,000 a month and have a monthly shoot with Armando Adajar. Patreon members get exclusive behind the scenes and preview of the shoot.
• Reach $1,500 a month and our Patreon members pick the underwear, topic or guest stars of the video. Patreon members will get behind the scenes pictures and advance view of the video

Plus we will have exclusive rewards at different levels. All members get to joining our Patreon Slack group. Where you get to talk with other members and writers/editorial members. We have had some great discussion over the last year. This includes topic ideas we are thinking about posting!

Become a Patron!

Why should you join our Patreon?

• You love underwear and want to join a community of other like minded guys who are gay/straight/bi.
• Get to see exclusive pictures before  regular readers of UNB
• Exclusive behind the scenes content of shoots and videos as they are being shot/filmed
• Ability to influence content on UNB with discussions with guys who run the site
• Have us review the exact pair you want to know about before you buy.

To join today for as little as $1 a month.

Become a Patron!

Who wants to see more video reviews? We shot some new pics with our two reviewers! We want to know who has been enjoying the reviews? Let us know. Photo by Taylor Campbell.

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.