Is wearing speedos really that common in the UK?

Post Reply New Topic

I've heard a lot of conflicting reports about Brits attitude towards speedos. On one hand, all the British men I've met wore boardshorts/trunks just like Americans did. On the other hand, a lot of British male celebrities (mainly ones over 40) seem to wear them, and I've seen quite a few pics of British men who aren't swimmers or divers wearing them. The Australian term "budgie smugglers" has also found its way into British English according to Wiktionary.

I'm American (New York specifically), and over here, speedos are very rare outside of competitive swimming and other water sports. Everyone here wears shorts.

So what do Brits really think of speedos? Are they more acceptable there or are they just as hated as they are in America?

Dunno. Here on the West Coast of Canada speedos are for competitive swimmers/divers, and then MOST of any worn at the beach are by skinny gay boys with a small contingent being European tourists. That's when I can play my favourite people watching game at the beach.. "Super gay.. or just European?"

I hope not. I hope to travel to Britain one day.

In my experience, older men still wear them, and club swimmers, but most British guys wear shorts. You might get the occasional poser who thinks they look good in a pair but generally if you did you'd be laughed at.

I swim in shorts but as an adult I have not been in a proper big swimming pool apart from a few times whenin my 20's or once in my 30's maybe with my youngest brother? Oh. Once in my mid 30's wit the first girlfriend. I am not really a swimmer. I can swim but is not like riding a bike! I have been in many times in the sea. When young I would wear what we called "Swimming trunks" which I have not worn since I was a young teenager when they stopped swimming lessons in school. (They only did it from age 9 to age 12 or 13 I think. Last two years of primary and first two years of secondary schools).
Since then I have worn draw string shorts, as they double up as ordinary shorts for the summer. (Rarely wear shorts). The pockets turn insideout with air in them when I go into the water! I go into the sea to have a splash about! Haha! I do that once or twice a year but though I live near the sea as is about a 15 minute walk down a footpath opposite the house where we kinda have our very own secluded stretch of beach (Say kind of. Very few people use it due to access. We live right opposite the footpath. There are another two houses within about quarter of a mile and have to go half a mile to see other houses (A little village) other than the odd small farm. There is a larger village with shops and a beach and a castle about two miles away. The beaches there get crowded! But our beach (Think about three miles long though in one direction it is rocky. Other direction is sandy and pebbly with small pebbles) I call it crowded when I see around ten people down there at the same time!
But I have never been in the sea there despite it looking ideal! I have walked in the water many times with my wellies!)

But no one wears swimming shorts for anything else other than swimming. Could get arrested if one is stupid enough to wear them walking down town! Haha! Some women walk around with what looks like swimwear when going for nights out but I think they are semi-drunk when they start out! Used to see them on the trains I worked where they would be like that in the winter! Brains left behind! Even the men would be in a shirt in the cold with no vest underneath and no jacket or coat!
Is a stupid thing to do and is actually one of the largest alcohol related killers. People going to sleep in the winter on a bench while drunk and waking up dead in the morning.
I found it out when working on the railways where a lady had her son die. She was telling me how often it happens. Think she said 30% of the deaths by younger people getting drunk were due to this. So many people die waking up dead in the morning! Needs to be made aware of th danger!

If it is common, then I think I will stick to vacationing on my side of the pond

How did I just send a message in this thread and it ended up in a different thread

Loose fitting swim shorts seem the most popular for males of any age, from my limited experience of visiting swimming baths.

i useta wear them at the Y's lap pool. i never cared for swimming in board shorts or such, too baggy and water-loggy.

I'm in The United States and have never been to Great Britain, so I can't say. Here in The US many people are prudish when it comes to men wearing speedos. I swam competitively back in high school and wore a speedo. Honestly, I liked it a lot better than board shorts that fill up with air. Still, for me to wear one now I would need to lose some of my belly for a start but even at that, I wouldn't because of attracting unwanted attention.

ADHD? Sounds like the sort of thing I would do inattentively...

As for budgie smugglers, d!ck togs or DT's is another word for them here.

And yeah mostly posers or weird old men wear them.

Yeah, me too. Definitely better for swimming speed. Regular swim shorts serve their purpose for practice, though - plenty of drag and resistance to help make you stronger. But when you want to be all slipstream slick and quick speedo's are the way to go.

I'd say that MOST of the guys wearing speedos at the beach I hangout at are gay guys at the gay end of the beach. It becomes a bit of a fashion statement for skinny twinks and gym rats. Few other guys wear speedos, and of them I bet most are European. It's just not a thing here for non competitive swimmers/divers. People just wear normal swim shorts or board shorts - or nothing at all; it's a nude beach so 50-80% of the people are naked depending on the day.