Rash Guard

The first time I wore a rash guard around 2010, I felt uneasy. Wearing one wasn't common those days. Most Dabawenyos who went to the beach preferred swimming half-naked (for men) or with a shirt (for women). That first time, I strolled the beach presuming (correctly) that the crowd was regarding my outfit as an oddity.

But I persisted. That's because I had to. The bottom line was wearing a rash guard benefited me greatly. First, it protected me from bites and the sun. Second, it helped relieve my back acne by allowing me to dry off quickly after a swim compared to wearing a wet shirt. Third, it did wonders to my self-image; wearing one meant I was a serious swimmer who knows what he's doing.

The cash center guys, who were part of my dance group before, coined the term "long sleeves" to describe my rash guard and regarded it humorously as my "formal swimming attire". My family eventually followed my lead with my parents buying "long sleeves" for themselves and for my siblings. I began seeing friends and colleagues also sporting the new look, this time, with vibrantly colored outfits.

I finally concluded that the rash guard was now in vogue when I started seeing more and more girls, the ultimate progenitors of fashion, wearing these. Barkadas would march around the beach wearing assorted rash guards and some couples preferred donning their own version of a couple shirt by wearing rash guards of similar designs. 

I marveled at this evolution of preference with a mixture of sadness and delight. I was sad because the bikini movement never really caught on among conservative Dabawenyos. But I was also delighted that women going to the beach were now donning more sensible outfits, like the rash guard.

Maybe next time, I'll write an ode to the rash guard if I'm crazy enough. Right now, I have to go back to finding my lost rash guard. It has to be in my cabinet somewhere...