My (Long) Swim Briefs Story

[NickBriefs]

Hi all, I discovered Nate's blog and the forums several years ago and today I finally decided to create an account to tell my story. I'm not sure exactly when my interest in swim briefs first began (probably as a young teen?), but my story really starts about 5 years ago in 2020. I was 19 at the time and a full-time college student while also working 30+ hours/week. I lived with my parents in FL about 40 minutes away from Clearwater Beach. I didn't have a great body but I guess something about the pandemic made me crazy enough to say now is the time.

For a little background, I grew up in a large Christian family and my parents were quite strict about a lot of things including "modesty". We boys were never allowed to go shirtless except in the pool or at the beach, and even that ended up getting banned when I was 11. I hated that shirts required rule so much that I completely stopped swimming for a few years in protest before finally giving in. My cooperation was only surface level though. I was generally a good kid from the outside, but secretly a rebel in a lot of ways. I won't get into it here but I'll clarify that I never did anything illegal or objectively even all that bad.

Anyway, getting back to my swim briefs story, at 19 I had money, a car, and a somewhat unpredictable work schedule so I bought my first pair of swim briefs in early June and started creating opportunities to work towards wearing them in public. Obviously that was easier said than done for someone who hadn't even been shirtless around anyone else in 8 years. Typically I would pick a weekday to pretend I had work and then go to the beach instead. I would put on my work uniform, drive to somewhere with a large empty parking lot, change in my car (hopping out quickly to spray on sunscreen), and then drive to the beach.

At first I wore my normal board shorts with swim briefs underneath. I had no intentions of taking the board shorts off since I was just getting used to going shirtless again, but it was nice to have the briefs underneath. Eventually I switched to wearing gym shorts once I felt ready to start working towards wearing just the briefs. I don't remember the exact day I was finally able to push through, but I'll never forget the experience, unfortunately in both a good and bad way.

It was late August, so it had taken me all summer to work up to it (looking back now I realize that was actually pretty quick). It was a weekday as usual and I had chosen to go to a much quieter beach a few miles down the road from main Clearwater Beach. Underneath my shorts I was wearing a pair of briefs that were royal blue with some kind of gray geometric pattern. I don't remember all the details, but I know that shortly after I picked a spot and got settled my shirt came off, my shorts came off, and there I was laying on my towel in just my briefs. My mind was racing with excitement and anxiety, realizing this was the moment I had been waiting for.

Of course I was petrified to move and potentially draw any more attention to myself, so I just lay there trying to calm myself down by listening to music with one earbud and sipping from my water bottle. I rolled over every so often but eventually I got too hot and sweaty, so I had to stand up and walk down to the water to cool off. Unsurprisingly (to my logical brain) and unbelievably (to my anxiety brain), no one really paid any attention. I was thrilled and having the absolute time of my life.

I don't remember how long I stayed, but I do distinctly remember choosing to walk back to my car without getting dressed. When I got there I discovered that one of my windows had been smashed and my backpack had been stolen. Luckily my work uniform wasn't in it but I did lose a couple portable speakers, a few pairs of swim briefs, and some other random stuff. I cleaned out some chunks of glass still in the window and drove back with one window missing and the other rolled down. Thankfully it wasn't difficult to convince my parents that the break-in had happened at work so I never got in any trouble. Between the stolen backpack and the window replacement, my first swim briefs experience ended up costing me around $500 but it was worth every penny.

Fast forwarding through the next 5 years, I only remember wearing briefs at the beach one other time that summer. Then I got too busy with work and school, and I didn't pick it up again in 2021. After I graduated, I moved out on my own to a different state for a job. Due to a combination of work stress, sedentary lifestyle, and depression I gained about 60 lbs on top of already being overweight. I got help though and started figuring things out (obviously an oversimplification of what was and continues to be an immense struggle). So far I've lost 75 lbs while also getting a lot stronger. I probably have another 15-20 lbs to go before I'm at a truly healthy weight, but I've been getting the swim briefs itch again and I've been working hard to rebuild my body confidence.

Which FINALLY brings me to the reason I decided to post today. I just booked a last minute, long weekend beach trip 3 weeks from now. It will be my first ever solo vacation, which already scares me, but I've also decided I'm not going to pack any swim trunks. Of course I'll have gym shorts if it turns out I'm really not ready, but I want this to be my opportunity to finally pick up where I left off 5 years ago and continue writing my story.

[Microbikiniman]

Nick, thank you for having the courage to tell us about yourself. You will find us a welcoming and caring bunch of guys, and we can identify with your struggles (and, yes, triumphs!). Keep up the good work on creating a healthy body AND body image! And as you reach your fitness goals, and feel ready to try the smaller styles of underwear and swimwear, you will find plenty of suggestions for both from Forum members. (For example, my favorite swimwear brand is Skinzwear.) Have a safe trip, and let us know how things go!

[tbdrawer]

Welcome to the forums. Glad you decided to join and share your story/journey. Keep up with your positive thinking that you are ready to break out the swim briefs again and you will. There are plenty here that will cheer you on. Keep us posted and good luck and enjoy your upcoming trip!

[TANGA TANGA]

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm sure you'll enjoy the forum.

[David_NC]

Sorry your window got smashed in and the swim briefs stolen. But it is awesome you were brave enough to try swim briefs on your own and at a young-ish age I was 43 before I wore a pair on the beach (last week lol). On a cool note, you lived near Clearwater, you were very near the Skinzwear store that sold ultra skimpy mens (womens) swim suits. Keep up the good work on the weight loss, and let us know how the upcoming beach trip goes.

[gstringkini]

This forum is a real confidence booster. I hadn't the courage to rock a swim brief in public, but everyone's positive posts pushed me over the hump and I'm ready for swim briefs next vacation. Yes, I'll have dork shorts as a backup, but I'm going to start with the Speedo... I guess it gets easier once you've rocked swim briefs a few times

[Thonglover8k]

This forum is a real confidence booster. I hadn't the courage to rock a swim brief in public, but everyone's positive posts pushed me over the hump and I'm ready for swim briefs next vacation. Yes, I'll have dork shorts as a backup, but I'm going to start with the Speedo... I guess it gets easier once you've rocked swim briefs a few times

Best of luck mate! I guess it depends where you grew up, I grew up in England and everyone wore speedos. So I’ve always worn them, now I live in Australia and most guys wear speedos. In the last few years I’ve been wearing thongs and now I’m into G-strings on the beach. No one cares, and I really love the freedom.

[swimmer78]

Great story Nick! Congrats on your weight loss too. I'm sure you will have a great time at the beach and hopefully get some speedo time while there. Keep us posted.

[NickBriefs]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and words of encouragement! I promise I didn't completely forget to respond. I think the forum was down for a bit shortly after I posted, then I had a rough week mentally, and then life got busy. But I didn't let any of that stop me from continuing to prepare for my trip, which I just returned from this afternoon!

TL;DR: I'd give myself a solid B grade. I did accomplish my core goals, but I didn't exactly excel and I didn't accomplish either of my stretch goals this time around. I'm really happy with my progress though and already looking forward to next time! And of course most importantly I had a really enjoyable time!

I stayed in a condo at Miramar Beach, FL (a few miles east of Destin) for 3 nights (Fri evening-Mon morning). The weather forecast looked iffy leading up to it, but it actually ended up being pretty good. Unfortunately I probably spent just as much beach time with shorts on vs off. But on the bright side I didn't wear any swim trunks, I did eventually strip down to my briefs on each beach visit, and once I did take off my shorts I didn't put them back on until I was getting ready to leave.

So why did I spend so much time wearing shorts? Because I made the same dumb mistake multiple times: I didn't strip down to my briefs right away while getting set up. So then I was sitting there fighting inertia, trying to force myself to just stand up and undress. I did eventually push through each time, but boy was it ever a waste of time! When I took them off right away it was no big deal.

I didn't notice any kind of reaction from others, which I guess is to be expected, but I also didn't have a huge sample size because it wasn't very crowded and I didn't walk up and down the beach at all (that was a stretch goal), just to the water and back. I saw several women wearing cheeky bikinis and even a couple in thongs, but only a few guys wearing shorter swim trunks and none wearing anything more revealing than that.

[Microbikiniman]

Congratulations! The more you do it, the easier it will become. And since Florida is an option for your travels, Forum members can suggest beaches where microwear for both men and women is welcome. Today... Tomorrow...