UndiesDrawer.com

Happy 4th birthday, UndiesDrawer!

We posted our very first post on UndiesDrawer 4 years ago today!  Wow! 

Actually, I think we posted 3 posts that day to get things started on this men's underwear blog.   The very first post was about Olive and Gray (Grey) CK Pro Stretch Briefs, the second was about Blue CK Mesh Briefs (which were my favorite undies at the time), and then the third was about the Bike Swim/Jog Jock, which I still find to be one of the sexiest pairs of mens underwear around. Oh, but wait! As I keep clicking, I've found that I was a busy man that day 4 years ago. I also posted about Ginch Gonch, which had just rolled onto the men's underwear scene.

To celebrate, I'm going to throw out a random quick contest here:  Bake a birthday cake (or some other birthday confection worth noting) that celebrates the 4th birthday of UndiesDrawer (it has to have UndiesDrawer on it somewhere or our logo), send me good photos to photos@undiesdrawer.com before midnight CST on Tuesday, March 31, and I'll pick the best UndiesDrawer birthday cake (or confection) and send the winner 4 pairs of men's underwear.  Skiviez.com just told me they'll sponsor the 4 undies prize -- thanks!

Back in those days, my primary source of underwear was the local department store and TJMaxx.  The whole reason I started the blog was to explore the online men's underwear scene more and to make my journeys public so the other underwear fans like me could follow behind and maybe find some good deals as well.  Who knew it would turn into what we know as UndiesDrawer today?!?!?

I can't be precise on our historical total traffic to UndiesDrawer the years, but from the numbers that I can produce, I'm estimating that over the years, we've had at least 5 millions pageviews on UndiesDrawer and at least 2.5 million unique visitors to the site. Wow!  That's alot of traffic!  I can honestly say it's been a fun 4 years of being in the center of everything that's happened in the men's underwear industry over those years.

I want to take a moment to stop and say "Thanks" to our readers who have made this site a success, plus the sponsors who have helped us continue to fund this venture.  There are a few who have stood by us very consistently for a long time and continued to encourage and support UndiesDrawer through the highs and lows.  And thanks so much to my blogging team through the years -- guys who have come and gone through different phases -- for being part of the team and making UndiesDrawer what it is.  We're always looking for team members passionate about men's underwear, so contact me if you want to help.

Men's underwear blog: Shirtless Superheroes

It's amazing what I find what I surf a little bit.

Today I discovered Shirtless Superheroes, an excellent blog site featuring scans of comic book superheroes with their shirts off and their pants down.  These aren't scans from comic book or anime porn -- they're the real deal from the pages of the original comics with shirtless images, workout images, bathing images and naked (comic-book style) images of Peter Parker, Dick Grayson, Green Arrow, Nick Fury, X-Men, the Human Torch, Batman, Superman and pretty much every other guy superhero you can imagine.

Honestly, looking through this site, I'm realizing that alot of my first impressions of an attractive and desirable male body shape and my view of my own body -- its masculinity, sexuality and failings -- came from reading superhero comic books back in the 1980s, molding my prepubescent mind's view of manhood and what a real man is supposed to look like.  I've never had a superhero physique, and it's always bothered me and pulled me down mentally, and now I know why.  Sorting through the images of comic book heroes shirtless and otherwise baring their flesh at Shirtless Superheroes, I felt a rush of that old feeling coming back from when I was a kid and saw a comic book hero shirtless.  No wonder my view of the perfect male physique is slightly out of whack and unreachable -- it's based on comic book drawings of fictional characters!

I've posted a couple more images after the jump that I found that I thought you would like, including Peter Parker in his underwear, an all-out gay bedroom scene from the Green Lantern, Tim Drake (aka Robin) caught in his underwear from a Teen Titans comic, and Spider-man stripping down to his red briefs to battle Venom. Click through to the other side to see those and click on each image to see a full size version, and be sure to visit Shirtless Superheroes.

Purple is the new "it" men's underwear color?

Adventures of Gay Boys featured a post yesterday noting that purple is the new color for men's underwear and provided several up close and personal photos of some of the purple men's underwear in this year's Undergear lineup.  You have to see it to believe it -- they've scoured Undergear to find the best purple bulges in men's underwear around.

I find this quote hilarious:

"Long associated with royalty, variations of this hue will make an imperial statement in this season’s wardrobe, and Undergear has a variety of items that are fit for a fashion king or QUEEN!"

Check out their site, but you might also do some hunting at Undergear yourself.  I found this photo to the right myself, and it's not even included in the Adventures of Gay Boys lineup.

AmateurHunk has gone offline?

Over the years, we've had a good friendship with Jeff over at AmateurHunk and AmateurHunkOnline.  If you don't know about Jeff, he created quite a stir a year or two ago when his site popped online full of well-done self portraits revealing his well-toned body but no face.  He obviously had some photo experience and some graphic design experience and could put together some seriously sensual photos of him in his underwear, to the point that he won some blog awards for the site. We developed a good relationship over the years, featured his site, and he even did some guest posting here on UndiesDrawer and posted some exclusive images on our site.

Actually, Jeff introduced me to the value of MensUnderwearStore -- I'd never really paid much attention to them before, but Jeff bought his underwear almost exclusively from MensUnderwearStore. 

After his big hit on the underwear photos scene, he met someone and got into a relationship and his site became inactive so he could reclaim some of his privacy, although the site stayed up for all to view in his great underwear pics and his more steamy video work as well.  Then, after a while, he came back online under the site name AmateurHunkMusings, which was much more introspective and a much more personal blog.

More recently, though, his photos had come back online, and he was producing great photos of himself in underwear again.  Back in March and April, he and I emailed back and forth about the new site and how good it was to see him back online.  Suddenly, though, this past week, I've noticed that all of his sites are now down and cleared out.  Unlike the last time off he took, when the sites stayed up, now when you visit his sites, they're blank and one says it's officially closed.

As an ode to Jeff and the wonderful work he did at AmateurHunk and AmateurHunkOnline, I'm posting here the last set of photos that Jeff sent me back in April.  I've just realized that I never posted them, and since now it's hard to get good images of him with his site down, I figured I'd help out the cause.

I've posted one here.  Click on the image above to see a larger view. There are several more in the extended post after the jump so be sure to click through.

The random musings of an average guy hunting for a good pair of underwear

Here at UndiesDrawer, we're always paying attention to the latest and greatest in the men's underwear world, but you have to acknowledge that the average Joe out there has no concept of the levels to which mens underwear has risen.

Case in point in a blog post I ran across from a blog called Sardonic Laughter of a Satirist by a guy named Joey aka Rizal.  Joey aka Rizal just wanted new underwear that were comfortable and made him look sexy so he could weigh himself in the locker room in something other than his bare bottom.  His blog post about finding some Banana Republic boxer briefs and a Calvin Klein Tech Active Trunk with Coolmax technology is so telling as a picture of the average guy's process of looking for underwear.

He even finds time to provide a link to the Calvin Klein Tech Active Trunk over at MensUnderwearStore because he want to provide a photo with his blog post, but he can't bring himself to actually post the photo. Instead he ends up just linking to the photo with a warning that the image is a "bit gay".  It's just a model in underwear, but it's funny how it makes him and his readers so uncomfortable.  He did attach this image I've posted here, which is actually a very good "safe" image of the Calvin Klein and Banana Republic underwear he bought.

I know this is a completely random post, but every once in a while, I just have to remember how difficult it is for the average guy to buy underwear without feeling a "bit gay".  And I'm always amazed at how so many of these guys go into local stores to buy their underwear instead of taking advantage of the anonymity that can be found online.  Maybe they're afraid they'll end up on an underwear catalog list that will come in their mail and embarrass them (like has happened before with Undergear).

Don't miss the JockBoyLocker photo contest

If you haven't already, be sure to get in on the JockBoyLocker "Jockboy of the Year" photo contest.  The window for submission for entries ends April 30, so you have a little time, but it might take a little preparation if you're really wanting to win.

Here's the deal:  You submit a photo to JockBoyLocker by April 30 through their contest submission page.  Then, on May 1, they put the photos live online for voting through the end of May.  If your photo gets the most votes, you'll win $1000 worth of a combination of men's underwear, swimwear and JockBoy Bucks.  The 2nd place winner will get a similar $500 prize package, and the 3rd place winner will get a $250 prize package. 

Remember that this photo contest is focused on amateur male athletes playing their sport.  The sport doesn't matter -- the contest is inclusive of all sports -- but try to make it fit their focus as much as possible.  A little sex appeal probably wouldn't hurt, but don't completely disregard the main point of the contest.

This contest is being sponsored by Joe Snyder and N2N, and if you're interested in either brands, you can get their products at JockBoyLocker.  For more information, visit the JockBoyLocker blog or their main JockBoyLocker men's underwear and swimwear site.

Holiday Briefing - UndiesDrawer in the Ottawa Citizen

Your favorite undies blog and mine, UndiesDrawer, is featured today in the Ottawa Citizen -- Canada's capital city newspaper.  Alana Toulin interviewed us for an article on men's underwear -- Holiday briefing: The clichéd men's stocking stuffer goes beyond black, white and reindeer -- and how they've gone from boring basics to stylish accessories.   

Our very own, Jay, talks about some of the trends in men's underwear -- high-tech fabric blends for comfort, bright splashes of color, and large waistbands with branding and logos.  Jay noted in the article that the brief is returning to popularity after a bit of a decline. He said the hottest ones are low-rise rather than the traditional full-cut styles.

Finally, Jay offers some tips on shopping for men's underwear:

• Add some color or a new style, and look for things that will push the envelope slightly.
• If your man always wear white, try a darker color. If he's used to wearing colors, try a bright color or a pattern.
• Always wears briefs? Try a different brief cut, like low-rise or trunk, or even boxer briefs.
• Experiment with the new eco-friendly fabrics such as soy and bamboo.
• Think beyond the department store. Shop online for unique looks and hard-to-find labels or check out boutique men's stores.

[UPDATE by Jay Z: Giving credit where credit is due, both Ron and I created the answers in response to the reporter's interview questions.  As such, she attributed all the answers to me, but I want to give Ron credit for his great work as well.  We're a team effort here at UndiesDrawer!]

Underwear rumor mill: Benjamin Bradley is back

After the update to my last post about the Ginch Gonch Boys, watching the video from Blair and reading the comment to that video from someone calling themselves Benjamin Bradley, I swung over to Benjamin's blog, Project Be, and suddenly Benjamin Bradley is back on the scene and looking great in his Ginch Gonch underwear.

He has posted several blog entries, starting yesterday, November 9.  This first one, posted Friday, is a "I'm back" post that notes that he is in the process of making an apology video to explain what's gone on in his life recently and also acknowledging his continuing relationship with Ginch Gonch.  Then, over the course of the day today (Saturday, November 10), he has posted three different posts -- a Ginch Gonch promotion that features a photo of Benjamin all by himself with no Ethan, promoting a Ginch Gonch underwear party in New York City on November 16, then a more introspective post involving some artwork he created with some deep thoughts titled "Boys are like Apples", and finally a humorous post with a photo of him on a beach with his underwear half down, Photoshopped to emulate the classic Coppertone kid image.

And -- whoa! -- now Brat Boy School's blog is back up, but it only contains a post that's obviously written by a third party, maybe Keith who we mentioned in the prior post.  The post says that it's not an attack on Ben or Ethan, but "If you have paid for and not received Brat Boy Fundraiser Auction Items, Brat Boy School Uniform Polos, or Project BE T-shirts, please read..." and it points to the posts by Keith and Blair that we've already linked to. 

Oddly, no one is talking about Kyle and his insinuations that Ethan and Rick Allen/Altmann are the same person and that the Ethan/Rick distinction is all just a fiction. Blair and Keith both speak clearly to the idea that Ethan and Rick are different people, and Ben makes no reference to Ethan at all in his latest posts.  Hmmm, someone isn't telling the truth here.

Show some UndiesDrawer love!

Hey!  Today, we re-registered at PLUBlogs.com, a blog directory that ranks based on referrals to their site and rankings of the site by readers.  We think we're the best men's underwear blog out there, and we hope you'll help us make that obvious by voting for us.

This morning, we started at #162, and we're moving up the ranks.  We are at #143 at the time of this post.

Please click through to PLUBlogs using this link (to make sure it registers a referral from UndiesDrawer, and then sort through the photoblogs area to our entry (look for the new UndiesDrawer banner) and then vote to rank us. Of course, we'd prefer high rankings. :-)  I wish it was more user-friendly in taking you to our actual entry immediately, but I'm finding you have to go locate us in the pile.

While you're there, it's a great resource for blog readers.  Sort through and see what else you can find.

Bjorn Borg gives you incentives to wear his underwear

Thanks to our buddy Kenneth over at Kenneth in the (212) after his noticing the news at this swanky tennis-oriented blog that I may need to visit more often, we discovered tonight that Bjorn Borg now has a photo blog for his men's underwear line.  Claiming that they desire to  "spread the Swedish revolution around the world", the site is offering to give you a €5 discount on your underwear order and the chance to win a collection of the Bjorn Borg underwear line when you submit a photo in your Bjorn Borgs for posting on their photo blog.

The photo below is from Mans in New York, and he's getting some mileage on the Web for his great looks while giving a glimpse of his Bjorn Borg underwear.  If you own some Bjorn Borgs, go ahead and submit a photo, or if not, pick some up Bjorn Borg men'sunderwear and try them out for yourself.