Cool on Fire - Daniel Johns

I find this kind of mesmerising.
And it's steadily growing on me.
Daniel Johns certainly has presence.
I hope you enjoy it.

SunglassHot

The things you find online!
I recently came into the market for a pair of sunglasses when mine got ingloriously run over by a car. Having trouble finding what I wanted I turned to the net to see what was on offer and found Ray Ban has on their website a 'virtual mirror' where you an try on the sunnies in their range. I was a tad sceptical, but had a bit of time to kill so tried it out.
AWESOME.
I've since tried all the glasses in their range, partly for laugh value, but it's a seriously cool tool and worth a look. Now I have no ties with Ray Ban and I'm not sure how long this has been operational, but it's worth a look. (Of course you need a camera on your computer).
Check it out:  HERE.

Holy Jeans Batman

As much as I like guys in not very much, sometimes just an element of visual is even better. Like the above knee for example. It reminds me of when I first met The Frenchman. It was the same look, the same tear in his jeans. And his knee was the first place I touched him, sitting in the car next to each other, unsure of how to otherwise communicate what we were feeling at that moment. A moment I'll never forget, a feeling imprinted in my hand and heart.

Surfing White Butts

We've all seen guys with shorts hanging half way down their arses. Some of us have even been those guys I'm sure. But I've seen a whole new trend, one I'm hoping will catch on through the southern summer. Swimming in the surf I noticed a white flash surfing the wave next to me. I thought I was mistaken but a tanned blonde surfer was catching a wave with his board shorts exposing the entirety of his extremely white hot butt. He was laughing all the way, and paddling back out into the surf with the same white beacon beckoning. Again and again. He was trying to get a little attention from some people on the beach and achieved success beyond his expectations.

The water was crystal clear, the waves divine and I'm going back for more. Regularly.

(photo sourced from L'HOMME EST UN CONCEpt)

All Tied Up

I was chatting with a good friend the other day how I never wear ties any more. I have a boat load of them from the days when I did, but they slowly phased out of my day to day wardrobe. Sometimes I miss them.

We threw about a few ideas as to why they were invented in the first place, none of which turn out to be correct. My friend suggested I post about the history of the tie. So Martin, here is your post. I'll keep it brief, though that could itself be a whole other post...

It seems Ancient Egypt had the first known neck tie - a rectangular piece of regular cloth wrapped around the neck and draped over the shoulder a bit like a shawl. It represented social status. China had a form as well, noted from around 220BC. But the modern tie stems more from a fashion statement by the military in Croatia in the 17th century which was noted by the French and copied. They must have found the Croatians sexy.

The ties were worn in a lot of different shapes and styles with loads of different ways to tie them.

Up until the 19th century, the styles mostly included country symbols and were tied in ways that represented the social status of the wearer. I wonder if a certain knot indicated sexual persuasion...

The modern necktie developed its shape in 1924 when New Yorker Jessie Langsdorf patented a style of cloth and cut, made in 3 parts which were sewn together to form the now worldwide fashion item.

And maybe, having researched some of the uses of it (ie the photos for this post) I might have developed a new interest in Ties, and the men who wear them.

It's not about the clothes

There's no wonder designers hire sexy models like Mr Zagorski here, to wear their wares. Sometime the clothes are so good they need nothing to sell them, but more often than not they need to borrow a little sex appeal. Take these particular board shorts he's wearing - put them on anyone else and you'd not look twice. Young Maxwell wears them and suddenly they're more appealing and you're thinking "I could wear those", and the advertising ticks the box, and hopefully your wallet.

I recall going to an event as a teenager with my brother who was competing nationally windsurfing. Lots of the guys were wearing these cool new surf clothes, they were mostly elite windsurfers and accordingly fit & tanned. I was much less fit & fantastic, but I liked the gear they were wearing (really the guys themselves too if I'm honest). The next day I decided to track down where I could get some. When I got to the store the staff told me of the event they had loaned out much of their stock for the night before... So all these guys were effectively models for the clothes for the night. I kind of felt like I'd been tricked and lost interest in buying anything.

Product placement does work, I just try to take less notice of the product and more the placement these days...

Populate or perish?

Imagine you're in an empty warehouse. Immense open space, and you.

Sitting on a chair.

If we add a little magic, you can populate the environment around you in any way you choose. You may make it into a neat forest, with you resting on a day bed in the middle, or reclining in a hammock. It could be the ultimate dance party with a selection of people - will they be men or women? a mix, hot & sexy or guy/girl next door types, maybe a very specific kind of party goer? Perhaps just one person dancing only with you.

It might become a theatre, a cinema, a Googleplex. Perhaps an oasis like resort with waterfalls and plunge pools. It might be a mammoth sauna / bath house or a vast dark space with just a string quartet playing under a spotlight . The ultimate warehouse residence with mezzanines, grand staircases, designer art, a butler and a resident chef catering for your impromptu dinner parties. Maybe it's a library with walls of books.

You're going to create something entirely different from me or anyone else and this would be different now from if I asked you 1 hour ago.

People often think they know what you are thinking. Chances are there are a thousand other things happening in your head one of which might be close, but the reasoning behind it might not connect at all with what they are thinking. Just as you really have no idea of their thoughts or the reasons behind them.

It easy to stereotype or assume thought patterns, but if one keeps an open mind, you can travel to whole new worlds through the people around you. You just need to ask loads more questions, assume nothing and not build walls where there aren't any.

What kind of worlds will you find?

I'll have what He's having

I reader has kindly recommended this video, and I can't think of any reason not to agree. A little bit of hotness for the start of the weekend.

Is there a point? I don't know. And tonight I really don't care. Click below and watch a little pretty.

Just because it's sexy

47 seconds

Training Partner?

I've lost my training partners.

I've lost my coaches.

Some have moved out of the area, some are temporarily in the Northern Hemisphere, some just don't train any more. And too many have been hit by cars. On bikes. Bloody Drivers.

My brother is still out of action in a training sense from his accident, and my swim coach is in hospital in a coma.

I've always been an independently motivated guy and so I go on and push myself to go better, harder, faster on my own. But I like people and I like working as a team, or even just working independently but connecting with someone along the way. I miss them all. The people who would just be there and do stuff, and push hard, and sometimes not but still have fun along the way.

And so I'm looking out for new people to fill the void. They may or may not look like the guy in the picture, but so long as they challenge me in some way I really don't mind. I just have no idea where I'm gonna find them.

Pack up my wheels and...?

I'm ready for a break. Ready for some change. I've been on the merry go round for months and the 1 week break in Byron Bay was great, but enough to make me want more, not be ready to go back to every day life. I want to buy that one way ticket to anywhere and see where it leads. I want to seek the people who make me think and grow, and leave the people who stifle creativity and expression.

At the same time I want to cure my dog who has cancer and is deteriorating daily. He's the best natured labrador you could imagine, allowing my daughter to pull toys and food from his mouth, lie all over him, climb over him, as well as hug and kiss him as she too grows attached to him and searches for him whenever she arrives home. I don't want to leave him, I don't want him to leave us.

Watching a loved one dying, a little more each day, is a kind of living grief. You feel joy that he's here with you and sorrow knowing the time you have with him is increasingly short.

So I want to run away and stay where I am.

Holes in all the right places.

There's something about things that have holes that I just love. It could be the peak at something you're not supposed to see, a view of something sexy, the ability to poke your fingers into them and feel around. The curiosity as to how they formed - intentional, accidental or just with repeated use.

When I first met the Frenchman he had a pair of jeans with large holes in the legs which showed off his very sexy knees. It's one of my enduring images (and tactile memories) of those fledgling days of our relationship.

People too have holes, and I'm not talking about orifices. The imperfections they frequently try to cover up. In my work I have to poke and prod into these holes in people's lives because they're the bits that, while frequently labelled trivial, often have significant impact on their lives and health. Often in ways they have no idea of. While it can be dangerous territory to explore, the discovery of these perceived or real imperfections is often valuable for the people who harbour them. The truth is everyone has something they feel is imperfect or needs to be sheltered from the rest of the world. More often than not it's something that gives us individuality and makes us interesting and if embraced can make us better people.

For some of us being gay is that imperfection.

40 40 40 104 104 104 hot hot hot

It's F*#king hot. It's 1.30am and it's still 32C. The last few days have been peaking at 40C (104F) and staying there for a while. I've put lunch time runs and cycles on the shelf for the moment. But the water is my constant companion. I went skinny dipping in a rock pool by the ocean here at midnight which was sensational - not just the cooling off but the stunning phosphorescence in the water. It was like an underwater fireworks display. At 35 degrees outside it was nice to just float around for a while until I actually felt cold. It's one of my favourite things to do in the middle of summer. Pure bliss.

My brother has made it home from hospital and is rapidly on the mend. He's on a mission it seems. Hopefully his body will keep pace with his head.

It's been a good day.

Hit the Sand

It's been an intense week and it's time to hit the sand and celebrate the weekend. For those following the progress of my daughter Amélie, she is now 20 months old and loving rolling in the sand until she's coated like a lamington, then diving in the water and splashing about, and repeating it all. I'm going to be joining her over the weekend and at one point we'll be racing in the far north of Sydney. It should be fun. I hope you have a fun filled weekend. Hopefully I'll see you at the beach!

summer hotness

It's not really a new year , just a continuation of the last one with a new number, and a whole lot more chocolate. Where the hell did it all come from? The cupboard is still chock full of the stuff. It is certainly making me train harder to keep lean. So come Mardi Gras I'll be back to peak form though probably not be anywhere near Mardi Gras itself.

Wandering through The Beresford hotel (so packed you could lift up your legs and still be standing) a few Sundays ago, the first time in a LONG time, I discovered the gay world is actually a whole lot more attractive than I realised. Straight men had been increasingly attractive to me compared with their gay counterparts. Perhaps its because the guys who turn up at the Beresford are a generally a little more gay-as-a-part-of-their-life rather than gay-as-a-career. Or perhaps I've just been away for too long, but regardless, it was refreshing.

This time of the year is certainly peak hot-man season, and everywhere I go I'm pleasantly distracted by men looking somewhat like those above. I've almost fallen of my bike run into a pole or swum into a wall with quite some regularity. The price of hotness. Curiously I've found through my work that the most beautiful people typically have the biggest psychological baggage. It's sad but at the same time reassuring. Yin & Yang always keeping the world in balance.

Having been especially social and entertaining for much of the summer to date, I'm now looking forward to some minimalism. Some time watching the waves roll in, and perhaps picking up a book or two and taking myself offline a little more. Time will tell if it actually happens, and I need a really good book to take me away from it all. Suggestions most welcome.

My plan for your New Year

For New Year's Eve and any night out on the town these are going to be your bodyguards. In fact you can take them wherever you want really, they're yours.

When you wake up on New Year's Day and every day this year this will either be you or your lover preparing to make your breakfast. Your pick.

Your home will be kept spick & span by your own personal house man. He comes with his own gloves.

If you get into any difficulties through 2011 and need support, these are your men. They'll be there through thick & thin to keep you moving upwards. Even though sometimes you'll want to just hold on for a bit.

If you get into a hot spot and need someone urgently. Here he is. Just don't ask him about his hose.

And at the end of each day this is how you will be greeted at the door. Time to smell the roses, or lilies or quite frankly whatever you want.

Have a fantastic 2011. Thanks to all of my regular readers for continuing to come back and read Superchilled. It's great to have you here. It's great to be here and 2011 is filled with extraordinary possibilities. Let's make them come to life.

X

How do YOU celebrate?

I'm sure by now everyone's had a toast thrown their way, "Merry Christmas; Cheers!", "To The Year ahead", "To the Year that was!", "To the Holidays!" and countless others. New Year Celebrations are classically the time when even non drinkers will clash their glass filled with something sparkling against those of others, with fireworks or loud music filling the surrounding air. And while the gold standard is usually a French Champagne, it's certainly not everyone's celebratory choice.

So I'm curious to know how YOU will be celebrating this New Year. Will it be a shared bottled of Veuve (in a a bath perhaps), a beer or three, a glass of adam's ale (water that is) or perhaps something not consumed from a glass. Maybe a celebratory activity - a nude run down a public space or a skinny dip at midnight, a night in with friends or a night in the sack. Perhaps a dance party or quiet night in the wilderness under the stars. The options are as wide as the sky is limiting. So tell me what you're doing and how you're doing it. And if it's with a beverage, what will you be sipping and who will be sharing?

Regardless of how you do it I hope you have a great celebration. I'm looking forward to a week of down time and exactly how I'm celebrating is not entirely fixed, but will certainly include some of the above.

This Side of the Wall

I don't like barriers. I don't like being unable to get past things. I don't like not getting my way, but I like less not being able to express myself, or not be listened to when I'm trying to communicate something. Even if I am wrong. On those rare occasions.

I usually try to break through barriers, jump over them, knock them down, or mobilise other people who can make it happen better than I can. With my triathlon competition I have been breaking through my own barriers - yes I can run, yes I can be competitive yes I can put it all together and work through all the physical pain that threatens to be a barrier but can too be overcome.

But sometimes barriers can't be broken or cleared or overcome.

People erect impenetrable barriers. They lock me out.

Sometimes the reasons seem clear, sometimes I have no idea, but what I find entirely frustrating is when I try to shed light on the issue and the barrier is based on misinformation that noone has attempted to clarify, or the person is blocking any discussion, period. A brick wall defending their brick wall.

I have an eternally optimistic view that people will want to reconnect, clear the barriers to open up their world.

But then sometimes when these barriers have been erected for such a long time they become dark places that I don't want to go. The people behind them become obscure, distant and fading memories. Sometimes I wish them the best, sometimes I wish them the worst, but mostly I wish for clarification, resolution. But if the effort required to achieve this is so much, I wonder if it's all worth it and should I just push the barriers farther away and put in their place people who are transparent with their honest thoughts, who want to be on this side of the wall, not creating new ones, the people who replace darkness with light.

I have trouble letting go of the barrier-breaking me.

Extreme training

With just over 10 weeks to go until Noosa Triathlon I'm stepping up my training. I have a lot of improvement needed in my run times and a little extra speed in the cycling too, with my swimming yet to return to its normal standard (so I'm working on that too). So far I've been getting faster - esp in the running, and my calves are paying for it. But it's nice to see some stepwise improvement. I would like to make those steps a little bigger though... so I'm increasing everything. Surprisingly I've also gained some weight despite getting leaner - I guess those legs need more muscle for all that extra activity.

The weather is strangely warm here at the moment too - daytimes are like mid-spring which makes training easier and it feels like everything is locking into place. Now if I can just manage to run sub 4minute km's...

My First Aussiebums

I'm converted! Its been years in the making but finally this week I ordered online and purchased my first ever item from Aussiebum. There has been a hint of summer in the air and a scent of decaying speedoes in the bathroom so onto the site I went, selected a pair I'd seen in the flesh (or on the flesh...) earlier in the year and a few clicks later, a day or two for mailing and today it arrived. Awesome packaging, very well made and a perfect fit!! So I'm very happy. I just need to test them out in the water now, and then wear them in races to win in style!

So to celebrate the scent of summer and to move away from the politics that has been featuring here lately here are a few more Aussiebum samples. Oh, and the ones I bought are somewhere in this post; but I'm not telling which...