Our story

It all started with an idea…

My name is Michael, and I’m the founder of Spectrum Threads.

The idea for the business occurred to me in the spring of 2018. I was shopping online with one of the world’s premier men’s underwear designers (Andrew Christian), as many of us have done before, and I realized that I wished I could see the product before I bought it. I then looked into where the nearest retailers were for these and other underwear brands, and I was stunned to see that not only were there any in the entire state of Tennessee, but that the closest purely men’s underwear and fashion retailers were in Atlanta, Georgia and Lexington, Kentucky. I thought it was high-time for Nashville, a quickly-growing city and the 23rd largest city in the United States, to have its own place for LGBT men and women to be able to shop and support.

Yes, there were (and still are) sex shops with clothing and underwear items in them. These, to me, were not what I was looking for. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being sex-positive - toys and other sexual items certainly have their place in relationships and industry. Unfortunately, though, stigma keeps many of these places in the dark - with seedy reputations and hushed undertones.

I began to think of the women’s lingerie industry, and stores such as Victoria’s Secret, Soma Intimates, and others. I began to wonder, what is it about our society and culture that says that men can’t have the same experience - get fitted for proper undergarments by trained team members, Have fitting areas where they can try different types of undergarments to find what makes them feel sexy. Why should men be stuck with the age-old question, “Boxers or Briefs?” All of these questions led me to the idea for Spectrum Threads.

I began to get in contact with numerous menswear designers, and many of them were on board with allowing me to offer their products on my new website. I soon realized, however, that I still lacked a little bit of the business acumen needed to successfully open a disruptor in the menswear industry.

Between April of 2018 and June of 2021, many things happened in my personal life, and Spectrum Threads took a backseat for a little while. I used this time to not only secure myself personally, but I continued gaining different business skills in order to relaunch the brand when the time was right.

Then, of course, COVID-19 took over the planet in March of 2020. While we all struggled in one area or another, I continued to learn different skills and keep myself moving forward. The apex came when I finally achieved what had been a long-term goal: to learn how to sew.

I began by sewing simple lines, and I realized that the time had come to revive Spectrum Threads, but in a new way - instead of working to spend a lot of money on inventory from other designers, I was going to begin by offering my own jockstrap designs. To offer designs you couldn’t find anywhere else. And especially, to cater to men who sometimes feel excluded from the underwear industry.

I started putting out feelers on social media groups, and the response was overwhelming. I heard many stories from bear fellas about how they needed more room in their pouches than traditional designs allowed. That’s when the next great idea hit me - since I was making custom pouches anyway, why shouldn’t I be able to customize the size of the pouch for the men who need some extra room? So that’s exactly what I did.

Using the model of customizable pouch-to-waist sizes was the answer. After making jockstraps for about 10 test customers, I heard nothing but the best feedback, and I knew it was time. Spectrum Threads was reborn.

On the flip side of offering larger pouches for men who needed them, I also realized an entire segment of men who aren’t being served by anyone in the underwear industry - these men being Transgender and nullified men. I then went to work to design a jock pouch just for them, and am happy to say that I’m able to offer the world’s first jockstraps designed for flat men!

It’s been an amazing adventure, and the Spectrum is only looking brighter. With future plans one the horizon, I look forward to men of all shapes, sizes, and colors realizing they are on the Spectrum. I look forward to bringing men’s underwear and fashion out of the dark ages and into the light, and I look ahead to a new era of menswear design!

-Michael Turner, Founder