First trip to Brazil, April 2023

[Brak]

Hey, since this is my first trip to Brazil I thought I'd give a report of what my experience has been like as a newcomer. 

Started off with a week in São Paulo. Was going to stay at a lovely Airbnb in Consolação but when I got there the owner didn't respond to me when I tried to check in. Ended up having to get Airbnb to refund me and getting a crappy little room at the Ibis Budget Frei Caneca (which was more expensive than the Airbnb), since I knew I wanted to be close to Lagoa. 

So I went to Lagoa several days. As a first-timer, I was impressed with the number and quality of the guys there. I also felt like it was relatively clean, compared to for example Sauna Thermas in Barcelona. I would post up in the bar reading a book and drinking a beer, enjoyed that they had the glass shower next to the bar. The men there were friendly but not too pushy, which I appreciated. I ended up having 3 programas total at Lagoa. I'm a bottom who prefers big guys with big dicks, and I prefer BB but I didn't bother asking as I assumed most of these guys would not be open to it. All three guys quoted 300 reais, and I didn't negotiate. (I guess that is the going rate in SP, but when I was in Rio they all charged 200.) Funnily enough, the guy I was most attracted to was the bar manager (hot as fuck). It was convenient staying nearby as I could just pop over for an hour or two to see what the crowd was like and have a beer before going out somewhere else.

While in SP I also hit up a couple other places. I went to Bar Queen and Hot House, both of which had fun strip shows. I have now learned that in Brazil basically every strip show includes this very bizarre (to me) specific thing where the guys do their striptease, then leave the stage for a drag number or another stripper, and then they come back out with a hardon in underwear, and they walk around the room and have one customer take their underwear off, then they go to the next customer and hand them their underwear to put it back on. They go around the whole room doing that. I thought it was a funny thing the first time I saw it at Bar Queen, but literally every strip show I went to had that.

I also found that the same strippers were showing up over and over. I saw the same ones at Bar Queen, Hot House, and Lagoa. Makes sense, if you're doing this as your main gig you're going to do multiple shows a night/week. Since I've seen so many of my favorite Brazilian pornstars show up at Hot House on their social media, I was hoping to get to see some of them. Unfortunately none of them made any appearances while I was there. 

I also had a session with Rico Marlon at his apartment. He was incredibly hot in person and just the sweetest guy. I saw him out on the street twice in Consolação afterwards and both times he stopped me to say hello. 

I also went to the SP Eagle twice, where I met and had some fun with an extremely attractive daddy, and to Chili Pepper Hotel, which is one of the nicest bathhouses I've ever been to. Unfortunately I think I had my timing wrong. I went on a thursday evening (bear night) and got there around 8. There weren't a ton of people there. Left around midnight, and I think that might have been when more people were starting to show up. 

I worked remotely several days, and then explored the city. I did some exploring downtown, and found the Galeria do Rock (a full shopping mall of all streetwear, hip hop, and rock music stores) interesting, but in general this (around Praça República and Sé) is where I felt the least safe while I was in SP. I probably will avoid next time I'm in town. The areas I really did enjoy were along Avenida Paulista, where there are (mostly free) museums on basically every block, and on the weekend they shut the avenue down to cars so it becomes a pedestrian and bikeway, and Pinheiros, which has so many different little shops and restaurants to stumble on. Also worth walking around Parque Ibirapuera, and across the bridge to the Contemporary Art Museum. I did go to Restaurant Spot because of the recommendations on this board, and it was indeed delicious.

I mainly used public transit, because I love public transit, and found it safe and pretty easy to navigate. The metro is a bit weird in that if you're not a resident, you can't get a card, so you have to go to the ticket booth and buy individual tickets, which are basically little receipts with QR codes on them.

Overall, outside of the República and Sé areas, I felt pretty safe the whole time I was there. It probably helps that I'm a larger guy, and not to be classist, but in general whenever there were a lot of middle-class people around going about their lives, that to me signified that they were choosing to be there and they felt safe.

I flew from SP to Rio on Saturday. I took the light rail and metro to my hotel in Copacabana, and my first impression of the city was that it was bizarrely dead. Both on Saturday and Sunday when I was in the downtown area, it felt like I was in a postapocalyptic movie where there was just no one around, and I did feel a bit vulnerable. But once I got to Copacabana it was clear where everyone had gone. I stayed at the Mercure Boutique Rio Copacabana, which was both inexpensive and lovely. Located right on the beach. I didn't try to have guests over to either of my hotels, but I don't think it would have been a problem at either of them. Just walk right on by the front desk to the elevators and scan my card to go up. 

I went to 117 multiple nights. Usually took the metro there as it's very conveniently located a few minutes' walk from the Gloria station, and in an area that is bustling with locals and feels very safe. The first thing that struck me is that it did feel noticeably dingier than Lagoa. And the second thing that struck me is that several guys whom I'd seen at Lagoa all came up and said hi. I guess a lot of the guys go back and forth between the two. When I first got there (around 5 on a Saturday) I thought it was empty other than the guys hanging out in the front hallway. I had a drink at the inside bar, and then noticed the sign for the smoking bar. Went out there and there were like 25 garotos hanging out out there. I had no idea. 

117 definitely had a higher proportion of my type of guys than Lagoa did. In total I had 4 programas there, 2 of which were with the same guy. A tall, bearded Black man with big muscles and tattoos. We had to wait a bit for a room, and he made out with me while we did. One of the best kissers I've ever met. Super great in bed — I did find his dick a little odd, it was big, hard and felt great, but it also felt a little lopsided, like a silicone injection gone wrong maybe? 

I did go on their big night (Tuesday) and it was indeed packed, but not noticeably more so than Saturday. The staff were very helpful and friendly — at one point my key fell off my strap and got lost, and they took care of it, helped me move my stuff to another locker. My biggest annoyance at 117 was how loud the music was during the drag shows and strip shows. My apple watch immediately notified me it was too loud, and I had to plug my ears, otherwise it was painful. As I sit here typing this the next day I have tinnitus. 

I also went to Point 202 for their big Monday night. Point is very conveniently located in Copacabana, but compared to Lagoa and 117 it is a shithole. It felt so much dirtier and I felt gross the whole time I was there. Even on their "busy" night it was really dead. There was, however, an incredibly hot, muscular latino guy with a baby face wearing a "massagista" shirt. I asked him for a massage, and for 150 reais I got a long, very legitimate feeling massage, with some sensual elements. He performed it in his underwear, and that combined with the massagista shirt made me think he was not a garoto, but after he finished and I took a look at him I was like "you are incredibly sexy," and his response was "oh do you want to have sex?" I was not expecting that and it threw me off and I said no thanks, but looking back on it he was by far the hottest guy from the whole trip and I should have said yes. 

I'd planned to go to a dance/sex party called Hole on my last night, but I developed a bit of a cough and decided to stay in. (I brought my own covid tests and have tested negative so far, plus I had covid 2 months ago so it's probably not that.) So I didn't really get a feel for the gay scene in Rio outside of 117 and 202, sadly. 

The rest of my Rio time included trips back downtown during the week, at which point it was waaaaaaaay busier, to work and go to the Museo do Amanhã, which is very interesting architecturally if not so interesting exhibit-wise. I also checked out the Metropolitan Cathedral, which is very interesting, as well as taking the Bonde de Santa Teresa, which is a nice ride, but not much to do up there. Cristo Redentor was exhausting and IMO not worth the trip. I bought "skip the line" tickets via Viator, and took the Corcovado train up. That was interesting, and then you get to the top and there are SO MANY PEOPLE. The views are great, I'll give it that. But getting back down was a shitshow. The line for the train (which you could not skip on the way back down) went halfway up the stairs to the statue. I'd estimate I waited about an hour to get on a train back down, and by the time I did I had to go back to the hotel and take a nap.

I also checked out the Museum of Modern Art (not worth it in my opinion), and walked around Leblon in Ipanema, which is a much nicer area than Copacabana, with lots of shops and restaurants, and where I'd consider staying next time. I'm not much of a beach person, so I just took a lot of walks up and down the sidewalk next to the beaches, stopping for drinks and food at the many beachside bars and restaurants, and peoplewatching. I never actually touched the sand. I had thought about renting a car to go to Abricó Beach, which is a nude beach outside of Rio, but driving in a foreign country seemed unnecessarily stressful so I decided against it.

In terms of food, my hotel had a great restaurant in it, Q Ceviche, and I went to O Grego twice because it's open late (12 AM) and was delicious. I did go to Fogo de Chão and the meat was my least favorite part. It just wasn't very flavorful. I much preferred the salad bar, which actually had a tray of pork belly with crackling, which was the best meat by far.

Both of my hotels had The Coffee stands nearby, which is very convenient because ordering is done via an iPad which makes it much easier than speaking to a cashier. I found myself going to The Coffee over any other coffee place around the city because of this.

One thing that did make an impression on me is how gay Brazil is. I've seen so many gay couples holding hands walking down the street, even outside of gay areas. The first two times I turned on the TV I saw a drag queen and a gay love scene. There are antidiscrimination notices all over, and on the metro there's an ad for a show called Tunnel of Love that has straight and gay couples making out. I didn't realize how openly gay friendly Brazil is, especially with all the terrible things I'd heard from Bolsonaro.

And overall, everything here is just so inexpensive. A nice dinner rarely cost me more than $40. I'd spend 3-4 hours drinking at Lagoa or 117 for $30. I had 9 sessions with men, including a pornstar, for the same price as 2 would have been in the US. Ubers cost between $5 and $10, even with surge pricing. 

Overall, I've had a great trip and I'm excited to come back. Since it's only an hour ahead of east coast time, it's pretty easy for me to work remotely from here, so I think I may plan to come back for a month or so at some point.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[Brak]

Forgot to mention, one of the guys I had a programa with at Lagoa and then saw again at 117, when I was leaving 117 he was walking ahead of me. He was very friendly but I'm not much for small talk, so I tried to get around him without him noticing. But he did see me and ran to catch up, and asked if I was taking the Metro to Copacabana. I was, so we walked there together. A train was arriving, and I quickly scanned my apple watch to try to catch it. He jumped the turnstile, and as we were walking towards the stairs, a police officer started yelling at him and walking towards us. He stopped to go talk to the cop, and I kept going down the stairs. When he did make it down to the platform, he waited for the train a few cars down and didn't try to come back and talk to me, I guess he was embarassed.

[Lonnie]

What a terrific report! Glad you had such a great trip.

[12is12]

Kudos Brac!!

GREAT report. 

Glad u had such a good time.

[Brak]

One thing that is hard for me at places with boys and strip clubs is that often the boys will sit and talk to guys for a long time. In Brazil, the GPs would sit with a guy, they’d make out, the customer would play with the GP’s dick, and then they wouldn’t get a programa. I always feel awkward making small talk and like I’m wasting the GP’s time if I’m not 100% sure I’m going to get a programa so I end up kind of trying to be nice but shooing them away quickly. 

[Brak]

Another observation was how interesting it was to watch all these (ostensibly) straight guys hanging out, watching a soccer match, and just fluffing their dicks. 
 

At Lagoa you could tell which garotos were gay or straight by which tv they parked in front of to fluff themselves. (There’s a straight porn TV on the second floor and a gay porn one on the third.)

[buttercawan]

11 minutes ago, Brak said:

One thing that is hard for me at places with boys and strip clubs is that often the boys will sit and talk to guys for a long time. In Brazil, the GPs would sit with a guy, they’d make out, the customer would play with the GP’s dick, and then they wouldn’t get a programa. I always feel awkward making small talk and like I’m wasting the GP’s time if I’m not 100% sure I’m going to get a programa so I end up kind of trying to be nice but shooing them away quickly. 

Most clients tip them after.
I usually hangout in the smoking area and heard the boys venting about which clients are not worth spending times investing. Obviously some do sits and talk for a long time because they are regulars (or big spender)

[mixer17]

The first time is always the sweetest 😛 hahah.  It takes a little time to get used to how different things are in Brazil.  They gayness,  the openness.  It's pretty cool that you went to all those places.   Glad you have a great time. 

[scott456]

So far so good, until one day something bad happens to you in Brazil...

[scott456]

2 hours ago, Brak said:

.... I always feel awkward making small talk and ...

You meant baby talk? There is no way to making adult small talk if you don't have a conversation level language skill in Portuguese.

[albanau]

Great report, thanks for sharing

[babybear2]

2 hours ago, Brak said:

One thing that is hard for me at places with boys and strip clubs is that often the boys will sit and talk to guys for a long time. In Brazil, the GPs would sit with a guy, they’d make out, the customer would play with the GP’s dick, and then they wouldn’t get a programa. I always feel awkward making small talk and like I’m wasting the GP’s time if I’m not 100% sure I’m going to get a programa so I end up kind of trying to be nice but shooing them away quickly. 

that is a privilege of local customers who speak Portuguese. With google translator, conversation finish quickly 

[Brak]

8 minutes ago, babybear2 said:

that is a privilege of local customers who speak Portuguese. With google translator, conversation finish quickly 

That’s fine with me. Even when I’m in the US, I’d rather not make small talk with strippers 🤷‍♂️

[scott456]

1 hour ago, Brak said:

That’s fine with me. Even when I’m in the US, I’d rather not make small talk with strippers 🤷‍♂️

And prostitutes.

[12is12]

Small talk while fondling dicks is a treat! I wish it was also ok to suck them in the public areas...

[Menaughty]

5 hours ago, Brak said:

One thing that is hard for me at places with boys and strip clubs is that often the boys will sit and talk to guys for a long time. In Brazil, the GPs would sit with a guy, they’d make out, the customer would play with the GP’s dick, and then they wouldn’t get a programa. I always feel awkward making small talk and like I’m wasting the GP’s time if I’m not 100% sure I’m going to get a programa so I end up kind of trying to be nice but shooing them away quickly. 

First of all great report! Love it

 

I am the exact same way! If a GP comes to me, I greet them politely but once they start getting touchy which happens with me in the next minute after greeting, I always say to them 'I am just looking for now'.

Now some still will continue to talk but I make sure I give the impression that I am not going to go with them. So that they don't get upset with any epecxtation. 

I know lol it's kinda weird situation but I want to be respectful of my time and theirs.

But I have had some amazing conversations with GPs after doing a session with them. I guess thats their way of taking a break after the session. Some endup sharing a little too much of personal life but I listen respectfully.

 

 

[scott456]

4 hours ago, 12is12 said:

Small talk while fondling dicks is a treat! I wish it was also ok to suck them in the public areas...

Some people may think you are trying to avoid the cabin fee.

You will feel embarrassed (or maybe not)  if someone comes stop you while you are doing it in the public.

[12is12]

I know 

I undrstnd the rational

Thats why I didnt do it

But I wish it was permisable

[Latbear4blk]

3 minutes ago, 12is12 said:

I know 

I undrstnd the rational

Thats why I didnt do it

But I wish it was permisable

I have done it with no issues. I think it is a legit part of the testing before making the decision or the sampling before getting the cabin when you are waiting, as long as you do not do it for long periods. A quick sucky is legit, IMHO.

[buttercawan]

14 minutes ago, 12is12 said:

I know 

I undrstnd the rational

Thats why I didnt do it

But I wish it was permisable

It happens all the time. I have seen it often but they usually happens in the steam room, sauna or porn room. So not that public but still with other people around. Pointe 202 sauna/steam room is famous for some GPs to do more (sometime complete session) with clients.
Some sauna that has free rooms (Sauna 1097 in BH), I seen a GP full on fucking a client bareback by the door in the smoking area.

[Axiom2020]

21 hours ago, Brak said:

One thing that is hard for me at places with boys and strip clubs is that often the boys will sit and talk to guys for a long time. In Brazil, the GPs would sit with a guy, they’d make out, the customer would play with the GP’s dick, and then they wouldn’t get a programa. I always feel awkward making small talk and like I’m wasting the GP’s time if I’m not 100% sure I’m going to get a programa so I end up kind of trying to be nice but shooing them away quickly. 

One of the first guys (Trilingual from the other site) who introduced the majority of us "old timers" to Brasil and its offering wrote and encouraged us to tip a GP if he stayed with a tentative client more than 20 mins.  At that time--the going rate of the tip was R$10.   

The base fee for playing was R$50. 

When I was there during my 12 trips from 2002-2012, I would heed to Tri's suggestion and felt damn good about it as well.  

I often tipped the towel guys as well, for during those times these guys did NOT beg for tips.

If all goes well, I  hope to return to Brasil and to Rio de Janeiro and perhaps São Paulo and Salvador (Bahia) in 2024.  

I managed to experience those three cities and others from 2002-2012, and have very positive and fond memories.

[Latbear4blk]

Just now, Axiom2020 said:

One of the first guys (Trilingual from the other site) who introduced the majority of us "old timers" to Brasil and its offering wrote and encouraged us to tip a GP if he stayed with a tentative client more than 20 mins.  At that time--the going rate of the tip was R$10.   

The base fee for playing was R$50. 

When I was there during my 12 trips from 2002-2012, I would heed to Tri's suggestion and felt damn good about it as well.  

I often tipped the towel guys as well, for during those times these guys did NOT beg for tips.

If all goes well, I  hope to return to Brasil and to Rio de Janeiro and perhaps São Paulo and Salvador (Bahia) in 2024.  

I managed to experience those three cities and others from 2002-2012, and have very positive and fond memories.

I do not wait for 20 mins. Anytime a GP invests time in me, chatting and flirting, even if I am not interested, I invite them with a drink or a snack. I never tip them cash; that is only for the programas in my case,

[Mavica]

1 hour ago, Axiom2020 said:

I often tipped the towel guys as well, for during those times these guys did NOT beg for tips.

Tipping the towel guys was and is good advice.  Good manners and doing so is appreciated.  As for some of Tri's other advice, it wasn't appropriate / necessary for me.  I wish him well, though ... after the hardships I understand he's experienced.

[Brak]

I didn't realize about tipping towel guys — I had read online that tipping isn't really a thing in Brazil. I did actually have the towel guy at 202 ask for a tip, and I did tip him R$6 because that's all I had in my pocket that was smaller than R$50.

I do think I'd be open to tipping the guys for hanging around and letting me touch their dicks, etc. but I am in a towel usually and my cash is in my locker.

[SolaceSoul]

On 4/23/2023 at 8:31 PM, buttercawan said:

Most clients tip them after [extensive small talk or play without a programa]. 

Well, the decent ones do.