Why Ad Butler Started Making His Own Swimwear — And What He Learned

The origin story of Sluggers, the Australian swim brief brand, is refreshingly unglamorous. Ad Butler didn't spot a gap in the market through meticulous research. He just couldn't find anything he actually wanted to wear.

In his early forties, Butler was buying pair after pair — trying one brand that felt too young and sporty, another that felt like it was designed for a different kind of bloke entirely. Nothing fit who he was. A friend also pointed out something harder to hear: that Butler went "very dark" during quiet stretches between contract jobs in film and marketing. He needed something to keep him going between the big projects. A hobby. A creative outlet.

Those two realisations collided at the same moment, and Sluggers was born.

What followed was an education in how differently bodies actually work. Butler used himself as the fit model initially — a self-described "rectangle" body shape, no taper, big legs and a big backside — and quickly realised his proportions told him almost nothing about anyone else's. He scrapped his entire first year of stock and started over, eventually developing four distinct cuts: the Classics, the Racer Backs, the DTs, and a new style on the way. Each is designed to flatter a different body shape and height.

The design philosophy is equally personal: if he won't wear it, he won't sell it. Vertical stripes bulge at the sides. Horizontal ones create an odd belt effect. Large brand logos feel like wearing someone else's identity. Fun prints — bananas, dragon fruit, cactuses — hit the sweet spot of playful without being loud for the sake of it.

"The world has six billion people in it," Butler says. "If I find 200,000 other blokes like me, I'll be doing alright." By all indications, he's well on his way.