My career takes me all over, a great perk, because when the sun is out, I look to continue sparking the fire for Swim Thong Revolution. That’s what brings me here today to your screen as I share with you my adventures going coast to coast testing the waters, pun intended, of thong-ing in the sun.
This past weekend brought me to Seattle, a historically liberal city, whose exploding growth has brought people of all persuasions and backgrounds to shores of Lake Washington on an 80 degree Sunday. I figured I should have no trouble fitting in, and I was correct; Madison Park Beach in Seattle is a great place to wear your swim thong.
Nestled just south of the University of Washington and is hiding behind winding and secluded neighborhoods east of downtown. Madison Park is one of the few Lake Front parks with an actual beach. The sand is minimal, but few public shore line spots along Lake Washington offer a comfortable and inviting sunny weekend afternoon. With a dock equipped with a diving board, sandy beach, grass promenade, lifeguards, this past Sunday this parked was PACKED. Towels, beach chairs, Frisbees, footballs, wine, booze, loud music, children, couples, university students, retirees, gawkers, loaners, were present with Me in in my Pikante print swim thong.
The anxiety is always there. The moment where you transition from an unremarkable 20 something year old guy in Basketball shorts and T shirt to a renegade-trend-setter sporting a swim thong. That moment takes courage as you know the gaze of on lookers will lead to judgment, because YOU chose to be different.
This monumental moment in a new beach, new area, seemed fairly uneventful. The park was quaint at 10 am, maybe 15 people max around, and few really seemed to care. I got a few snickers from college aged mixed group in front of me, but that quickly melted away and I blended into the Summer Seattle scene.
As the temperature climbed into the 80s and the day wore on, here came the people. And no one said a word about my risqué suit. Soon I had neighbors inches from my towel and didn’t hear a peep. Maybe it was because I wasn’t listening, but honestly, other than a couple of stares then a shrug, most people were more focused on their summer day than me.
One of my good friends came down to meet me, this would be the first time he had seen me in a Thong. I actually was quite nervous for that, it’s easy to wear thongs…anonymously, but when you introduce this secret life to your friends, you wonder how it will change things. Well for my buddy it really didn’t change anything, as predicted. We go back to many fun days back at school and he just kind of was like, “you do you man, I aint going to stop ya.”
Once again, me and my buddy, and my swim thong just blended into the Sunny afternoon. He and I decided to cool off in the water as the temperature climbed. Walking back to the towel, finally someone had decided to say something.
“Hey I like your suit!” said this girl roughly my age. She was with her friend, boyfriend, and another guy friend. “I am in design and work for Nordstrom, and I really like that style,” she went on.
Instantly the whole group and I began talking about me and my suit, and how I wasn’t gay, and how great that was that I had the stones to pull off a suit like this so well. Turns out the boyfriend and his friend shared similar interests with me and we “bro-ed” out a little.
My buddy ended up leaving eventually, and I spent the rest of the afternoon with my new friends shooting the breeze, throwing Frisbee, diving off the diving dock, and listening to Weezer on their Bluetooth speaker. We exchanged numbers, instagrams, and said our goodbyes with plans to meet up sometime again this summer.
Literally, the whole experience was awesome. NEVER, have I felt so good about who I am. It is so refreshing to meet others who can be friendly and really just get along with some dude wearing a thong. Maybe its Seattle, maybe its them or me, but what a great Sunday it was.
To echo former stories here at UNB, just go out there and DO IT. Wear what you want and be yourself. You are in for a surprise on how rewarding a day like I just had can be!
