One of the best-known beach inspectors was Aubrey Laidlaw, who had already laid down the law when the first bikini debuted on the beach in 1946. By the turn of the 1960s, the “Bikini Wars” were in full swing. Laidlaw and his inspectorate patrolled the beach with tape measures, methodically escorting scantily clad women away. But one morning in 1961, he saw something that astonished even him – men in Speedo trunks. He called the police and had them arrested for indecent exposure. I too enjoy an individual sports, but I prefer to spend my time in the water. Swimming is my sport, but I am looking into expanding into diving." It’s certainly what I wore to my swimming lessons in the 1980s. But my 1990s teenagehood coincided with a change in trends that was a blessed relief. Puberty + swimming pools + extremely tight trunks was a combination I could do without. Long swimming shorts – Bermudas – appeared (around the same time as The Simpsons, Cherry 7-Up and Global Hypercolour T-shirts). Then, almost overnight, it became unthinkable to swim in anything except long shorts. By the mid-00s, the Speedo was only marginally less out there than the mankini. As Daley himself once explained to Graham Norton, who wondered why his trunks had to be quite so tight: “If you’re spinning around the last thing you want is to have something come out of place! And when you hit the water you don’t want things flapping about, because it would hurt.” However, if you Google “Tom Daley” and “Speedo”, once you have finished marvelling at his inguinal creases, you’ll appreciate why Out magazine once described this piece of clothing as “the single most perfect and pithy item of clothing ever designed for the male body”. The editor of GQ Style has 51 pairs, including a denim and a knitted pair

What advice would Day have for the male who is thinking about opting for something smaller, tighter? “I’m not saying people should be hairless, but men should at least be aware of manscaping if they are thinking of going Speedo,” he says. “It’s about fit and cut. You need the right size for you. I quite like a retro, slightly loose, higher-waist [style].” Barker now wears them on holiday in Europe, but never in Los Angeles, where he resides. The surf culture plus that peculiarly adolescent strain of American puritanism dictates that men wear shorts.

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It’s designed as a purely functional object. You shouldn’t have anything around your waist that would twist when you swim’ The Gay Games is open to all who wish to participate, without regard to sexual orientation. There are no qualifying standards to compete in the Gay Games. It brings together people from all over the world, many from countries where homosexuality remains illegal and hidden. The Gay Games is the world's largest sporting and cultural event organized by and specifically for LGBT athletes, artists, musicians, and others. It welcomes participants of every sexual orientation and every skill level. Originally called the Gay Olympics, it was started in San Francisco in 1982, as the brainchild of Tom Waddell, whose goals were to promote the spirit of inclusion and participation, as well as the pursuit of personal growth in a sporting event. It retains many similarities with the Olympics, including the Gay Games flame which is lit at the opening ceremony. The first Speedo brief came in 17.5cm, 12.5cm and 7.5cm widths. “It was designed quite practically, not with fashion in mind,” he later recalled. “I realised you shouldn’t have anything around your waist that would twist when you swim. The only way you could stop that would be to end the cut on your hips. It’s designed as a purely functional object.”

Nothing makes us happier than the combination of Bob Mizer's sensational photos and Taschen's beautiful book production. Dian Hanson's encyclopedic knowledge about the Athletic Model Guild and the Bob Mizer Foundation's incredible store of riches guarantees a satisfying read and a helpful guide for physique photography historians. The American swimmer Mark Spitz won seven golds in his Speedo trunks at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Until swimsuits became hi-tech in the 1990s, the swim brief was the choice of swimmers, divers and water polo players. And by the 1980s, the basic British man wore them, too. And perhaps we should stop being so judgmental. Peter Travis – who went on to design the interior of the Australian parliament building – expressed regret that his creation should have become a source of ridicule. “I’ve heard people saying things like, ‘Oh that fat old man looks terrible in Speedos,’ and I don’t like that,” he once told an Australian paper. “The point is, he looks just as bad in anything, but he shouldn’t be criticised because he wants to wear something to swim in. He’s not there for people to look at. Why shouldn’t a person who wants to swim wear that and not be criticised?”The exalted status of the swim brief in gay iconography goes some way to explaining why it is viewed with such fear and loathing elsewhere. In 2018, a man named Chris Donohoe complained that he was the victim of homophobia after being thrown out of a pool party at a hotel in Las Vegas for flouting the “no Speedo” rule. “It so obviously targets LGBTQ+ and non-gender-conforming people,” he argued. “They need to stop policing people based on their gender identity and sexuality.” Great that there are always some new fabrics and good tailors who know how to create a perfect suit with it. Even if it is not easy to find them. Nonetheless, the swimming brief has always had its strongholds – in Australia, as well as in Italy, Greece and France, where many an English teenager has been dismayed to discover that tight swimming trunks are compulsory in public swimming pools. The logic is that it is unhygienic to swim in shorts that may have been used to play football in, sit on the grass in, barbecue in, and so on. I’d guess that a handful of Brexit votes were swung by this rule alone. Whatever your instinctive feelings towards the Speedo swimming brief, you can tell that it is a design classic because the brand has become synonymous with the product – like “hoover” for vacuum cleaner. Other brands are, of course, available – and Speedo the company sells the full range of aquatic attire – but when someone says “Speedo” what comes to mind is, well, budgie smugglers. Tom Daley, incidentally, now wears Adidas trunks.

My uniform also show cases my unique assets. I direct you to my strong and beautifully symmetrical pecs and powerful abs. I'm sure you will agree that my chest is truly stunning. Lastly I ask you to examine my Speedo. See how it bulges to practically overflowing." My sport of choice is wrestling. I love the blend of physical and mental strength needed to defeat my opponents." The Summer Olympics in Tokyo are in full bloom, as evidenced by the plethora of Olympic posts here, and the Speedo shots of some favorite Olympians. The links alone are enough for this Monday morning recap, so go on and indulge. (Special kudos to Tom Daley and Matty Lee on their gold medal, and for sprucing up this post with their Speedo poses.) See more below… It has come to our attention that some or at least one of you cannot tell us apart. Even though we are both extremely attractive, we look nothing alike." I am Sean. My hair is mahogany and expertly groomed in a carefree way that does not require half a quart of gel."

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But he holds some hope that the skimpy brief is becoming more acceptable, especially given the attention that even young British men give to honing their bodies. “That iconic Daniel Craig coming out of the water moment wasn’t quite a Speedo but it was a tight number. I think that helped change things.”