SolaceSoul

Wow. You rlly DID spend time with Fernando the guide, didn't you? LOL. He's good and knowledgeable. And he knows a lot about the black history and politics of Brazil. BTW, I wouldn't exactly describe his tastes as "rough trade". I'd call it maybe "streetish / Bahian". The guys I've seen him with and date really do look like they would fit in either at the current Persona in Salvador or Meio Mundo in Rio.

One would have to be walking around Brazil with blinders on, or would have to be burying his head in the sands of its lovely beaches,NOT to notice color differences in Brazil -- and how color (and self-identified race) has to do with class there. And how can one go to Salvador de Bahia -- the place with the largest concentration of people of African descent outside of the African continent, and the place where the majority of the African slaves were dropped off during the slave trade, a place where over 90% of its inhabitants have African blood in them -- and NOT notice or discuss color? I'm mixed-race, Black, Irish, German and Latino, very fair-skinned (like Vanessa Williams, Mariah Carey, Derek Jeter, Vin Diesel fair-skinned) and I notice the interesting irony of the Brazilian brothers and sisters who are darker than me, have thicker hair, and clearly have more "African" features than me who call themselves "white". Due to its different history, color and race are different concepts in Brazil (and other South American / Latin American countries) than they are in North America / Europe -- ESPECIALLY in the USA, where the old "one drop rule" (one drop of black blood makes you black) still applies for the most part. In Braxil, it's almost as. If the one drop rule is in the reverse! Yeah, I got that "please, black people, stop upsetting the nice non-black people by talking about all this color!" message. And I say save it for your therapist. Many men and women, gay and straight, from all over, visit Salvador particularly BECUASE they are interested in the Afro-Brazilian men and women and its emphasis on Afro-Brazilian culture and history. To ignore it would be silly. No, scratch that -- it would be stupid. On one of my last trips to Salvador, I met this woman from Hungary in her 50s who travels to Salvador quite often. She told me she visited 10 years ago and instantly fell in love with the people, the music, the food, the history, the culture, so she travels to Salvador at least twice a year now. I wanted to add, "you mean you really fell in love with the dick!" but I was too polite. But I knew what was up!

In those two photos above, the kid does look young. NOT 12, but not quite of adult age. I would've guessed 16. But if he is of legal age, then all is OK. He is what is referred to in the porn market as "barely legal". Legal -- but barely! Not my type at all, but clearly the type of some key posters here. As the old saying goes, it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round (or something like that). Badboy, if you think HE looks really young (or "barely legal"), do a search of the photos in the archives. Brace yourself. There's plenty others where that came from. Maybe he's just a forever young Ralph Maccio-type who can play "The Karate Kid" into his 30s?

.., OR posters can just continue to write about their own Brazilian experiences however they choose to, in spite of how uncomfortable the topic may be for you, or even how disinterested you may be in hearing it. I really hope you weren't referring to me when it came to that history lesson of Brazil and the Bahia, or even race relations in Brazil. I certainly don't need it. Perhaps you meant that little lecture for someone else. Many posters post here ad nauseum about men and boys that I do not find in the least bit attractive or desirable. You don't hear me saying, "hey tone it down on all the twink talk!" In spite of my desire to avoid reading about it altogether, because it's a real boner-killer for me. So if I can put up with that, certainly your delicate palate can tolerate a little talk about color -- especially when it comes to a country with people with lots of it.

I can understand perfectly why he may not want to do that on his personal Facebook page. I have two Facebook pages. One in my real name that has family members, old classmates and business clients as friends. I have another under what I call my "club name" that I use for my dirt. I would post about my travels, my hookups and my sexcapades on the latter, not the former! Aunt Ruth and Uncle Fred don't need to read about those!

Did Fernando the tour guide tell you that Sauna Fox is mostly white garatos and clients? He told me that as well a few years ago, which kept me from initially visiting -- but my personal visits there have proven to me that it's not really all that much whiter than Planetario. The facility is just as nice if not nicer, although it is smaller, and the working boys there, IMHO, are just as fine and built as at Planetario, and almost as many darker / brown skinned guys. The neighborhood that Fox is in (Pituba) is a pretty upscale / upper-class neighborhood in Salvadaor, so that may be why more of the clients are "white" (lighter-skinned, really -- there really aren't many white people in Salvador or Brazil, at least not how we North Americans and Europeans define white). But like all the saunas in Salvador, you have to pick the right night and time for the best crowds. Regarding Sauna Persona, a few years ago, it was totally on-point, with several muscled, attractive, darker and browner garatos. On my last few visits, however, it hasn't had very many garatos, and the ones that were there were just average to me (similar in looks and build to the garatos at Rio's Meio Mundo). I've gotten into the habit of going to Persona right before a stop at Fox, since when staying in Barra or Vitoria or another "Zoma Sul" neighborhood in Salvador, a taxi ride to both is about a 30 minute ride, and they are not that far from each other if you take a cab. But they are both quite a ride from Planetario, or Olympus (another smaller sauna with some boys), or Sauna Rio (sauna with no working boys, all locals), or Sauna Paradise (another no garatos, all local sauna in Barra). In fact, one of the garatos at Persona told me that one certain nights the handsome, muscled guys on the northeast side of Salvador work at Fox. That is what inticed me to visit Fox for the first time. This was in 2013, and I've been to Fox at least 6 times since. In order of my preference in Salvador for garato saunas, I currently rank: Plametario > Fox > Persona > Olympus. These rankings may change depending if things change, as they have over the years.

I know both Neto and Ricardo very well. Not sure about who Fabio is. Planetario is a fun place on certain nights, as is Fox.

I agree. We don't need (current) sauna boys posting here.

Is Junior the same muscular older (maybe late 30s to mid 40s) guy I've been seeing at Pointe for several years, almost always at the front of the sauna when you walk in, but always dressed (usually in a tight muscle shirt)? I figured he was a manager or something. I never have spoken to him in all the times I've visited. I just got the I,press ion that he wasn't very friendly, but maybe I am wrong. Now, there is also a very attractive guy who works behind the counter at the front desk at Pointe who I met first in late 2014' and saw there again this May (2015). He is always very friendly to me" smiles big and calls me by my Brazilianized name, then says "American boy". I feel bad because I totally forget his name. He has silky, wavy black hair that almost goes to the nape of his neck. He's very handsome and very do-able -- even if he isn't really usually my physical type. Maybe someone here can remember his name?

So now the discussion radically shifts from gay bars, clubs and lounges to gyms? You're all over the place. Gyms everywhere have muscular men. That's why they are gyms. But that is completely off point. And I certainly wouldn't stop doing business or sell a business somewhere because of what the men look like in the bars or even the gyms, unless my business hinged upon that particularly market or demographic. However, I certainly might retire / semi-retire somewhere because of it!

The garatos I know suggest this to me all the time. The days where I invite women into my sex life are long gone for me, so I politely decline. So basically, if one doesn't bring it up to you, suggest it to them. I'm sure you'll find one to happily oblige and set it up for you.

Dude, thanks for the advice, but I own several properties in Atlanta, have a business there, and I'm there often enough to at least leave one car parked in a garage for use while I'm there. We all have different types and different perceptions. But I will say that if you think there are a lot of muscular, masculine black guys at Bulldogs, Einsteins or The Mixx, then sorry, but we just have vastly different perceptions of what that is. Yes, perceptions change as we get older, but also, we have more to compare to. Atlanta is still one of the best places in the USA for black gay social life, but sadly, the party crowd at the bars and clubs has changed. Much of that could be generational, maybe some of it cultural. Other than that (and the political landscape outside of metro Atlanta, which is ridiculously rednecky), it's not a bad place to live or to conduct business. But come on -- the black gay club scene in Atlanta has seriously deteriorated. I wish it were not so, but that's the general consensus.

I really think someone was pulling your leg. Figuratively and possibly literally.

Most of the black guys are at the predominantly black clubs in Atlanta. If you went to a club in Atlanta that only had several of them, then you didn't go to one of these. Most of the clubs, gay and straight, are fairly (voluntarily) segregated that way. I own several properties in Atlanta and go there for business quite often. The club and bar scene there for Afrcian-Americans is not what it used to be, unfortunately. There used to be tons of masculine, well-built black men all in the club and bar scene, and the predominantly black clubs were a place to hear amazing music and see hot masculine men. Now? Not so much. If you like twinks, chubbs and sissies, twerking to Nicki Minaj, then you'll be in heaven there now. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what happened.

I'm mixed-race black/white/Latino American guy in my late 30s, and I get this ALL THE TIME when I visit the saunas. I don't know how young you are compared to me, but we're probably both well below the median client age at the saunas with garatos. But it also happens to me at gay bars in places like Santo Domingo. I think it's just some people being presumptuous based on preconceived notions and stereotypes. Usually what puts a stop to it is for me to just loudly speak English (or French, or whatever language is the language of tourists). But I'm usually very good at getting people who irritate me to STFU. Call it an occupational hazard, But I consider that a small price to pay for the enjoyment and pleasure I get in Brazilian saunas. I'd gladly trade the bullshit and unnecessary drama at most American gay bars, bathhouses and sex clubs for the sexiness, calm and enjoyment of Brazilian saunas any day of the week. That's most likely "Robson". I consider him to be a pretty good Brazilian friend. Sometimes he bothers to undress, sometimes he doesn't. He gets paid either way. His friends are hot too.

I agree with everything you've said about Meio Mundo. I've been there several times and just can't get into it. The kinds of guys that are there (twinks, little boy looking guys, average looking, regular guys) are not my thing at all. These are the types that often hit me up on social apps like Grindr and bars in the States, and I'm not going there to have what I could easily get on any night out in the USA. One reason why I rarely post here is because it seems the overwhelming majority of posters are posting about Meio Mundo over my preferred 117 and Pointe. Many posters here seem to poo-poo over Pointe because they don't like muscle guys. But those generally are my preferred type. I wish there was more info about them here, as well as photos. Although I do appreciate the info given here, it is a little skewed to the posters' tastes, one must admit. On my last trip (May), I directed to Meio Mundo a good friend who travels with me often but this was his first time in Rio. I really thought he would like MM since he tends to go for the thinner, taller, younger guys. To my surprise, he did not like the place, and spent the rest of his trip visiting 117 and Pointe,

Fernando Bingre is a great, very knowledgeable gay guide in Salvador and all over the Bahia, if interested. Nice guy that knows the city, the history and lots of people, gay and straight. You can reach him at his Facebook page under his name. Message him there or find his other contact info there.

There's no edit option in posting here, it seems. My second paragraph should read: If you look and act like a local and you don't look like a gringo, then all these "safety concerns" are not really for you. You'd just use the same common sense you'd use in any major city like New York, LA, or Paris. If you look pretty "white bread", or fresh off the plane, then yes, take these extra precautions.

No, that's not what a median means at all. I understand the point you're trying to make, though.

I've been to Rio several times in the past 5 years. I wouldn't call myself an expert but I'm pretty well-traveled all over, do pretty well when I'm there and know quite a few people and places. If you don't look and act like a local and you look like a gringo, all these "safety concerns" are not really for you. You'd just use the same common sense you'd use in any major city like New York, LA, or Paris. If you look pretty "white bread", or fresh off the plane, then yes, take these extra precautions. I'm a fit, athletic biracial male in my 30s. I look Like I could be Brazilian until I open my gringo mouth. I've learned I can blend in very easily. I can probably afford to be a bit flashier (and possibly a little riskier, as time goes by) than some other posters here. But yes, don't be dumb. Do what you'd do in the least safe areas in NYC or LA, if you're that cautious, and you'll be ok.

Thanks, Tom! Is there now another place in Rio where the hustling and pickups occur? I really like the saunas and beaches all over Brazil, but I'd also like some places before and after their hours.

First time poster, but been lurking I visited Rio twice in October 2013 after researching online about the best pickup / hustler spots there, as well as the saunas with the working boys. I went to Corujinha's a few times for lunch, dinner and late at night, but I didn't see the kind if hustler action I had read about. Is it still an active place for hustlers, rent boys and garotos? If so, what time of day and what days? If not, what restaurant, bar or street area in Rio now has the hustlers and working boys? Thanks.