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.

Hi, everyone, and welcome to the first post of a new ongoing series, entitled “Show us your drawers!”(Note: If you can think of a better name, feel free to use that instead.) This series is a place for you the reader to show of your collection and storage method. This will be a blast! We are starting off with a look at all the guys who make up UNBs’ drawers, beginning with..me!

I originally had all my underwear in the same place it had been for years: at the bottom drawer of a dresser, tossed in along with my socks. As my collection grew, I began wanting more space, and eventually became enamored with the idea of under-bed storage. I loved the idea of being able to roll over in bed in the morning, pull open a drawer, and pick out my pair for the day while still in bed. Sadly, while this pair of built in’s doesn’t make that dream a reality, it does hold all my pairs. The drawers don’t pull out all the way either, which means there are a few more pairs not seen in the picture and can make putting pairs in the back annoying. I have so many pairs I don’t just have one underwear drawer, but two!

The first picture is of my daily wear drawer. There you will find briefs, boxers, trunks, and a few semi-skimpy pairs. This si the stuff I wear day to day, the stuff I feel I would be ok to be seen in, etc. The organizer therein is one i’ve had for decades that was originally meant for socks I believe but was repurposed.

The other picture shows my skimpy drawer, with, left to right- jocks, thongs, and bikinis, as well as a small spot in the back left behind the jocks for pairs for special occasions. Also, yes, the bikinis and thongs are separated by those that have a waistband, and those that do not, thanks for noticing! The organizer in here is from Bed Bath and Beyond, but It doesn’t quite fit well enough. I guess that’s the downside about buying under the bed drawers that match your bed from a group that doesn’t offer organization for them. I like how everything looks folded, but I’m not sure if I’m going to keep it up. It’s a lot of work! I own slightly over 100 pairs, which can make laundry day a real pain in the butt.

Want to show us your underwear drawer? Send in your submission to info@underwearnewsbriefs.com with the word “Drawer” in the subject line, along with a photo of your underwear drawer and a short description if you would like. Check in next week for a look at another drawer from a UNB guy!

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!