Jackshit

I am curious about an odd phenomena that I have observed at my local healthclub gym.

There are a few guys - really the same guys - that you see over and over again in the locker room. They seem to like to hang out nude. I am not sure that I have ever seen them actually working out. Most of them are older men.

I am not homophobic and I do not think that these men are necessarily homosexuals. Maybe they are just exhibitionists. I've been approached by and followed around by guys at the gym but this is a different group of guys. I am heterosexual and it really doesn't offend me if another guy approaches me. I take it as a complement as long as he isn't overly aggressive.

Also, the nudity thing for me - I am not modest at all. I like being nude and I really don't care if people see me naked. For me it is more or less
purposeful. ex. I am changing from me street clothes to work out or I am going to the showers after a workout. I have been to a few nudist beaches and I think nudity is natural and healthy.

The thing about these guys is that they tend to prolong the nude experience in the locker room more than is really necessary. Last week I was working out and afterwards I went to shower. There was an older guy about 50-60 who was in the sink area. He was butt assed naked and had his leg propped up on the sink with his nuts and dick haing down. He was drying off his nuts with a towel. I went and showered and 10 minutes later came out and this guy was still drying off his nuts with a towel.

At best I thought that this was pretty sad and at worst a little perverted.

Also, regularily I see these same guys corner the poor locker room attendant in idle conversation just to get some "air time". This I think is a little abusive as he is not in a good position to push back.

Willravel

It could be nothing, it could be something. Short of evidence that's not circumstantial, I'd not worry about it.

Titan_Uranus

I had kind off the same experience at a gym I went to ,there was this one guy ,the dude never worked out ,but spent all his time in either locker room ,shower ,sauna & steam room & it was not just me alot of other guys also noticed this ,it wasn't until one day while hitting the showers a buddy of mine noticed him in the stall across the way ,he saw staring at him ,but paid no attention, until he actually saw what he was up too, the guy was jacking off while watching him ,but instead of knocking him the fuck out ,he reported it to management & that was the last time we saw him.

biznatch

This thread is funny. Well, sorta.
A lot of people are weird like that, but as long as they respect my personal space (at least one foot away from me if they're naked) and leave me alone I don't care.

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Hyacinthe

I don't have much advice in this situation. I've never really noticed similar behaviour in the womens locker rooms though maybe I've just been lucky.

Not that the women are concerned about being naked - they'll hop out the shower, dry off, apply some moisturiser and then get dressed. No one seems to linger over the process.

As for the attendant I doubt he cares overly much - you'd get used to things like that.

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Infinite_Loser

So... Was he kicked out because he was gay/bi- or because he wasn't using the gym for it's intended purposes?

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Charlatan

Whatever. Some people are comfortable naked and some are not.

In Finland, everyone (men, women... family members) take saunas together in the nude. When I was there last the big sauna at the hotel I was staying in was reserved for a wedding party. Think about your Mother-in-law nude.

As I said. Some people don't have an issue about the whole nude thing.

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MrFriendly

Sexual orientation has nothing to do with it. That kind of behavior is totally inappropriate in a public place.

Despite my own orientation I'd be pretty uneasy if I went to take a shower at a gym only to notice some dude whacking off in the corner while staring at me. That's just creepy man.

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Titan_Uranus

I totally agree with MrFriendly.

ssratt

As some one who has been an attendant (close enough) it is hard trying to tell the customer who is probably larger and intimidating to get out of your space.
Usually all you get from the boss is "the customer is alway right" since they paid not a cheap amount to join.

If you are interested I would ask him when he is alone and out of everyone elses earshot if he is ok with that guy.
Pretty much ignore it if he says it is fine, take a close look at his reaction, his face and posture, THAT is what you want to go by.

If it turns out you should report it to the manager, mention the hanging out and maybe playing with himself.
The idea is not to get the kid in trouble since it might be a "vip" and he could lose his job for complaining

As long as the door closes I don't care what anyone does behind them but if the stall has no door and not everyone is there for the same reason then leave it alone

Plan9

10 minutes of playing with your nuts in public? C'mon, that is weird.

Guy must be so lonely.

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dlish

ive never been comfortable with the walking round naked shit. im still scarred by the fact that as a kid when i used to go to the gym with my dad to watch him work out there were many old men in the lockers walking round nude. as i a kid i thought it was disgusting, and i dont walk around naked in locker rooms i think because of that.

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highthief

Honestly, I think <i>most</i> of the guys described in the OP are gay and hoping for something to happen, even if they are not overt with approaches.

Been part of various gyms for the last 20+ years, and have seen it play out like that before.

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Ustwo

Don't mind us, continue to undress.

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james t kirk

Well, go to

www.squirt.org

And follow the steps to see if your gym in your town is a local cruising spot for gay guys. You'd be surprised.

Maybe there's even a post or two about YOU.

"Yeah, there was this really cute twink down at the club the other day, he's hung long. I was sending him the signals by drying off my ball sack for 10 minutes while he was in the shower, but he just didn't seem to get the message"

Cynthetiq

I used to go to the YMCA in Chelsea in the early 90s. This phenomenon you are talking about was common there only on Wednesday nights, it was to those in the know as a gay cruising night.

People stood around naked for hours. I'd go get changed, workout, get changed again, sometimes over a span of about 4 hours, and that guy drying his nuts next to the sink was still drying his nuts next to the sink.

I just learned that on Wednesday night I should come already changed in my gym clothes.

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World's King

I know that this happens but it still pisses me off...

Not for the fact that it's a gay thing but for the fact there is no place for straight men and women to walk around naked and troll for each other...



How bad ass would that be. Just lounging around naked in a locker room watching women shower, get undressed, do other things that you do in a locker room... All for the purpose of maybe getting a one night stand.

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ChrisJericho

I was a locker room attendant in college. I know exactly what you're talking about. Generally, most of these exhibitionists are the older, elderly males. A lot of other people have noticed this as well, there's even a facebook group at my college named "Coalition against Naked, Old People In the Locker Room."

I dunno, maybe when you get older you just stop caring about societal norms and just let it all hang.... looose. Anyway, I'm sure glad the counter I sat behind was at chest level or else that job would have been unBAREable.

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Schwan

That's exactly why I don't like the gym (that, and I'm fat and I smoke, etc). The usual thing, for me, would be to go get a shower, change, and GTFO. But every time I'm in the locker there's a number of 30-something guys wippin' their stuff out and parading it around. Chatting with your buddy is fine, but why do you have to stick your naked crotch out for 10+ minutes? Meh.

Plan9

This never happened in the army. Thank god.

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willynilly

I worked as a personal trainer for years in Washington DC. Congressman Barney Frank's partner Herb used to work out at my health club. I asked one time if anybody in the locker room used to do it for him. He said "no, there's no one manly enough here." Now this was a guy who was a straight up hairy bear, beard, short hair, rough voice, so on. Always a kick talking with him because he knew when I asked him questions it was to learn, not to judge.

World's King

You don't have to lie to us. We know you too well.

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ASU2003

Was he actually in the women's locker room? I don't think you would get used to that.

How do I get that job?

Hyacinthe

I was referring to the male attendant mentioned in the OP

The ladies locker room at my gym has an all female staff, though we did have an issue with one of them using a mobile phone in there to take video of some of the women.

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"I want to be remembered as the girl who always smiles even when her heart is broken... and the one that could brighten up your day even if she couldnt brighten her own"

"Her emotions were clear waters. You could see the scarring and pockmarks at the bottom of the pool, but it was just a part of her landscape – the consequences of others’ actions in which she claimed no part."

Cyborg Ninja

I haven't been in a women's locker room since I was a kid. And back then all I saw were old ladies' strangely square asses. Not a pleasant sight. Unfortunately most women, gay or straight, don't like to cruise. A real shame it is.

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dlish

cromp.. we all know it happens. admitting it is the first step to recovery.

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Nimetic

There's a few like this in lotsa gyms I reckon. Particularly those with pool/spa/sauna facilities.

It doesn't bother me too much - it's probably more sad than anything else, they're usually older guys. But yeah, if you ask the staff I'm sure they'll be able to gently persuade the gents to move on.

Thing is... as others have pointed out, it can be difficult to decide what is normal or not-normal in these situations. Some people like to zip in and out of saunas/spas all day, and there's no sexual thing involved.

leetrice

lol the gym i go to has similar scenarios as the ones you have describe but its much more approprite just more strange. in my gym sometimes there is this old guys who ALWAYS make coughing and deep breathing noises.....u can tell they are fake though caus they sound so stupid. It really pisses me off, but i think i'll just deal with it since there is no law against strange people

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abaya

In Icelandic locker rooms (divided by gender; sorry WK), everyone's naked, all the time, in a very relaxed manner. You can always tell who the tourists are because they're the ones scurrying about, hiding behind their towels, looking nervous and self-conscious.

The only times we are clothed are between the entrance/exit and your locker. Otherwise, I sort of just expect everyone to be nude, since we're all required to shower before entering the pool (and it's a group shower), and people take their time about it. Remarkably freeing feeling, once I got used to it.

I am glad that they banned shaving in the showers, though, since I don't really want to see other people's pube-mounds drifting by me on the way to the drain...

Everyone being nude, though, makes it difficult to figure out if anyone is a perv (esp in the ladies' room). Ktspktsp might have some reports from the men's side, though... we'll see.

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pig

i pretty much choose not to worry about it. as long as no one touches me, i could care less if seeing a bunch of naked guys in gym locker makes their day. i'd feel differently about the guy jacking off in my general direction, but as friendly points out...that has nothing to do with sexual orientation. i've seen a ton of old guys lounging around naked at the gym - but i've always interpretted it in more of a 'i'm a crusty old fuck and i don't give a damn. my nuts shall swing free if that's the way i want 'em to swing bitches!' sort of way.

in general, i like keeping clothed when possible in the locker room, but i'm not overly concerned about being around other naked people. i just like to minimize exposure of genitals...cut down on accidentally rubbing or jarring, cutting and tearing, that sort of thing. i've never wanted to get slapped with some sweaty protuberance while trying to get my ipod set up. keep your junk contained.

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Plan9

Oh, but I think you'd be a badass ancient nutswinger, Pig. The kind that makes young men run home to mommy and start sucking their thumbs again.

...

I don't have any problem with naked people, but I do have issues with people being naked for the sake of getting attention. Get a hobby, fuckers.

Us American'ts live in a highly sexed yet oddly prude culture that makes the human body a vessel of sexual-everything-plus-plus. Just ask any college age guy what he thinks breasts are for and you'll get anything but the biological answer. Our society is so hung up on our bodies as sexual beings that we forget things like "everybody poops" and "everybody has genitals,", etc.

RULE: Naked men aren't badasses. You need pants or a loincloth or a kilt to be a badass. Or tennis shoes, blood, and a chainsaw. History reflects this.

Hmmm, maybe in your wet dreams, home skillet... but in Iraq in 2003 we didn't have running water for a month. You ever wear the same clothes for a month, man? Talk about insane crotch funk and ice-cold bucket baths.

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abaya

Threadjack: Cromps, I could never quite put my finger on what made your posting style so unique, but it just hit me. You have remarkable talent in creating some type of KENNINGS. And what is a kenning? According to dear old Wiki, (This is coming from the English major/Icelandic nerd, btw, so I understand if everyone is shaking their heads right now.)

So, rejoice in your nutswingers and home skillets!

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Plan9

Pfft, I'm about as unique as a man wearing BVDs in the '80s.

Thanks for the compliment, though. Kennings, huh? Righteous.

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Whatever you can carry.

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nonplussed

The hanging around thing sounds weird but I've never experienced it at my club. What I do notice is that there is a generation gap. The older guys, like me, walk from the locker to the shower naked. The younger guys wrap a towel around themselves. That seems weird to me.

My girlfriend has seen the same thing in the women's locker. Her theory is that it stems from different generational experiences in middle school and high school PE. Back in the day we used to take showers in PE and got used to the nudity. That may not be the case today. I really don't know.

Jackshit

I agree with pretty much what you said. I've seen younger guys wrap a towel around them and then pull their boxers down and change with the towel covering them. This seems a little retarded to me. There may be something to the PE thing. I dont know.

I usually walk from the locker to the shower nude too, but if it is crowded I sometimes will use 2 towels; one to cover up and one to dry with. This is really just out of consideration and a little bit to avoid being associated with the creepy guys.

In the sauna and whirlpool I always go nude. I think that nudity in the locker room is normal, healthy and expected. The lingering factor is what seems a little creepy to me.

Today when I went to the gym, there were 2 naked regulars chatting. As I was changing, they got dressed and I suppose left. An hour later after working out I came back into the locker room and one of the guys had evidenty found the need to disrobe and was hanging out again.

I may not be describing this scenerio very well, but if you observed it I think that you would see what I am talking about.

Menoman

High school wrestling its mandatory to take showers, (at least at my school and should be at all schools) because of the prevelance of ringworm.

A few of the folks would shower then get dressed and thats that. Most of us would walk around naked, coaches coming in and out, whatever else happened happened... it was a big nude party taking 45 minute showers, neverending hot water.

I know at the Y though, we worked out there too on weekends, most all of us would get it done and get dressed, so I think it has something to do with the older people just being there that represses the normal mindset of the younger people.

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Blackthorn

When I lived in Cincinnati I belonged to a YMCA. The same show would go on there that you described. It was always the 55+ guys that seemed to want to show off by hanging around the locker room with their junk hanging out. And for some reason...it was the 55+ guys who were beer-belly-central kinds of guys. No chance they actually hit the gym. But they were always in there... waiting for you so they could drop their towel just when you least expected it! I'll be that old in about 15 years...and I'll do exactly the same thing to you young fuckers... Hopefully I won't have the belly-by-budweiser...

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analog

I don't know if it's a generational thing, but I'll tell you that the older people get, the less they seem to care about modesty. If I'm working with a patient who's under 50, it's "cover everything", no question. If I'm working with a patient who's at least 60, I go to temporarily move a little cloth to attach a monitor lead, and a majority of time they will reach down and just entirely pull off/up/down whatever clothing is in the way, without regard to what is or isn't underneath.

If they're people who've made the ambulance ride more than once or twice, they'll sometimes see the monitor leads and just start pulling up their shirt. They are very often not wearing any sort of bra, and frequently wearing a one-piece large "dress", which means they end up lying there holding their dress up to their chin and naked except for underwear (hopefully there is underwear).

Nimetic

Well speaking of funny stuff... There was this one day I went into a change room, and there's this old guy naked by the wall. Leaning forward like he was picking something up.

You know what he was doing? I soon realized that he was using the wall mounted hair dryer to blow his butt dry. I nearly laughed out loud. Anyways... A particularly funny moment that was.

Plan9

Oh yeah, this is why I'm not going to be a paramedic in the US.

*shivers*

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