Q&A: Year of the Thong with Bikinis ‘N Thongs – Part 2

We’re back with the second part of my Q&A with Bikinis ‘N Thongs (@BikinisNThongs) on his year of the thong. If you missed part 1 read it here. Let’s get back at it.

I’m still debating what to do if I’m heading to the beach with friends or extended family. Was it easier to strip down to a thong on the boat with having already done it at the beach? Or harder with I’m assuming more friends on board?

I really only knew one person on the boat, my roommate. He was friends with the owner and everyone else and invited me along. It was a little easier, because I knew what his reaction would be. I didn’t really know anyone else, so I didn’t have to see them if it went horribly wrong. (I did have a swim brief with me just in case.) It really wasn’t a problem, so it was very easy after that. They started to look forward to which pair I’d wear the next trip. ?

Family is a whole other story. I don’t think I’d wear a thong around them, at least not without shorts over it. I probably wouldn’t even wear a swim brief by itself. I have a very conservative family and even though I spent a great deal of time in speedos on the swim teams, they never came to accept them. In fact, my parents refused to buy them. I had to come up with money of my own to buy pairs for practices.

I kind of envy you for being able to wear swim briefs around family….and applaud you for wearing them around your children. It promotes a healthy sense of body image and sexuality that many people struggle with. Let them decide what they want to wear, from all of the available options, rather than dictating that boys wear board shorts. If I ever get to your area, I’d love to meet up at the beach!!

Do you think you’d feel comfortable enough to wear a swim thong to a non gay beach with it being rare to see guys in form fitting swimwear at? That is as long as it is legal to wear one there.

I think I would be comfortable wearing a thong to a non-gay (and non-clothing optional) beach. It kind of goes back to the “f*** it” attitude. I’d bring a swim brief or pair of skimpy shorts to slip on over it if there was any trouble. If women are wearing thongs there, then I see no reason why I couldn’t or shouldn’t.

We absolutely should be able to wear a suit similar to what women are wearing at the beach. I’m going to jump backwards a bit with this question. I asked how long you’ve been wearing bikinis and thongs, but not what got you interested in trying them?

My interest in bikinis started with flipping through the JCPenney catalog — which I assume is pretty similar to most guys in my generation. I would always try to walk through the underwear section of stores to see what was new. Even though my parents would only buy tighty whities, I still liked to look. Then, one fateful day at KMart, when I had ridden my bike there to buy some bikinis, I saw thongs. I was mesmerized. I had a lot of internal debate over whether to buy the bikinis I had pedaled 3 miles to get or buy these fantastic looking thongs. (I went with the bikinis that time, but was back soon to get the thongs!).

Once I went away to college and the Undergear/International Male catalog started arriving, magically….
I swear, they knew I was gay before I did ??… my obsession was solidified. I bought my first comfortable thong (the KMart ones were horrible!).

I don’t remember JCPenny having guys bikinis in the catalog. I did notice the women’s section in it. I also didn’t realize Undergear was marketed toward gays until I started blogging. It does seem a lot of us started our journey in a similar way. You indicated your year of the thong was more than wearing a thong everyday. Another intention of it was to promote thongs to guys by wearing them in the locker room and beach. Have you noticed if you have motivated anyone to change their choice or any conversation sparked with you on the subject?

There was one guy from the boating crew that tried one on. It was him, the boat owner, and me out one afternoon and he went for it. (I think I even shared a pic – with his permission) on social media. After the day, we talked about them some more…..and he bought one! That’s the only success story that I know.

I have had several conversations with guys, especially on social media. One said he didn’t like them, but the one he had was terrible. I finally convinced him to come try some of mine on…..and his opinion has been changed. I don’t know whether he’s purchased or worn any since.

We’ll probably not know if our wearing against the norm will encourage any strangers to experiment. At least you have one that you know of you influenced. During the year of the thong, I saw you did a thongers weekend or two. Was that the first time you took part in one of those?

It was my first time for both of them. I wasn’t planning on the one in Fort Lauderdale, but I met someone in Palm Springs and we ended up going to Fort Lauderdale together. I am glad I went to both. They are both very different, yet similar. It was a lot of fun to meet other guys who wear thongs and hang out by the pool at the beach in them. I plan to attend at least one this year.

In what ways were they similar and how were they different?

The resort in Fort Lauderdale is gay and clothing optional, but Palm Springs is not. There’s a lot more friskiness in Fort Lauderdale. The guys who run Palm Springs are somewhat militant about no sexual activities — even going so far as to scold guys for hanging out too closely.

Palm Springs has a trade table (but you have to go into a room to try anything on); Fort Lauderdale has a sale wall. You can donate to the wall, but you have to pay to take anything off the wall. You can try anything on right there.

Palm Springs is pretty laid back (except for the no nudity, no sexual contact thing). Fort Lauderdale is more structured. There’s a trip to the local beach one day, a trip down to Haulover the next, the organizer has a sponsor and puts on a fashion show, etc. It’s all in fun, but can be a little much.

Palm Springs is 4-5 days, but Fort Lauderdale is 2-3. Palm Springs also attracts more guys (over 80, at the peak).

Would you recommend one over the other or would it depend on the person? If you had to pick one, which would it be?

It would really depend on the person and what they’re looking to get from the event.

I can’t say that I like one over the other yet. I like different parts of each, for different reasons.

Did you learn anything from your year of the thong? About yourself or thongs or something in general.

I learned a few things:
* I didn’t miss the other styles of underwear and couple purge quite a bit freeing up room in my drawers.
* My butt looks better in a thong when waxed.
* I can easily spend way too much money buying tiny little pieces of clothing, but they bring me such joy.
* I prefer the more expensive brands to the cheap stuff from Amazon.

And….

* Royal blue is *THE* best color for thongs (or underwear, in general).

That’s all for this Q&A with Bikinis ‘N Thongs. I like to thank him for taking the time to join me in the Q&A session. Want to know how a particular thong looks then check his tweets. There are plenty of photos of thongs in his collection being modeled. As long as your interest is in a pair that doesn’t have a waistband then there is a good chance he has tried the brand.