Just this week a brand that we have covered announced they are closing. Underweardude pointed out in a private chat that JM announced it was closing. I was like WHAT? This year has seen some major changes in the world of men’s underwear. It’s been an odd year. This just compounds onto the year.

I have been doing UNB for almost 9 years. In that time I have worked with hundreds of blogs and have ones that I have gotten to know. Working closely with them over this time I consider them friends and not just people I work with on the blog. This may seem odd but, but the men’s underwear industry is a rather close knit market. Everyone knows everyone and for the most part get along.

At Magic you can see a lot the brands in Underwear Alley, get together between appoints and talk. Not necessarily about underwear but just be friendly. This is one thing I love about this industry. At these shows relationships are built and strengthened.

Every year brands come and go. I have a running list of brands that have ceased production. This year seems to be a lot more brands either closing or selling to someone else. Here are some of the brands that I will personally miss working with the owners/designers.

• Blue Collar Underwear – I am not sure when exactly they went out of business. I kept getting bounce back emails and then their site was gone!
• Pistol Pete – They are still around but long time owners Sami & Peter sold the brand. After 20 years they felt it was time to move on.
• JM – They have been around longer than UNB. I used to talk to them at Magic. We should have done more with them.

There are a few other brands that I have talked to that are weighing options. I was a little down but then I talked to Hashtag Hooker this week. When talking to the CEO/Creative Director Andreu, I realized that the community will continue with new brands. And that change can be a good thing in the long run. But, let’s face it we all hate change, especially if our favorite underwear company closes it’s doors.

If you have a favorite brand show them support. Give great reviews of their pairs of underwear on their site or Amazon. Interact with them on social media, you may score some goodies! Join their email list so you know what they are doing. Lastly, buy from them! Especially through their own site.

This is not to be a post of chicken little saying the men’s underwear industry sky is falling. Just a lot of this news has knocked me off my game. I realize that I can’t hold on to the past and must embrace the new changes and brands. UNB will carry on and keep sharing great underwear and gear!

It’s the start of swimwear season. Memorial day is the “official” swimwear start of the summer. It’s time to make sure you have a few pairs of swimwear for the summer. Don’t rely just on one pair to last the entire summer. One pair that is for the more adventurous is the Cocksox Sheer Swim Brief in the Prism print.

I hear many of you going, wait a minute, you said sheer in swimwear? That’s right, this is a mesh pair of swimwear. It’s noted that Cocksox says the pair is more see through than the pictures show. We have shot this pair in our swimwear guide and I didn’t see anything I wasn’t supposed too.

This pair is a show off pair because of two things. The first we mentioned is the mesh fabric. Which you may show off quite a bit. The second is the pair has the original pouch. Over the last few years, Cocksox has made some more mainstream swim without the bulge. This one has the awesome pouch that will show off all you have!

Cocksox is becoming a brand that is really embracing prints in swimwear. They aren’t the typical tropical prints. They are geometric and fun prints. I really love them and think they are making statement pieces for the beach. It’s amazing to see what they come up with. Plus they are willing to take risks and do new and interesting things. They continually produce swim thongs and made swimwear out of neoprene.

If you are looking for something bright and fun, the Prism swim brief is definitely for you. I wouldn’t recommend this as your first pair unless you’re super confident in who you are and are willing to have everything on display. Also, we would recommend this for a private pool or nude beach. You could get into trouble on a public beach or lake. But, that’s up to you if you want to dare that. I hope you check this pair out.

The Prism swim brief is available for $42 at the Cocksox site. Made out of 75% Polyester 25% Elastane. Made in sizes small – X-Large

Where do you guys shop? I wanted to give a quick look at more of the UNB Reader Survey. The results are in line with previous years. More of you guys shop online than in person. There can be two reasons for that. The first is that you don’t have any good places to buy underwear. The second is you may not feel comfortable buying a thong in a regular store. But if you are the second, most people working the stores don’t care, they have seen it all.

Here are your favorite stores to shop!

1. Online stores – 78% of you guys shop at online stores
2. Official Brand sites – 66% shop brand sites
3. Online Discount sites – 36%
4. Department Stores – 35%
5. Underwear Specialty Stores – 32%
6. Closeout Stores – 23%
7. Discount stores – 14%

One thing that will be interesting to see is how many of you guys shop Amazon. That will be added next year. The official sites seemed higher to me than I thought you guys would shop, but it shows most of you guys prefer to shop online!

We will have more very soon from our survey. But these are like a sneak peek into your fellow readers underwear drawers!

Today is Jockstrap Wednesday. They day we celebrate jocks of all kinds and varieties. You can wear them to work, the gym or just around the house. For some time, I have been hearing fewer guys wearing jocks. In 2009 was the Year of the Jock on UNB. It was the first really big year of fashion jocks. That year EVERYONE had jocks. We were leaving behind the classic and entering a new phase.

Since 2009 more guys have turned to thongs. A few straight guys said their wives/girlfriends preferred them in a thong over a jock. This struck me as odd but not everything that some women won’t make sense to me. Other guys didn’t want the flashback to the middle school gym.

I think jocks are an acquired taste. Meaning they take some time to get used too. The first few pairs I had, drove me crazy. They would bind and there was no way I could wear them all day. The few times I did chance to wear them all day, I regretted it by noon. But over the years I became used to the design and fit. Now I don’t even pay attention to jocks when I wear them.

Now in 2017, I have been hearing guys wearing jocks. It’s not a large number of guys talking. However, it is in areas of guys who haven’t worn them before. Some of the younger guys and in the straight market. These two groups aren’t in the target market of most jocks. The younger guys are wearing them to work out. It’s like discovering something old is new again. While the straight guys are finding the fashion jocks. It’s another way to express themselves.

Will this be the next big thing in underwear? I’m not too sure it’s going to take off but I think there will be a new group that discovers jocks. It could grow or still remain a small number. Only time will tell.