As I’m sure you are all aware, those of you loyal readers that is, we recently did a piece about McKillop Underwear and they were gracious enough to send us some of their hot undies to review. I wore and reviewed a jockstrap and DJ Bakelite got to wear and review a pouch…you can see our reviews here and here if you’d like.
Anyway, one of Ryan’s big pushes this year is to help give guys the courage to say hello, and he does that in part, through his blog, so we thought it would be a great close out piece to talk to him a little about his blog, it’s purpose and of course, what he likes to wear. Ryan was gracious enough to sit down for a second time and participate in a little cyber Q & A with us. I was going to write it up as an article, but decided to just leave it as a Q & A piece so you can get the full weight of his answers. We would like to thank Ryan for all of his participation on our blog and for all of his time! We hope to work with him more in the future.
How did the idea of the lifestyle blog come about?
I have had the Mckillop blog (www.mckillop.blogspot.com) site for about 8 months now. It was an amazing venue for us to comment on our daily events, promotions and Mckillop News. We were able to update this with more ease then our main site www.Mckillopuw.com. Then over Christmas 2010 I was thinking of how vain it was only talking about our underwear all the time, also realized that they was only so much I could talk about. Then I read a book that changed my view completely; this book told me to care more about your customers then yourself. I started to think about what the Mckillop customer was interested in. It funny Oprah says to “live your best life” and to be true to yourself, and I started to think about what I had in common with my customers. Then as if a lightening bolt hit me I thought “I hate online dating” and dating in general, personally I wasn’t a fan and so I put a post on facebook and asked if anyone else felt the same way that I did, and the response was unanimous. It grew from that point, to the fact that no one meets organically anymore, you go to the bar and you stand there with your circle of friends that you came with and you don’t say hi to anyone. Also you don’t want to say hi to someone your attracted to because you overcome with fear and excuses. I then decided that as a whole the Mckillop Brand was going to start to change and grow into its own. This created the “Courage to say hello” campaign. I thought what could be more perfect! The Mckillop brand gives you confidence when you walk into the room, you feel sexy in your Mckillop’s and from that point on Mckillop had a purpose more then just making guys look and feel amazing.
What do you hope to accomplish with the lifestyle blog?
Since Jan 11, 11 I decided to use the blog as a tool to help the Mckillop customer get out there and meet new people. We have created a culture now, and an honest one at that. This is something that I am really personally invested in and so is the Mckillop customer. We have joined forces with many companies, websites, bloggers, dating sites and a few other fun sites to bring you daily news on the dating front and issues facing the single man. Also it is not just our blog that will keep the courage going, we have also decided that our promotions from now on are going to be less and less online and use our promotions to get guys to the bar and meet new people. We have to shed the convenience of the web or we will all become too anti social. We know that we can’t change the world but if we can give back to our customers and help them with things they really care about then the Mckillop Brand is truly living it’s best life. We make an amazing product that will be around forever but I want it to be more then just a pair of underwear and if we can help our customers to be more social then that is more important to me then a big Mckillop bulge.
What has the response been so far?
Since Jan 11 (Now Feb 7) the response is outstanding, we have been getting emails about the Bachelor of the day, telling us how much they like it, We have been scouting the net for partners with dating advice, our cocktail of the day is fun too there are so many drinks out there that I never knew how to make and for my next party I will be able to show off some new skills. I have also thrown in a few of my personal rants (Ryan’s Rants Category) which is a great part of the blog for me, I never want to become some CEO guy behind a desk that is never seen nor heard, I really want to be in touch with our customer. The blog has also introduced a whole new world of co bloggers and sites that I would have never known about before. I am happy that the knowledge I am finding can be sent to you guys out there. We are also happy that you are showing up daily on the blog and I am not kidding about feedback, we want the Mckillop Brand to be for you not for me so please post comments and let us know what you would like to see and hear.
How does one become a bachelor of the day?
Mckillop U/W has partnered with www.gaybachelorblog.com because we have the same goals (to get guys out there and meeting new people) the Gay scene is full of dating sites and hook up sites that are not achieving results and we feel that gay bachelor blog is a great way to showcase men that are in it for the long haul: to become a bachelor visit http://www.gaybachelorblog.com/become/ With regards to how you become a featured bachelor on the Mckillop Lifestyle blog, we pick at random each day a new guy to help the gay bachelor blog gain more guys with the same goal as Mckillop UW
The question on everyone’s mind – what style of your own line are your favorites to wear and what are your favorite underwear styles in general, if not your own?
The first style of underwear that I made was the 3” pouch, it will always be my favorite but the thin waistbands are just as wonderful, really it depends on that pants I am wearing. If I am wearing a low cut jean that when I bend slightly shows the skin below the waistband I often wear the 3” band to provide more backside coverage, but if that is not an issue or I have a tucked in shirt the 1.5” waistband is my favorite. Color wise I love the lime color. As for other brands I know that the current Mckillop U/W collection is a weekend line and our collections are not designed for random Tuesdays at the office so I could be found in a variety of brands if I had to choose I would have to say “Obviously” has gained my affection. But you would also find me alone in the office working away commando with the pouch in my pocket and if I had to run out to make a delivery I step into the pouch (over my pants) shimmy it up/cover and then leave, it is the best flop reducing but bulge enhancing product out there.
The Mckillop U/W brand has only been around for a year and a half and as each day goes by we are defining who we are and growing into our own. There are so many brands out there now and it seems weekly there is a new player on the field but for us we are not trying to gain the whole world, it is a special group of people that like jockstraps and pouches and we are interested in creating a world and a lifestyle that caters to their needs more then just what you wear. When we say we give men “the courage to say hello” we actually mean it and it encompasses our entire brand. Live what you believe!