My First Trip to Vegas…

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas right?  Except that I want to make sure you all know how thong friendly Las Vegas is!  I recently stayed at The Flamingo resort on the Las Vegas strip, and it has got to be one of the most positive thong experiences I have ever had.  I stayed a week at the Flamingo and visited both of its swimming pools where I wore a thong without incident.

I started out in Vegas on a Sunday afternoon with my wife by visiting the beach club pool at the Flamingo.  The Beach Club pool is a “family” oriented pool only open to hotel guests.  Lounge chairs and cabanas that you can rent surround the pool.  There is also a bar on one end where you can buy whatever food and beverages you wish.  We found a couple of lounge chairs adjacent to the pool where we set up for the afternoon, spread out our towels, and laid out in the sun.  For the first day, I decided to go with a blue Joe Snyder Bulge Tanga.  I immediately drew the attention of a couple of older ladies who my wife told me were nudging each other and pointing at us.  I guess they’d never seen a man in a thong before.  They didn’t make a big fuss or show about it though and quickly went back to their own business.

I visited the same pool the next day by myself, as my wife was off with a friend that lives nearby.  I had a similar experience, and this time decided on the same Joe Snyder Bulge Tanga, except this time I wore a hot pink version.  I saw a mix of couples, both young and old, and also varying cultures present at the pool.  There seemed to be a lot of people visiting from other countries, which could have contributed to the lax attitude towards my choice of swimwear.  I didn’t see any other guys wearing thongs, but a few were in a speedo or square-cut styles.  There were a few of the women around the pool in cheeky and thong styles.  Everyone I spoke to was very friendly, and nobody seemed to mind me sunning and swimming in a thong suit.

I didn’t spend much time at the resort’s other pool, which was called the Go Pool.  It is an adult-themed pool centered around the typical Vegas Pool party atmosphere.  I did visit once for a couple of hours, and it was quite as expected, plenty of the younger crowd dancing and drinking to the house DJ.  It was a little more of a party than I was prepared for!  Not that I mind being around others in a thong, but I don’t drink, and didn’t care to be around that atmosphere all afternoon.  In the short couple of hours that I was there, I did spot a few guys in small square-cut suits and speedos, plenty of women wearing thong suits, but sadly no guys in thongs.  I was the only one.

During my stay in Vegas, I was able to thong a couple of hours each afternoon after I finished my work.  I wore a thong exclusively, got in and out of the water, and even wore my thong into the bathroom around other guys.  I didn’t hear one single snide comment and also made conversation with others around me by the pool each day.  I expect that if you decide to visit Las Vegas, you could run into other male thongers, and may even start a trend yourself if you are bold enough to wear one yourself.  Either way, know that male thongs are accepted, and you are not likely to be ridiculed for wearing one anywhere on the strip.  My advice is to do what makes you happy, be confident, and don’t succumb to the norm.  Be yourself, and if you visit Vegas and wear a thong, or you have in the past, drop a line in the comments and tell us about it!

So you buy what you think is the perfect pair. You early await it’s arrival, checking the shipping status multiple times a day. It arrives, you put on, and…something’s not right. Either the color is off, the fit isn’t quite working out, or the size isn’t what you thought it would be. Either way, in most cases you are out some serious cash. So what is there to do? If it was a shirt or a pair of shoes, you could return them, but I can count on one hand the number of underwear manufacturers that allow returns. So what else can you do? Before you turn that $30 pair into a rag, try trading.

Yes, trading may feel kind of..gross. It’s something someone else has worn, yes. It’s still clean and is one of the best ways to get rid of pairs that you don’t want and get more pairs that you do want. Here are some simple trade tips I’ve learned over the years:

• Avoid internationals- As much as I want to include everyone in the world, international shipping is a pain in the butt. Having to figure out how to put foreign dresses into traditional shipping forms, not to mention the high cost. Most times first class shipping with tracking for a few pairs in a simple bubble mailer has cost me less than $10. Not a bad price to pay for clearing out your underwear drawer and getting some new pairs in return.
• Search high and low for your opposite- If your problem is sizing, find someone who has recently left the size you want and is now in the size you are trading away. Yes, this can be sorta difficult, but thanks to the internet and places like Twitter, it shouldn’t be too hard to find someone interested in your pairs with a few that might work for you.
• Trade with your trust- I would highly suggest that you deal only with someone that you know or trust. Having said that, even if the trade goes south and you get nothing in return, you only loose a few dollars in shipping and packaging materials, and a pair that you didn’t even want.

So, in the end, there are some concerns, and it may not be for everyone, but trading pairs can be a good way of recouping your underwear investment and helping your collection become only pairs that you love. I’m planning on doing another big cull soon, and most of those pair’s I’m going to try and trade away. I’m actually in the middle of a trade right now. I shipped my pairs out long ago, but I’m waiting for the other guy to do the same. Hopefully, he’ll get to it eventually. Even if he doesn’t, I’m still glad to get rid of those pairs.

Have you ever traded underwear? How did it go? Tell us about it below in the comments or let us know about it on twitter @unbblog. As always, you can find mine on twitter @underweardude. Happy trading!

Hey guys, Underweardude here. I hope you enjoyed a look at my underwear drawer last week. This week we are taking a look at the underwear drawer of another guy here at UNB, UNBRyan. Here is what he has to say:

We are changing things up here. We want you guys to help us pick underwear to review. This is not limited to the brands we work with. Have you ever wanted to try a Japanese line? Or maybe a fetish pair from Germany? Maybe a swim brief from Australia? Now is the time for you to help us out! We want to know what you guys want to see reviewed.

We are giving this power to our Patreons above a $5 a month donation. Why are we doing this? Let’s face it underwear is expensive, especially when you are getting pairs from overseas. You don’t want to invest in exchange rates and international shipping only to get a pair you hate. If it’s out of the US you can get free shipping and a good sale. It’s not as bad.

How do you take part in the community? Well, click the button at the bottom of this post to join our Patreon. We want to do a lot of things but we need your help! Currently, we have a great group of guys in our Patreon who have been there for a while. There is a private community we talk in and share topics for posts and even give away underwear. Yes, I give our Patreon members goodies from the UNB Closet.

Other things we want to do is increase our video production, do more exclusive shoots and more! We figure to do what we want, we would need $1,000 to $2,000 a month to accomplish all this. If you find value in what we do and want to see us grow and do bigger things. Donate as little as $1 a month but the more you donate the bigger the rewards.

If you have any questions send us an email. We will answer any question you have! (or use this link: https://www.patreon.com/unbblog)

Become a Patron!

This picture is done by Seven Continents Photography from our one and only Valentine’s Guide that was shot in January 2013. This is David in Gregg Homme! Which is the perfect picture for Valentine’s Day!  We were supposed to have two models but we had to make do with just one!

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!

Booty.  Booty.  Booty.  Omg, what else can I say about Miami?  I have been on work travel for the past couple of weeks and managed to squeeze in a beach day in South Beach Miami before heading home to North Carolina.  I stayed at a Hilton property across the street from the beach, as my employer was footing the bill, so not in one of the beachfront resorts, but who’s to complain when you get to visit South Beach for free right?

Being an avid thong wearer, I wasn’t too concerned, as Miami is the place to see and be seen.  I saw countless thongs on women, and sadly I was the only guy in one.  However, there were a lot of guys in speedos, square-cuts, and the like.  I saw a mix of people on the beach, guys, girls, young, old; everyone seemed to be on the beach last Saturday!  As Miami has almost year-long pleasant temperatures and warm water, it is the perfect place to sunbathe and swim in the ocean.

I started the day off at 8:30-9:00 at Collins and 26^th in Mid South Beach.  Since I stayed across the street, I didn’t feel 100% comfortable just walking from the room in a thong.  I put on a pair of “acceptable” shorts and walked across the street to the beach to start my day.  I was able to score a lounge chair on the front row of the beach.  I quickly slipped off my shorts down to my thong bikini and started to spread out my towel and belongings.  One of the beach staff came right over to ask if I wanted an umbrella or cushion for the lounger.  I accepted the cushion and declined the umbrella-it’s Miami, and I’m here for the sunshine right?

I spend the morning lounging in a hot pink Joe Snyder Bulge Tanga (which is completely a thong), occasionally getting up to get in the water or walk around.  The beach had a drink stand just behind the lounge area, and I was completely comfortable walking around or through the beach crowd to get a drink or to get into the water.  I got up many times throughout the day, walking around and checking out the scenery, getting in the water, and going about to take pictures.  I stayed on the beach until after 5:00 when the sun started to disappear behind the hotels.  I remained on the beach for a while after the sun went away and then walked down the boardwalk to the beach shower where I cleaned up and changed back into my clothes and walked back to my hotel.

I had no negative interactions with anyone on the beach, and all of the beach staff were utterly hospitable.  They stopped by every so often to see if I needed anything such as a drink, new towel, or umbrella.  I made small talk with a few of the people I saw throughout the day, and no one said anything to me other than to compliment me on my suntan.  I cannot wait until my next visit to South Beach-if you ever get the chance to do not hesitate to go.  This was one of the most positive experiences I have ever had wearing a thong swimsuit in a public place.  I can’t think of any other way to describe Miami other than to say I felt entirely at ease in Miami wearing a thong and that is felt completely normal!

Let me know in the comments if you’ve visited anywhere in Miami and worn a thong or similar minimal swimwear.

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.