Padding, uniform and sneakers are are the latest—and most accessible—gay kink.

When I called David Lauterstein, CEO of Nasty Pig, he was on set shooting models for their Spring 2018 collection. There’d been a misunderstanding as to when I was supposed to interview him, but he took my call anyway. “It’s an appropriate time,” he said, “I’m shooting two guys in jockstraps as we speak.”

I was searching for insight into sports fetish and, seeing as Lauterstein had built a brand empire with his kink-friendly clothing, he seemed like the ideal person to talk to.

Nasty Pig

Sports has been fetishized forever, but there’s a new wave that’s much more visible: New York’s Eagle bar now has a dedicated monthly “sports gear” night. Started in Montreal, the Testostérone Gear party now tours North America. In addition to leather and latex, it celebrates jocks, singlets, and athletic gear.

In London, Sportsbolt Club is a monthly men’s party in Vauxhall for guys who are into sports-kit fetish, including tracksuits, lycra, and soccer and rugby uniforms.

join our newsletter – every month win a free ticket + drink. Register at http://www.sportsboltclub.com/newsletter/ #midnightathletics #lookthepartplaythepart A post shared by Sportsbolt Club (@sportsboltclub) on Jul 14, 2016 at 9:04am PDT

Stateside, there’s a weekend retreat for serious sportie-lovers in Michigan, GearBlast:US, which began in 2015, after originating as a one-off event at Mid-Atlantic Leather nine years earlier. It’s for people who are into wearing full-coverage protective gear, with many inspired by bikers and MotoCross.

Even if it's raining outside, biker still wanna get in gears. #dainese #studiogum #gearfetish A post shared by kinky rubber fetishist (@athleticlust) on Jun 18, 2017 at 7:40am PDT

And I’ve noticed a lot more jockstraps at the leather bars, as well as designer singlets and rugby-inspired looks. Lauterstein explained how Nasty Pig is rooted in New York’s hip-hop culture, with styles influenced by basketball, football, baseball, MMA, CrossFit, and weightlifting.

So what exactly is the extent of the sport look—would Lululemon tights with a Vent-Tech tank work?

“The sports that guys have a fetish for are different based on the sports that are popular in their country and the availability of the gear,” says GearBlast founder Christian Smith.

One UK scene, for example, fetishizes sports uniforms with a working-class look: One that’s inspired by scally lads, delinquents who favor Adidas tracksuits and trainers. This never really caught on in the U.S., but is celebrated across Europe.

There is a sneaker sex party in Switzerland, a Mr. Sneakfreaxx title and even an International Sneaker & Foot Weekend in Milan—all inspired by a love for sneakers, sportswear, and socks.

“I think the guys in Europe are dirtier and kinkier,” Brian Murdy, marketing director for San Francisco’s Mr. S Leather, told me. “I think it’s more sexual and fetishized in Europe than it is here. Here, I think, it’s more about just having a look almost.”

Even so, I still wasn’t clear what the look is, exactly. Perhaps to really understand it, it’s necessary to see where it came from.

Athletes have always been idolized in gay culture, whether the bodybuilding beefcakes photographs of 1950s physique photographer Bob Mizer on or the work of Bruce of Los Angeles.

Then there’s Chuck Renslow, who started Kris Studios in 1953 with his lover, Dom Orejudos. Renslow, who also founded International Mr. Leather (IML), had a real appreciation for the male physique: In 1958, he purchased Chicago’s Triumph Gym so he could scout athletes for his photography.

Leather magazine Drummer also featured sports-as-fetish pictorials—beginning in 1975, with models in football, boxing and wrestling gear.

Drummer

“When it comes to sports like American football, hockey, lacrosse, and other sports that require armor,” notes Smith, “the feeling of invincibility and the way the shoulder pads broaden your upper body is very appealing.”

The jockstrap is the focal point of the sports fetish—it was first eroticized back in the 1960s, in physique mags like Renslow’s Mars, as well as Trim Studio Quarterly, 101 Boys Art and Male Classics. Since then, it’s been worn and worshiped by many. The difference is now that companies like Nasty Pig, CellBlock13 and GBGB have branded them, along with other sports apparel and made them commercial.

Nasty Pig

These looks borrow from the historical archetypes of athleticism while introducing some new sports and inspiration. Perhaps because this new wave is rooted more in fashion than fetish, it’s made a sport look acceptable and giving many an entry point into a scene they would’t otherwise have. (It’s a lot easier to buy a rugby shirt or Lycra tights than a leather chaps or a vinyl body suit, after all.)

This new wave of sport fashion includes vibrant jockstraps with removable codpieces, stylized linebacker pant, open-ass singlets, revealing crop top jerseys, and apparel modeled off rugby and MMA gear. There are even leather styles turned sporty, but all these looks lean towards more masculine sports, which seems to be the standard.

So would yoga gear work?

Lauterstein did experiment with fine mesh and matte Lycra but customers didn’t like it—it was more zen than athletic. “I think anything’s possible,” he said. “It could work, you know. Who knows? It didn’t work at Nasty Pig but maybe you could start the trend.”

Still, are any sports total non-starters? Not according to Lauterstein, who puts the onus on the wearer.

“If you put something on and you feel hot in it, go for it. And if you put on the thing that everybody else thinks it’s hot and you feel ridiculous, take it off,” he said. “I don’t care what sport it is. It could be fucking rowing. Walk in with paddles. If it makes you feel hot, go for it.”