Men Sharing Clothes 7 - Lycra Cycling Shorts

In 2009, I did a series of 6 articles about different men depicted wearing the same clothes and fantasied about the erotic possibilities.

(the first article in the series is here :- Men sharing clothes )

A reader who enjoyed that theme has sent me in some more pictures of these men being subjected to bondage while wearing the same lycra cycling shorts. Above, a nice erect pose to begin with

Number 2 is a cute package, hogtied and ready

With the sinister black mask, this man looks like he's about to become a kidnap victim, the thick striped rope is very erotic.

Royale & Guys In Uniform Studios - Conclusion

Royale studio and it's successor 'Guys In Uniform' trod a unique path portraying men, not as beefcake or highly polished seducers, but as ordinary guys with natural looking, sexy bodies. They dressed them in clothing that signified male-ness and placed them into situations suggesting submission and subservience under the threat of military/authoritarian control.


Guys in Uniform - Chained Nude

This Guys in Uniform image (sadly imperfect) is a classic domination scenario which looks back to the artsy AMG style. It's is unusual for it's virtually naked captive. The scarcity of frontal nudity and extreme forms of discipline in these pictures was dictated by the laws of the day and may initially disappoint modern tastes, which have become accustomed to high quality imagery of muscular bodies, exceptional erections and elaborate bondage and beatings. But for anyone who cares to linger, these pictures rekindle the lost art of anticipation, of savouring the plight of the prey. It's a process which is generally swept aside by the rush to nudity in modern porn and replaced by interminable studies of oral mechanics.

Royale - Man dressed as a Scout

This Royale picture of a rather mature scout shows that the use of clothing is no hinderance to admiring a man's body. It's use gives the characters an identity and the pictures a context which makes them far more memorable than variations of naked men beating other naked men. This is not to deny the intimacy and erotic power of modern video and photography which admittedly puts these studios in the shade as far as sensuality and realism is concerned. But Royale and Guys in Uniform pictures have a special masculine quality that sets them apart and they retain their erotic power still.

I haven't covered all the GIU and Royale material that I have in this series and intend to return to the subject again in the future. I hope that posting the material will help keep it alive for future generations of gay men.

Royale Studio 15 - Sporting Hunks in Tight Shorts

Royale Studio - Soccer Player Tying Laces

I'm going to conclude this Royale review with a selection of sporting images which are really just pin-ups and not tied in directly to the themed sets I have discussed before. These pictures showcase the famous tight shorts that were the hallmark of the studio, although they weren't alone in using this iconography (Scott Studio was probably the foremost exponent of the technique).

In the first picture the informal pose of a soccer player tying his laces has a nice masculine intimacy about it, but it is transformed into erotica by the application of water to his skin-tight shorts. The image quality has suffered from reproduction, but it is a great example of sporting erotica.

Royale - Footballer in Tight Shorts, Dennis White

This picture is a good deal less subtle but the contrast between the standard issue football shirt and footwear and the tiny squeezed-in shorts conjures up an erotic fantasy from an otherwise everyday image. The hairiness of the model's legs adds to the incongruity of the display. 

The left foot extended forward could be interpreted as a foot fetish offering - or maybe it's just an attempt to relieve the strain on those flimsy shorts - and the model's groin! Whatever the case, the combination of enlarged boots with the model's impressively tapered torso has somehow created a curious shrinking effect around his lower body. For me thoughts of how the model was persuaded to climb into these garments - at a time when sexy underwear for men was unheard of - is just as erotic as the visual result.

Royale Studio - Footballer Face Down on a Bench

This is a better-known image, and it relies a lot on the entirely unnatural, passive pose for its impact. In the context of Royale's other subject matter, it immediately suggests a punishment scenario, but the open defenceless pose also invites the viewer to savour the model's body. The shorts play their part erotically, but the tightness is less extreme so it's more subtle than my previous examples making the image less artificial. This viewpoint obviously makes the most of the model's tremendous thighs, but you get the impression that the care has also been taken to highlight his muscular arms and calves by carefully positioning rolled-back sleeves and socks.

Royale Studio - Footballer Bruce Thomas

This pose is more naturalistic and the soccer kit closer to a normal fit, 

but there's enough tightness round the nether regions 

to bring out interesting creases and shapely thighs.

(printed in Man Alive 2, ca 1958)

Royale - Cyclist in Tight Shorts

My final picture is a much prized, recent addition to my collection and once again uses an everyday pose to impressive effect. You can just imagine how Royale's fans might have fantasised about those famous shorts appearing in their own favourite, real life situations and on their favourite crush. The bicycle is a rarely used erotic prop - surprisingly so when you consider the shape of the saddle and its position relative to the bottom in the riding position. It associates the model with youthful pursuits, athleticism and independence. An example of boyish associations which Royale and GIU both flirted with from time to time in a nostalgic way - their models are never immature.

Royale Studio 14 - Men in shorts

In this post some Royale images which I haven't associated with themed sets although they may well be part of them. Today's group features men restrained or readied for punishment.

Royale - Man tied to a door frame

This man is tied to the frame of a door which is not a standard Royale situation, but his shorts and socks could easily be the same as those featured in the last few postings of football mayhem. I haven't succeeded in identifying this individual in those sets though! I commented before how these bouffant hair styles make the head look bigger and the body smaller, creating a boyish effect which may appeal to some, but I prefer manly qualities which are most evident in this figure from the waist down. If you cover up his head you will see that this is actually quite a chunky man! The cut of the shorts is very brief allowing a sexy glimpse of the lower part of his buttock, Royale tailored items to create these effects, see part 12 for another wearer. I also like the way that the waistband is rolled down suggesting the revelation of more flesh than is proper!

Royale - Suspended in Shorts

The second figure is being subjected to the more usual wrist suspension technique used by Royale and which featured in a couple of the sets reviewed earlier in this series. The submissively bowed head creates tension for what is to come. Some thought has gone into lighting this picture which nicely shows off the musculature of his arms, the sweep of his neck and texture of his hair, the buttocks appear pert rather than bulky but I can't help noticing how the pleats of the shorts pointing downwards suggest a considerable downward pressure on the waistband! Overall there's a strong vertical line in this image which is very striking.

Royale - Man bent over a horse

The final picture shows a man draped over a gym horse, though for some reason it's in a curiously lopsided way which looks very artificial. The model sports a splendid pair of thighs but for me the coiffured hair, neatly turned down socks and freshly ironed shorts don't quite capture the rough masculinity I look for in these pictures.

Royale Studio 13 - Footballers Caned by Sir

Royale - Caned on the Hand

Another caning story with the same football gear but featuring a different group of men. This time there's a classroom setting and an 'instructor' dressed in military style uniform wielding the cane. The subject of the class, according to the blackboard, is maths, differential equations so it's hard to fathom why they are all wearing football outfits. It's quite hard to sequence these pictures into a plot but I have assumed they all start off fully clothed and progressively undress.

In the first picture a student is caned on the hand by the instructor who is dressed in flamboyant military riding gear. Curiously, another student helps to restrain the victim, using an embrace that is rather intimate considering their skimpy clothing.

Royale - Rescued from the Cane

The punishment of the offender progresses to bare ass caning and another student comes to his assistance in a rare acting moment. The collaborator from picture 1 has by now been labelled a dunce (i.e. stupid). Even in Royale's time, the school dunce's cap was history, the stuff of children's comics and pre-war schoolboy tales. It's use as a humiliation motif tells you more about the creator's background than anything else, it's certainly not sexy!

You may recall that it was also used by GIU, some years after this set was made, in another group caning scene which I described back at the start of this survey. If you go back and check you will find that set has exactly the same plot elements as this story, but substitutes athletic vests and shoes for football shirts/boots and the instructor wears a different uniform too.

The dunce's shorts are actually more interesting than his headgear. Apparently the Royale models' clothes were dampened to show more of what was underneath and this is a rather successful example. This practice must have been quite uncomfortable for the model and may explain some of their more stilted posing!

Royale - Student's Revenge

The students take their revenge and one of them gives us a fine bottom and thigh display while there's also a mild treat for boot lovers. The dunce has ditched his cap on the floor.The overthrow of the authority figure, subjecting him to an caning of his own in a most undignified position would have had more shock value in Royale's time than it has today, even these rear views would have raised eyebrows.

Royale - Bent Over A Stool

In this picture the rescuer has shed his shirt, so it seems that we have moved on and the original order is restored. Punishment of the first victim resumes and his friends watch with arms crossed as though in agreement with their instructor. The sense of collaboration is quite erie and intriguing, not knowing the real story. The damp shorts show their mettle again!

Royale - Bared For Retribution

I placed this one at the end as it fits the traditional Royale finale. Hands hoisted overhead, the rescuer is readied for his own punishment by his submissive classmates. The manipulative power of the instructor comes across but the victim's rather full head of hair seems to diminish his body size so the nudity doesn't have the impact it should. The posing is pretty stiff too but the student with flashy boots shows up well.

Royale Studio 12 - Football Ballet (FOBA)

Aug 2024:- Article undergoing review and enlargement at the Royale Studio blog

Royale - The Football Team Gather Round

This set continues the football theme, but it's essentially a group of men wearing nothing but tight white shorts - and socks of various patterns which I find are invaluable in tracking the different characters through the 'action'. As far as I can see it's a different group to the last set although they are obviously sharing socks (and possibly shorts too, a nice thought!).

In the first picture the team are watching the referee holding up a pair of ripped shorts which they have just torn off him. This chap's shirt is a real period piece but it's the tight shorts everyone is wearing that are most eye catching. 

The referee is Ian Oliver. On the far right is Fred Collins and standing next to him is John Skilling, they also appeared together in Soldier-Sailor. The model on the far left is Tom Manlick, infamous for his appearance wearing a chain pouch in the Horse Guard's series. Next to him is a less well documented model, Alan Hythe

Erotically speaking this is an unremarkable picture but what is striking is the number of actors/models in it - 5. When did you last see 5 men in a modern erotic photo? The only examples I can call to mind are from Bound Gods, maybe a few other major film studios and fashion shoots like underwear range launches.

Royale - Bottoms in Football Shorts

This is a straightforward cheesecake shot 50's style but with my interest in shorts and men's bottoms it's irresistible. In Royale's pictures the themes of discipline and submission are never far away so that even a simple line-up like this has darker possibilities. These men have well shaped bodies and natural muscle definition, but Tom Manlick (far left) and John Skilling (far right stand out). With a haircut and new footwear they would grace any modern photographers output.

Royale - Double Caning for The Football Team

The series continues with a series of shots in which the models take turns in caning each other (for their misdeeds. This picture sums it up pretty well. There's quite a contrast between these wooden, static pictures and the energy and atmosphere of the last set suggesting they are earlier, or perhaps the models were less experienced. 

(L to R: Hythe, Manlick, Skilling, Collins)

Royale Studio 11 - Gym punishments (Article Superseded)

This article is now superseded by Gym Instructor 

at the Royale Studio Open Archive.

~

In the 'Guys in Uniform' review we started with some outstanding gym punishment scenes and it's interesting to compare the Royale equivalents.

Royale Plimsoll Spanking

These pictures appear to be from the same set judging by the socks and seating arrangements although each face visible in one picture is obscured in the other! I only have these two pictures from this set and have deduced the sequence from Royale's normal modus operandum, but would be delighted to hear from anyone who has more pictures or more information about them. In the first, the spanker rides on his victim like we saw in the last post. He appears to have some authority over the other two men since they offer no resistance. The bystander has been overtaken by dread or remorse - or perhaps he has already had his plimsoll spanking.

Royale - Spanking Tables Turned

In the other picture the tables are turned, this is one of my favourite Royale images and is very well known. I just love the spanker's laddish, determined face - quite a change from his agonising in the first picture (just check the socks to identify each man) . His colleague applying the barely noticeable arm lock on the victim contributes some sexy thighs to the erotica. This picture has a more natural quality and energy than many of Royale's images. The hand spanking is unusual for them but naturally integrates the participants into a neat, coherent image. The shorts and socks are sexy and look right while the antique football boots are an interesting period detail.

I'd love to find further pictures from that set, 

please get in touch if you want to swap via the link on my Profile Page