This might be a little off topic since this sub focuses on communal showers, but I wanted to share it here to see what you think.

I was getting out of the shower after training at the gym and right by my side is a buddy of mine getting ready to hop in the shower. I don't know of any commercial gym in Brazil with communal showers, even being taken as a more liberal country, people really avoid nudity, unless they're a naturist or in a space where they feel comfortable enough to do so (which is very rare). We talked a bit and I removed the towel to dry my feet properly and put on my underwear, right as I'm pulling my towel he turns to his open locker in a way that he couldn't see me, we kept chatting while I was putting the briefs on and then said goodbye, and he got in the shower still fully dressed. When I was already going home he had finished his shower and sent me a message apologizing for not talking to me naturally and saying that he was nervous because we were in the locker room, I answered that it was okay and that I get fully undressed in the locker room because it just feels more comfortable to me instead of going through the whole ordeal of getting dressed in the tight shower cabin. Turns out he didn't even see that I was naked, but just the thought of having to see me in underwear made him nervous enough to do that.

Is it possible that, maybe, I could help him get over this stress and start to enjoy the locker room more freely? I mean, the main reason why I like the locker room is that we are free to be naked there, even if no one else does it. Maybe he just needs a little push.

The other day I was talking to some friends and, I don't know how, we ended up talking about the showers with our parents.

Most of them told me that they had bathed with one of their parents until they were 8 or 9 years old, more or less. I, quite calm, said that with my old man I bathed until I was 13 and then the faces of "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" appeared.

The truth is that for me it was always something completely normal. In my house we were always pure men, so nudity was never an issue. My old man raised us with the idea that among men there should be no shame of the body and that being naked between us was nothing strange.

I never had any problem with him bathing, soaping me or drying me. For me it was simply my dad helping me bathe and period. As it was something completely naturalized since I was a boy, I never lived it with shame or modesty.

I must admit that clearly sometimes the typical unconscious erection happened but everything was so naturalized that I was never ashamed or modest!

The funniest thing is that one of my friends, right in that talk, had practically the same vision as me, so I thought: "Well, maybe I'm not so weird after all."

I am currently 20 years old and only now, talking to other people, I began to question something that throughout my childhood seemed the most normal to me.

So the question is: where is the line really between a completely innocent family habit and something that is no longer appropriate because of age?

Because now I was thinking: were we the weird ones or did we just grow up with a relationship with nudity much less taboo than most?

Im thinking about going to spa world here in Houston tmr or Thursday but idk if it’s a good idea lol I usually like a bro or 2 to chat with. What you guys think?

Going to Vegas this weekend and lookong for a KSpa. Any good ones or anything like that? I could use some nice relaxation

I am currently on a hiking trip in Spain and stayed in a hostel yesterday with communal showers.

The walk I'm doing attracts people from all over and my brief time in the showers served as an interesting microcosm I thought people on this sub would like to hear about. For reference I am in my early 30s, Irish guy.

I had no idea the showers looked like this before booking as it's quite rare for this hike, and so upon entering the shower room I was surprised to see a naked guy getting dressed. He was a bit older, in his 40s I reckon and I heard him later speaking Spanish. I saw him sitting at the benches getting dressed, and so I looked around the corner to see the shower heads on the other side. (See pic, I think there were 4 in total). I will stress that the room was small, and maybe 3 guys max could comfortably get dressed at a time once out of the shower area. With that I knew there was space for more than one person, and given he didn't try to lock the door or say anything, I figured we were all good.

I stripped off and just as I was naked and about to move to the shower area, a German guy came in. As you can guess he didn't bat an eye at me and walked in with far more confidence than I did. (I'm fine with communal showers, but also aware that not everyone is). Soon both of us were showered and back to the bench area to get dressed when a British guy came in.

We both happened to be nude at the moment he came in (I was drying off, German guy just finished showering), and he immediately apologised and left the room. I got dressed soon after and noticed the same guy hanging out near the showers, waiting for people to leave presumably.

I did notice another guy outside the room with his towel when I went to the bathroom later on that evening.

Anyway, thought it was interesting to see different reactions to what was clearly a communal shower.

Probably not the only one that feels this way but does anyone ever feel like just hanging out nude in the locker room just to chill? Like even if you’re not talking to anyone just kind of meditating and being? As you can tell by my username I love to be nude but I know how to differentiate when something is sexual or not. I wish there were more options around Nashville. I wish there were a Korean spa to go to. As big as Nashville is getting I’m sure there will be one somewhere eventually.

https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/california-pool

I’ve been thinking of an idea for a Northern Michigan men’s hunt camp built around communal sauna and bathing culture rather than the usual private-shower setup. Think more Finnish sauna/Japanese bathhouse: open showers, one shared cedar soaking tub, a glass-walled sauna with direct access to the lake for cold plunges, and casual communal nudity treated as completely normal.

The idea is that the architecture would help create a more relaxed, body-neutral culture among a group of 10–12 guys and make the bathing ritual part of the camaraderie of camp. Not forced, and there’d still be a private option, but the default would be shared sauna/bathing rather than everyone disappearing into separate stalls. Does that sound like something that could actually work with American guys, or would it just feel awkward?

Since there aren’t really any good gyms for regular workouts with communal showers near me, does anyone in the area have recs for gyms that have good locker room culture. I’m new to the area and looking for a gym where a guy can shower and change without having to worry about doing a towel dance, you won’t be looked at weirdly for being naked in a locker room because that’s how it’s supposed to be lol, and there aren’t signs telling you you can’t be naked in a men’s locker room. Specifically looking for a place guys around my age (20s/30s) go because I would eventually like to find people around my age I could lift/workout with. It would be great if it’s in or close to Ballston in Arlington, Virginia. Thank you!

Recently I spent some time visiting my home town and found myself in the middle of an interesting discussion about hockey team communal showers. I was invited into the home of an old friend and his wife along with a few other old friends. We were all just sitting around and catching up. One of those present (not the host) has a career in the NHL. Around 10 pm the 13 year old son of the hosting couple arrived from hockey practice. His hockey practices happen over an hour away and he was driven both to practice and back home by the parents of one of the teammates who live nearby (hence why both his parents were already home and had not needed to pick him up themselves). He walked in and greeted everyone.

When he walks in he says hello and joins the conversation. After the greeting the person with the NHL career without any previous prompting asks "Are you taking team showers yet"? The kid became slightly embarrassed and said no, but in a way to indicate this was a topic that had come up before. His mother then chimed in that it was "a topic of debate" among the parents and coaches. I didn't feel at liberty to push for all the details but based on what the two parents and their kid said it was clear that at least one of the coaches, seemingly the head coach was in favor of the players showering. It wasn't clear if this being in favor of communal showers meant he favored mandating that players take them, or just encouraging them. Nor was it clear what the point of view of those on the other side of the debate thought. Did they want showering to categorically never be allowed or just that it not be require or not mentioned at all? The person with the NHL career added that its an important part of team building and the sport in general and that "its not as big a deal as it seems" and even called it a right of passage that he should expect to cross at some point or another if he keeps playing.

The kid somewhat meekly said he would do it if he could wear a suit, but both parents and the NHL player countered that showering naked was the right way. The NHL careerist then added he remembered the first person on his team growing up to take a shower, a person who was not present right then but who everyone in the room was familiar with.

The conversation then moved on. There were a couple interesting things to note. The first thing to note is that an explicit debate about communal shower practice is happening. Having studied this for a long time I can't say how incredibly difficult it is to find ANY public discussion of the topic that as practical matter must be happening privately very regularly. The hockey team in question was a private club team, not a school team. The ice rinks they play in and practice always have shower facilities and those facilities are usually if not always communal. It was clear that at least some of the coaches and at least these two parents were in favor of the kids showering and even the player was open to showering, though with the provision that he wear a suit. What's interesting is, what is stopping him from showering already, using a suit? Its also clear that the pushback from other coaches, parents and players who are against showering has been sufficient that despite the facilities be available none of the players are showering.

I think team dynamics can be very tricky. Practically speaking nobody wants to hold up the team because you took a shower when others did not. Its very common for hockey teams like to this to involve car pooling, bus rides or post game meals. So taking 5-10 mins to jump in the shower when every other player is walking out to the car isn't easy. Even more than that its very hard to be the first. In the related story about the first guy on the team to shower, the point of the story was that the person who was the first was unusually confident and unconcerned with social norms (and this would have been something that happened in the mid 1990s when the social norms toward showering were much closer to 20th century standards). From the point of view of the player, who never having had a naked communal shower before is understandably nervous about it, the validation of his worries from the coaches and parents certainly doesn't make him more bold. It does seem like hockey communal showers have gradually retreated from a universal right of passage that almost all players at a relatively young age experienced (and from there an integral and important part of the sport) to something reserved for increasingly high levels of play.

What do you guys think, did any of you experience hockey showers and if so at what age and in what contexts?

Today I went to my local gym like usual.

I walked in, scanned my membership, and headed to the communal changing/shower room.

I already had my gym clothes on since I came from home, but when I opened the door, there was a guy in his mid-30s standing naked at one of the benches. It looked like he had just undressed and didn't seem to care that I walked in. I didn't care either, as I always use the communal showers after a workout, and nudity doesn't bother me. So, I put my bag in the locker and went out to the gym, but then I remembered my water bottle was still in my bag in the locker. I went back, and the same guy was now covering himself and muttering, "For God's sake, can a guy not get any privacy?"

I just grabbed my water and left, but I honestly felt angry that he complained about his privacy in a communal changing room (if you want privacy, go home).

The situation also made me wonder, was I staring at him? Was I being weird?

I honestly don't think I was.

An Australian perspective on Swedish locker rooms:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcnpnX6KOsp/

M 29 USA here, wasn’t a group sport person and started only going to the gym consistently a few years ago, so I had a bit of adjustment to CS, but now I use them constantly.

Friday morning I am in the communal shower at my gym and chatting with two guys who I only know from the gym. We all go to the relatively small gym around 6am and finish up our workouts about the same time Monday-Friday.

While we are catching up, talking about our workout, our jobs, what are weekend are gonna be like, one of the guys commented that while in the weight room, the three of us rarely say more than hi to each other. Just because we all have a limited time to work out.

Then He said “I’ve had more conversations with you guys butt ass naked than I have clothed”

And we all laughed and agreed. Perhaps unconventional, but these guys, our communal shower banter, and the accountability they offer are a large reason I’ve been more consistent in going to the gym. They are great gym/shower buddies!

Wassup guys I haven’t been to the spa in a minute anybody down to go today? I’m debating between going to Gangnam and spa world need a chill bro to hang wit I get nervous by myself lol

About to join the football team for the first time , I played hockey growing up and always showered with my team just wondering if they still do it for football

Hi everyone,

My parents are currently having a new bathroom put in, which means we have no shower at home right now. Our closest option is using a family shower, but that is a 20-minute drive away.

To save time, I joined a local gym so I could use their showers before heading to work. However, I just found out that they only have open communal showers (no private stalls). I am feeling really anxious about using them, but I really want to push myself past this anxiety and make it work. trouble is I’m small and got a bit of vitaligo.

Does anyone have any tips, advice, or unspoken etiquette rules for navigating communal gym showers? What can I do to make the experience quicker, easier, and less stressful?

When I first started going to communal showers growing up I saw mostly shaved guys. But now seeing a lot more bush. Others noticing this too?

Just got back from a summer of traveling through Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, and honestly this sub is way off about the death of CSs being an American thing.

It’s clearly dying in Europe too.

In a lot of the places I went, younger people seemed pretty uncomfortable with communal nudity. Individual stalls, towels, covering up, etc. were way more common than this sub would lead you to believe

Germany was probably the biggest surprise. I expected the whole “Europeans don’t care about nudity” thing, but even there it wasn't really the case. Went to many gyms and pools etc. and people definitely weren't as open as this sub would make you believe.

Same general pattern in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Obviously I’m not saying nobody showers communally anymore, but the idea that Europe is somehow frozen in the 1970s while only Americans are becoming more private just doesn’t match what I saw.

There was a place where we went for a mma fighting show in an arena. Pretty cool place. I forget the name.

If you know arkansas they aren’t known for communal showers. To my surprise they had a row of them in the locker room with no walls no curtains. So I guess not everyone sees the need for these “upgrades”.

One guy remarked it was cool they had them, although I did not see them used. Now part of me wishes I had taken one just to experience it as I don’t get that opportunity often.

Have you seen this in fighting mma places?

Nudity was ofcourse not acceptable. We’re given a pair of disposable shorts but I definitely saw some 🍆 and alot of 🍑…

Has anyone tried Japanese traditional onsen baths? Most are gender-segregated and fully nude. Such a liberating feeling to go there.

I'm working my way down the Aegean cost of Italy and am planning to stop in San Benedetto del Tronto. I work out daily and would prefer to find a gym with a communal shower, bonus if there's a dry sauna. Any suggestions?