By Zach M., June 2006
I have had a thing for shorts for as long as I can remember. I'm talking about short shorts of course, because back in the seventies when I grew up, only old people would wear the kind of shorts that today's youth wears.
I recall enjoying shorts even before I started attending school. I would often be looking at my own shorts and adjusting them. I remember once, when I was about 5, that I hid in the closet and put on some shorts for a few minutes just to enjoy the feeling... Even at that young age, shorts gave me an erection instantly.
Short shorts became an obsession starting with elementary school p.e. class. I looked forward to those classes, even if I didn't necessarily enjoy the activities. My shorts back then (late seventies) were of a kind I haven't seen since then: stretchy and somewhat silky, but a bit thicker than today's nylon running shorts. They had a powerful effect on me. Those shorts probably made the difference between an innocent liking for shorts and a full-fledged obsession.
Unfortunately, I somehow developed a deep-seated shyness about wearing shorts in front of other people. I still don't know why and I regret the several years that I spent in this state. Maybe the arousal that I felt made me think that other people could perceive how fidgety I was in shorts. There was an incident in third grade when the teacher called on me during class because she thought I wasn't paying attention and said (so the whole class could hear): "If you need so much to adjust your shorts, then please stand up now and do it properly, and then pay attention." I found that a bit cruel, especially since I was a shy boy, but I suppose I had really been playing with my shorts too much.
During those years when I would not wear shorts in public, my quirk only grew stronger. I didn't mind wearing a bathing suit, at least, and since my bathing suit was cut like shorts, I took trips to the pool as opportunities to wear shorts in public. Still, I suffered through hot summers in pants, and today I can hardly imagine doing that.
This lasted until college approached. I had heard (or had wanted to hear) a rumor that the college I was going to attend required shorts in its mandatory p.e. classes. I very much wanted this to be true and I used this pretext to explain to my family why I suddenly decided to buy some shorts for next September. Except I bought them in May—why not, since summer is coming...
That summer was liberating. I went from a boy who would never be caught in shorts to a guy who would wear them at the slightest hint of a pretext. I also started buying more shorts, to experiment with different materials and cuts. As for the college p.e. classes, they did not require shorts at all. I don't remember where I got that rumor...
In those years however, I was wearing cotton shorts, like the short Dri-Release shorts by Soffe, because I found nylon running shorts to be a bit too "kinky" for me, with their thinness and the notches or splits on the side. I still had some shyness to work through.
After a few years of cotton shorts, I finally worked up the courage to go try a pair of nylon running shorts. I still remember going into the change room at the store. As soon as I slipped on the shorts over my underwear, I felt a thunder inside me. I immediately got hooked on nylon running shorts, and I got hooked bad.
Since then, I have almost only worn nylon shorts. Because fashion had dictated by that time that men should not wear short shorts, I gradually stopped going to stores in running shorts.
Instead, I once attended a gym in the winter to run on the treadmills and the track, as an excuse to wear my favorite shorts. More importantly, I took up running just because it was the perfect activity to justify the shortest shorts possible. I still would like fashion to change so that I could go to more places in short shorts, but I'm glad that I found a way to adapt to this situation in a way that has improved my health and made me lose some excess weight. I came to running for the shorts, but I stayed for the sport.
The shorts I wear are mainly made of nylon tricot, because of its stretchy and silky touch. They are not much split on the sides, however. Maybe I'll get over that someday... What matters most is that they be very short and ample. I do not consider any pair of shorts if its inseam is over 2 inches.
I cut out the liner and wear tighter underwear so that it will contain my inevitable and frequent erections when running or walking outside. I pull up the underwear higher than the shorts and tuck my shirt into the shorts. Still, I wear the shorts quite high, although I still have a tendency to play around with my shorts. Sometimes I pull them up to risk showing my buttocks in the wind, other times I pull them down an inch or two to make them looser and enjoy the floating feeling of the loose hem.
On the running trail, I check out other runners, of course, but discreetly. I enjoy seeing women in short shorts the most, but I also look at the shorts the male runners wear: when they are appropriately short, I feel validated in my choice of unnecessarily short shorts...