Hockey locker room, Retainer?

[Violator]

I just started restoring again, And something I'm doing this time is wearing an oring retainer all the time. I've only been doing this for like a week and I already feel more sensitivity. I play hockey at a beer league during the winter months and shower and everything there in the locker room. I'm wondering if poeple are gonna be weird about me wearing a retainer. Especially since I've played hockey with these same guys for years so they know I'm cut. I won't be able to take the retainer off for hockey because by the time winter comes my glans should be too sensitive to have uncovered during hockey and I kinda doubt my skin is gonna grow enough to naturally cover by then either. Anyone go through a situation like that?

[parsecskin]

Precisely why you shouldn't retain if you don't have enough skin to do so. You could get some of that silicone based skin adhesive from Advanced Devices and use that to keep your skin covering your glans. Just remember to get some of the citrus based adhesive remover. With this stuff it'll look like you're intact.

[Violator]

That's gonna be a little weird too since last hockey season I was cut and then this one I would appear intact but I don't really care I guess. I'm not so shy that I wouldn't tell someone exactly why if they asked but since everyone in the locker room would hear, it would potentially open a can of worms, But screw it, The more people who restore that are open and talk about it to poeple the better the chances of other poeple doing research on the subject before having their kids cut. I didn't know about that adhesive though that sounds like that would work great. Can you use it at night?

[TheRifleman]

That is a good suggestion, parsecskin. Another good suggestion is for Violator to wear tape ring that matches the color of his shaft skin. That would not be noticeable unless someone really examined his penis up close, and what team mate would be doing that?

Violator, as far as your glans being covered, even if the retainer is not visible, that is what you want, and if anyone did notice and ask you about it, you could tell them that you are restoring.

[gdom]

Why are you so incredibly concerned with what everyone else is thinking? If these guys have known you for years especially.

Just wear the o ring if it's comfortable...

[parsecskin]

That's gonna be a little weird too since last hockey season I was cut and then this one I would appear intact but I don't really care I guess. I'm not so shy that I wouldn't tell someone exactly why if they asked but since everyone in the locker room would hear, it would potentially open a can of worms, But screw it, The more people who restore that are open and talk about it to poeple the better the chances of other poeple doing research on the subject before having their kids cut. I didn't know about that adhesive though that sounds like that would work great. Can you use it at night?

So you were cut as an adult too?

[Violator]

No, sorry, worded that wrong. I just ment that since I live in Nebraska, I'm pretty sure every single guy I play hockey with is cut and so if all of a sudden someone appears uncut, it would probably be noticed even if no one is staring at each others cocks. But no I was cut as an infant like almost everyone else in my area.

[otter981]

Well, Violator, you could think about it like this. How pissed are you that you've had to take this much time and energy to think about and take action to restore your foreskin--something that you shouldn't have to do? I know it's uncomfortable and not easy, but these young guys in the locker room are exactly who you should be telling and challenging. Not necessarily throwing it in their face, but telling them the truth if they ask. How many of them are going to get married and have kids in the next 10 years? And how many of them are going to have sons whom they will circumcise because they didn't know any better? And because they didn't know anyone who went through this? You have the chance to influence your friends and prevent this from happening to other boys! It's your choice, but as someone who has a lot of experience challenging social norms, I can tell you it's worth it.

[Science Monk]

This topic reminds me of a story that one member of the Los Angeles Chapter of NORM told me when I attended meetings there back in 2001.

This well-built restorer regularly worked out at a public gym. He wore his T-tape in the locker room and showers in full view of others using the facilities.

When he arrived at the locker room wearing his T-tape apparatus, he would strip down, remove his elastic strap, and secure his T-tape shut for use as a retainer using a paper clip. Then he would put his jock strap on over his T-tape retainer, put on the rest of his workout wear, and go exercise.

Upon returning to the locker room a sweaty mess, he would strip down, and he would head to the showers. He would allow his T-tape to get soaked in the shower, and he would remove the wet T-tape in the shower room.

Because putting on a T-tape the classic way requires giving yourself an erection, he couldn’t put on a new T-tape in the locker room, but waited until he got home.

This restoring gent was mentally prepared to field any questions that other gym-goers might pose concerning the white medical tape he was wearing on the tip of his dick. He said he was very willing to give them an education on restoring while standing there au naturel.

However:

NO ONE SAID ANYTHING !

He was dumbfounded. He saw a number of men give a side glance to the white medical tape he was wearing on his dick, but…..

NO ONE SAID ANYTHING !


David
World As Monkey island

[Science Monk]

When I participated in the NORM-Los Angeles meetings in 2001, one of the Coordinators was a 69-year-old man, who enjoyed walking California’s nude beaches together with his wife.

He had a neat trick for keeping his foreskin forward to appear intact on their beach walks.

He rolled a piece of clear medical tape into a cylinder about the size of a cigarette butt, sticky side out. He then was able to insert this sticky cylinder into the inside tip of his foreskin, and it held.

Of course, in order for this to work, you have to have achieved enough slack skin. Also, in a rough sport like hockey, or in the showers, it may not hold.

But this all shows that ingenuity is needed at every stage of a restoration. Things change, and you have to adapt what you are doing to new situations.

David
World As Monkey Island

[LookLikeDad]

I am a daily gym goer and communal shower user. I have also used hockey locker rooms before... they take "no privacy" to a new level! Mine had pole showers... so guys faced each other when showering... not a big deal. It was the same set up as in my college rec department and some Ys I've worked out at. I've been restoring for a number of years... and the way I always handled it was to wear my restoration device until I got to the gym... then switch to a retainer (a cone)... then take that retainer off just as I am stripping off my underwear. In the early days of my efforts this would naturally cause whatever skin I had grown to roll back so that I appeared circumcised. I wear a jockstrap to work out... and have usually been able to roll the skin forward again, after I put on the jock, , to cover the glans. The tightness of the jock keeps that bit of skin in place which was good, because as you point out the increased sensitivity can be uncomfortable if the glans is exposed. For showering... I did not wear a cone retainer or anything. While I don't think anyone would have said anything to me, I just felt like I did not want to go into it if they did. I just stripped down and showered. If my skin stayed in place during this process (and in the early days it did not) fine... if not... fine, too. I just don't think anyone was (or is) paying that much attention to my penis. I am now fully covered and working on overhang. So I appear uncircumcised. However, I still use the cone trick as before -- the only difference is, I have reliable coverage. Took me a LONG time to get there.

As another poster pointed out in the story about the guy showering with the T tape on... it is highly likely nobody will say anything if you DO choose to wear the retainer into the showers. We have one guy at my Y who has a colostomy. But that has not stopped him from communal showering -- even though he wears a colostomy belt like thing around his waist. Nobody would dare say anything... good luck with your efforts.

[Science Monk]

A.. good suggestion is for Violator to wear tape ring that matches the color of his shaft skin. That would not be noticeable unless someone really examined his penis up close, and what team mate would be doing that?

Violator, as far as your glans being covered, even if the retainer is not visible, that is what you want, and if anyone did notice and ask you about it, you could tell them that you are restoring.

I think that TheRifleman's suggestion to wear a tape ring that is the same color as your skin is a good one. 3M's Nexcare Absolute Waterproof tape is a good choice for that purpose. It is a flesh-tone, foam tape with some stretch to it. It is sold only in a 1-inch width. It is widely available at drug and discount stores in the US, usually at less than $6 per roll. The adhesive is somewhat like that found on Band-Aids, but it is easier to peel away from skin. If your skin is clean and dry, you can reseal once or twice with the same piece of tape.

3M Nexcare Absolute Waterproof tape is the tape featured in the instructions for tape rings and cross-taping on the NORM-Phoenix web site:

http://norm-phoenix.org/restore_devices.asp

David
World As Monkey Island