GAYLETTER

Fuck catching a train, and then a bus, and then a ferry to Fire Island, Manhattan has all the homo cruising and sunbathing action you could ask for...In the ‘70s and ‘80s, The Christopher Street Pier (actually a group of piers) was a hotbed of homo action. At night, the abandoned warehouses were filled with more mano-a-mano action than the bathhouses of ancient Rome. These days, the most popular pier at the end of Christopher st., Pier 45, has been redeveloped and turned into a public space. A long grass lawn runs down the middle of it, and water installations keep people cool as the temperature rises. It may have lost its former grime and glory, but it’s still cruisy — especially at this time of year, when it’s overrun with sunbathing homos from all over the city. Bring sunscreen...and condoms.  —tom

Who needs Fire Island, or Province Town when you have city beaches so close by? Oh, who am I kidding, we’d much rather be on the island, but hey, I’d also like to have a 5-way with One Direction, but that’s not going to happen, so let’s work with what we’ve got. We were taken to this beach by two young latino boys we met on the bus. We’d never heard of it, but they seemed to think it was THE place to be. They were hotties and drinking booze from small bottles of whiskey in their backpacks, so of course we immediately trusted them fully and completely. If you want to get to Jacob Riis from NYC, ride the 2/5 train all the way to Flatbush, then board the Q35 bus on Avenue H and Flatbush, and twenty minutes later you’re on the beach. Because the NY Parks Department doesn’t handle this part of the beach (the National Park Service does), rules are more relaxed — one section is clothing optional. The beach is popular with homos, we spotted at least 5 groups of queers tanning themselves like they just found a cure for skin cancer when we arrived. Bring supplies, the closest place to get food and drinks is a bit of a walk. See you there!  —tom

We know it’s been a popular drug for, hmm, I don’t know, like 25 years, but for those of you that haven’t experienced it yet, it’s time you give molly a try. Last Saturday we decided to embark on a euphoric experience. By we, we mean a group of our adventurous friends. We headed to The Carry Nation party, at the House of Yes in Brooklyn and all popped a dose. What was most surprising about taking molly is how totally sweet everyone becomes. It’s not self-destructive like other substances, you don’t have a desire to smoke or drink on it, you’re super friendly and gushy to everyone around you and you can dance non-stop for like hours. All-in-all it’s a pretty healthy experience. We’re also encouraged by the recent research that’s shown molly to have huge benefits as a therapeutic drug. People with all sorts of disorders — PTSD, addiction, anxiety and depression — have been helped from just one session using it. For us it was more about having fun. Which we had plenty of. We walked out of the club into daylight, got home and listened to some Philip Glass and had sweet happy molly dreams. The next day, cos we hadn’t drank or smoked excessively, we felt pretty good. A little tired and sensitive, but way better than your average hangover from booze.  —t&a

So this is, and isn’t, a post about getting a hickey. The thing is, life can get real repetitive, real quick. If you don’t force yourself to break your routine, or go out even when you don’t feel like it, then life can pretty quickly become one long Groundhog Day, without Bill Murray to keep you company. To us, the hickey is the ultimate symbol of spontaneity. Which is why we like it, and why we’re going to help you do it right. We don’t care who you give a hickey to, or who you get one from, just find someone who’s happy to go all ‘Twilight’ with you. The goal is to suck hard enough to break the capillaries just beneath the skin. Don’t do it so hard that it hurts (if the receiver isn’t a BDSM fan, then you’re just going to piss them off.) It takes about 20 to 30 seconds to create a hickey, but really, go for as long as you like — a deep toned hickey is the ultimate accessory this summer. Most people do neck hickeys, but why stop there? Why not try a forearm hickey, or a face hickey, or even the infamous dick hickey? The options really are endless. The point is to have fun, and feel like a slutty 21-year-old again. Pow! Pow!  —tom

They’re BAAAAAAAACK! ‘The Cum Trees’ are starting to blossom again. Are you unfamiliar with the cum trees? Well let me explain... It took me two years of living in this city to figure out where that jizzy smell was coming from each year in mid April. At first I thought the smell was maybe like those wafts of pot scent that seems to drift from people’s apartments around my neighborhood. Perhaps the residents of New York were just fucking and jerking off a lot, allowing their eau de ejaculate to drift from their windows to the streets below. When I discovered that the smell, was in fact, coming from the Ornamental Pear trees that are so prominent in downtown NYC I was thankful. I could finally put the case to rest. Turns out it’s the third most popular tree in NYC — there’s around 65,000 adorning our streets. Now I look forward to those few weeks in early spring when the smell of spunk spreads out across the city. It’s invigorating. It’s a signal to shake off the shackles of winter and embrace the warmer months — to go somewhere you’ve never been, do something you’ve never done, fuck someone you’ve never met. Breathe it in, there’s life all around us.  —tom

Earlier this week, I was feeling a bit stressed—I was really mad about Spring not coming and the stupid weather that wouldn’t change. I mean I was in such a state, trust me it can be tiring working so hard to create fresh content for our site, and all our social channels. Let me just say this, I was a little bit out of it and didn’t want to open a bottle of red and finish the entire bottle by myself, or call someone to provide me with some greens to relax me. Then I thought mmmm what can I do right now? I went to the bathroom and started to fill the bathtub, dropped in some old bath salts I found, and some whatever organic soap from Wholefoods. I lit a candle and I turned off my cell phone. I was going to read something but decided all I needed was a bath in silence—and magazines get wet anyways. At first I was still thinking about the outside world, but then I pushed myself to focus on just the warm water... 35 minutes later I got out of the bath relaxed and ready to get on with my life. The bathtub dates back to the Isle of Crete, circa 1000 BC. And the best part of it is that you get to see your penis float in front of you.  —Abi

It’s that time of year when you start to get your Spring/Summer looks together and realize you should’ve done more exercise through the winter. Trust, that out of shape winter look is not cute. But don’t stress we’ve all been there (are there). International porn star, and friend, Max Ryder (pictured) told me about this bikram yoga class that he is co-hosting with Veesaidshesaid (bikram yoga teacher and blogger). He told me that yoga is “the first step to a healthier lifestyle,” and I believe it. Most yogis behave like they are the healthiest people on the planet, don’t even get me started with their attitude. The reason I am recommending this yoga is because it’s free, it’s hot, and it’s queer friendly—the organizers are asking everyone to “bring a gay, or be gay.” Also I heard rumors that Amanda Lepore will be there, I mean I would like to do yoga in the same room with Amanda; that would be so puss. Lastly because, according to Max, it’s also “a pre-party workout” where after they’ll be “serving organic cocktails...” Come sweat and stretch that ass, this yoga is MARVELOUS!  —Abi

Spring is coming, I don’t care what the weather app on my iPhone says, I can feel it in me bones—the seasons are changing GOD DAMMIT! And with the change of seasons comes a chance to change something in your life. We don’t care what you do, but you owe it to your pagan ancestors to shake some shit up, so why not start with your apartment? Spring is the season of renew. So re-paint your bedroom, replace a piece of furniture that’s getting old, remove something you no longer use (ie. give away some old clothes, then use the receipt as a deduction on your taxes). Change something, anything. It may be scary at first, but it’s the best thing you can do for yourself. Just ask a neuroscientist. Apparently every time you do something new, or change your surroundings, you create new neural pathways in your brain—you literally expand your mind. So what are you waiting for? Spring to it!  —tom

There comes a time each year when you just have to indulge. It may sound obvious, but many of us gays are so conditioned to watch our waistlines we never allow ourselves to really just go for it. You know, just eat whatever the fuck we want and down drinks like it’s NYE at the Lohan’s house, then instead of going to the gym, just walk over to the couch and have a nap. At least that’s what we hope most of you have been up to the last few days. The New Year is mere moments away, and you have the whole fucking year ahead of you to get fit and all that shit. For now,  just take a deep breath, relax, pour yourself another glass of wine, smoke some greens and go finish those left overs. It’s what Jesus would do.  —tom

No doubt you ate too many carbs, and drank gallons of liquor during Thanksgiving weekend, like we did. As you know gay pounds are heavier than straight pounds. And let’s be honest these homos in NYC can be brutal; if you aren’t fit you ain’t getting any. I know how boring it is to go the gym, but we got you darling. A couple months back we attended a class by a fit young lady named Sadie, and let us just say, this ain’t like any workout you’ve ever done! It was basically like going to a club and having fun dancing. The 45 minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and we were sweatier than a republican at a Gay pride parade by the end of it. This Wednesday we’re teaming up with Sadie for a class exclusive to GAYLETTER readers. We’ve insisted the playlist be gay — packed with plenty of Beyonce, Rihanna, and a dash of Britney. And on top of that we will be exer-dancing in a room with dimmed lights to give you the full effect of a night club. After you’ll get to enjoy a delicious smoothie on the house. BAM!  —Abi

It seems a bit strange that we just tried a Tenga for the first time, if you’ve looked at our FB page recently you’d think we would have tried every masturbation toy on the market. Well last week, I tried the Original Vacuum Cup Tenga and had a blast! At first I wasn’t sure because it felt really cold inside, but after a few in-and-outs it started to get warmer. And honey it was feeling good ;). The best thing about this object, is that it’s light which means you can go for a long time without feeling like you are lifting a weight. It’s also beautifully, and subtly, designed so you can tell your mother, in case she asks, that’s art or a juice bottle. Also they have a cool collaboration with Keith Harring at the moment, so you know it’s approved by the art world. I managed to try it on someone else while I was on top, and let me tell you, I got a great feedback.  —Abi