groenthusiast

Got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine about 18 hours ago. It is a single dose vaccine with an efficacy rate of about 70% compared to 95% for Pfizer and Moderna. It was a quick and easy process. They asked about any allergies you may have, and how you reacted to them. I had to wait for 15 minutes after the shot before I could leave. I didn't experience any pain at the injection spot, and so far my only reaction is a mild body ache like when you're sick. Most people I know got the Moderna vaccine as it was available sooner. Most of them complained of sore arms and more severe flu like symptoms such as chills, headaches and body aches. However, symptoms usually went away after a day at most, after taking pain killers and getting bed rest. Getting vaccinated makes me feel better because I've noticed a sense of complacency about masks and social distancing where I live, especially outdoors. I have co-workers and family who are immuno-compromised so I feel like I'm doing my part to help keep them safe.

Vinapu and Spoon thanks for the recommendations, really enjoyed them!

Loved the bar scene in the first clip at the start of this topic. It got me wondering if anyone knows of any TV shows or movies in which the storyline/plot is about a gogo dancer or the gogo bar scene? I'm thinking of a Thai equivalent to the occasional macho dancer themed movies from the Philippines, like the one below.

Oz thanks for posting the pic above, it brought back great memories. I knew him from many years ago as well, I believe he was called Nicky. He used to hang out at Corujinhas most nights. I recall him working in Roger’s when it was still around, also possibly at Point and Estacao. It was during a brief period when there were three saunas only blocks apart. Very laid back guy. He was later in an adult film called “Deluge” from AMG Brazil if anyone wants to see him in action. The movie is from around 2004 or so.

I listened to the audiobook last year. I’m not from Appalachia but the author’s experience with drug addiction in his family resonated with me. Didn’t realize there was a movie adaptation. Very good performances especially from Glenn Close, who received a Golden Globe nomination. Someone mentioned there was backlash about the way the people were portrayed and I think this might have played into some of the negative reviews. But I thought it did a good job of covering the struggle of a young man trying to move forward with his life and the incredible opportunities he has with the dilemma of saving his mother from her drug abuse. Watching this felt a little personal at times, I thought the story was handled well.

Back around 2005 or so, I was in 117 trying to seal the deal as it were with the latest love of my life for the evening when all of a sudden there was a commotion going on, with a lot of boys running toward the main lounge. Word was that Calvin Klein was there, and he was giving away free underwear. Now whether or not this was true, I don't know, as I never actually saw him, but my garoto ran off leaving me to find out, never to return. I decided then and there that I hated Calvin Klein! To add insult to injury my cologne of choice at the time was Eternity by Calvin Klein.

I visited Porto Alegre once, back in 2011. My advice is if you are curious about PA and have a couple of extra days to make a visit, then go ahead and visit to satisfy your curiosity. Domestic flights and accommodations in PA were cheap, so it's a small price to pay to experience for yourself what the sauna scene is like. Like the OP, I was curious because PA was often mentioned as a great alternative/addition to visit for saunas along with Rio and SP, where I had been many times. I spent three nights in PA, from a Friday - Sunday. I'm not sure if things have changed, but at the time the general advice on the forum was to visit over a weekend. I only visited Mezzaninu, and I visited each night I was there. Keeping in mind that my visit was five years ago, my impression was that perhaps due to few foreign visitors at this sauna at the time, the garotos had a tendency to gravitate toward the locals. There was a noticeable familiarity between the garotos and locals, the working guys were usually seated for hours with a local at a table, where they would talk, have drinks and snacks, kiss, rub each other's crotches, etc. I don't think I observed any visits to a cabine though. However, with 30+ guys working it wasn't difficult to find willing garotos to have a programma with, it just seemed like the best looking guys were sitting with a local. This was the case on the Friday night; the Saturday night seemed to have fewer clients and garotos overall. On Sunday, the place was packed again and I remember that night being quite festive, there was a soccer game going on the monitors and lots of cheering and gesticulating. The guys were less aggressive than in Rio or SP, I usually had to initiate contact with the guys versus being chased after. I had five great programmas and one lackluster programma, which was with a garoto visiting from SP (he was gorgeous though!). The guys were quite good looking overall, with a mix of skin tones but a higher proportion of light skinned guys compared to the guys in a Rio sauna. I remember one of my programmas being Polish, another Ukrainian, another German, which was rare to encounter in Rio. Like the OP I prefer the classic Latin/moreno look but variety is nice sometimes. For a city of its size, I thought the garoto lineup was pretty good, but not necessarily better than in the Rio or SP saunas. All this being said, I'm glad I visited but I didn't feel that my experience would compel me to visit again. I thought the city was pretty dull. I stayed in the Moinhos de Vento area, which I thought was a pleasant neighborhood. I think the city would be a great place to live if you're a Brazilian, it felt safer and cleaner than SP and Rio. But the city didn't have much for visitors IMHO. Each day I was waiting for it to be 5:30 p.m. so I could head to the sauna. Plus you had to take a taxi to get to the sauna, which wasn't always easy to hail in the later afternoon/early evening hours. I prefer taking the metro like in SP or Rio. I felt like getting around in PA was less convenient. But there are many people who enjoy PA and make it a part of their visits to Brazil, so it may be worth making at least one visit to see for yourself.

Lol, Lucky but if anyone can make LAX interesting it's probably Tomcal. Tom - interesting post about Allison, I didn't know he had four kids. You're right, he is really fun in bed, and he didn't need any extra coaxing...he seemed like he really enjoyed the session and he knew how to push the right buttons, he must have learned a lot on those video shoots. I've been with the guy in the fourth pic of your latest picture post, the one who is now a recruiter for Latinjocks. It must have been at least 6-7 years ago now...I remember him as being really sexy in a sort of quiet, intense way. I think you're right when you say half the sauna guys have been on websites like Latinjocks or in porn videos. I think it's pretty amazing that I can watch an AMG Brazil movie and be able to say I've been with half the cast.

Hi Tomcal thanks for sharing your experiences and pics, you sure brought back a lot of memories! I was with the guy in the third pic of the Latinjocks post above a couple of years back. I had seen him in some porn videos before and enjoyed his work. I was standing in Pointe one night, turned my head and he was standing two feet away from me playing with his phone. I was starstruck . I don't usually make the first move with sauna guys (I'm kinda weird that way), but there was no way I was going to walk out of there without having a programma with him. He was actually a lot more interactive than I thought he would be. In fact, he did more things in the cabine than he did in some of his movies. I look forward to reading about your future visits to Brazil, Miami and Prague.

Hi everyone, thank you for the welcome and your insights. I thought that word of mouth was probably the most common way the guys learn about the saunas. Tom, you make an interesting point that this can lead to an up and down cycle of guys, and also why some saunas have certain types of guys and others don't. I never thought these could result from how the working guys learned about the saunas, but it makes sense. It's funny that Ihpguy mentions the Baixada Fluminense. I always ask the sauna guy where he is from (it's one of the few phrases I know), I've heard "Baixada" or "Duque de Caxias" it seems like half the time. In fact, the guy in pic#4 was from there. Some of you might recognize the Hotel Atlantico bedsheets he is sitting on . It's funny you mention the street bichas, because a couple years back I met a guy at 117 who said that he used to work in a park In Goiania. Then at 18 he tried his luck in Rio. So far, he's the only one I've met who's admitted that. Regardless of where they're from or how they got there, I hope they'll keep coming for years to come. I don't know if there's any other type of men out there who has the warm sensuality, hot looks, and open minded attitude toward sex that Brazilian men have. And some of them don't mind posing for photos!

I've been to Brazil a few times over the years, and I've always had a blast. Attached are some photos of guys who've helped me enjoy past visits. I think it's amazing that on every trip after that first one, there were always new faces working in the saunas. I was wondering, how do these guys start working in the saunas to begin with? I know their motivation is usually financial, but how do they know the saunas are there to work at? Is it through word of mouth? Do they read about it on the internet? Is the existence of these saunas "common knowledge" in Brazil? I once met a guy at Meio Mundo who literally turned 18 a couple of weeks before I met him. I've met guys from cities all over Brazil in the Rio and SP saunas. How would these guys know about the saunas, especially since a lot of them seem to be straight-identified, really young, from out of town, etc.? I've meant to ask the guys but something always comes up. Does anyone here have any ideas?