In 2002, an improv group of seven guys called Improv Everywhere pulled a public prank on the New York City subway.
According to their website , “One participant entered the train pantless for 7 consecutive stops. They pretended not to notice each other, and if asked claimed that they “just forgot” their pants. On the 8th stop, someone came through with a duffle bag selling pants for $1.”
That one act of…courage in 2002 sparked an annual “No Pants Subway Ride” in the city.
The next year brought in 30 participants, and years following eventually caused some serious controversy. Eight people were arrested, but ultimately released because in NYC, no pants time ain’t a crime!
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After being pushed through the news cycle and being featured on late night shows like Letterman, the No Pants commute garnered an international audience.
And with that audience, grew a global community of participants around the world, willing and ready to strut their bare butts on public transit for the heck of it.
“From Tokyo to Jerusalem” pantless participants did their thing.
According to Improv Everywhere, they had thousands of participants, and even caused crowds in NYC stations.
Reaching London, England on January 13th as the “No Trousers Tube Ride,” this year was their 10th anniversary!
The event was organized by a Facebook group called The Stiff Upper Lip Society, which describes itself as “A London-based group, where nothing is out of the ordinary.”
The event page indicated that upwards of 500 Londoners joined in on the festivities for the tradition’s tin-iversary.
While no one seemed to show up in tin foil as a 10th anniversary might suggest, there were definitively some wild photos from the day.
Improv Everywhere shared a highlight reel for their website, and it’s pretty darn entertaining.
In the video , this kid was pretty much in the mindset of everyone not participating in this tomfoolery.
But more important, the movement seems to have broken the internet — particularly on Insta and Twitter.
People had very unique ways of sharing their experience with the day. Just guys bein’ dudes! Or blokes…
Here we can see two besties doing what besties do best — SLAYING!
And responsibly minding the gap, as all Londoners should be doing.
Obviously, we have to include this incredibly talented, incredibly brave lady.
Not everyone can pull off a pole move like this on a professional pole. It’s even more impressive when you crush it on public transit, on a moving subway! You go girl.
We love men who can embrace their nudity around each other like it ain’t no thang — ’cause it’s not!
Although it’s borderline yucky that there will have been hundreds of bare bums on these absorbent-looking subway seats.
Oddly enough, the standard setup for these pant-less photo-ops seems to be “just casually reading.”
Which is definitely a vibe, but in comparison to that pole dancing queen, isn’t that impressive. Reading isn’t special, y’all!
What a bunch of cheeky rascals.
It’s kind of insane to hold this event during the winter months. Even during a mild winter, them cheeks are gonna HURT!
The caption reads, “I shaved my legs for this day, sweeet.”
Fair enough, if you have to shave once in a while, you might was well make your pubic exposure as smooth as possible. Though it might’ve made more sense to keep the hair — for insulation reasons.
Here’s a gentle reminder that you can still look fancy AF without pants on.
And maybe even a little bit like Jude Law, like the man on the right. That’s a double win in my books.
This man looks like he holds the wisdom of a thousand pant-less men.
Or maybe he’s the town crier that bellows out unsolicited trouser criticism in the middle of London. Who knows?
She’s so disappointed in humanity, and it really shows.
This lady’s face is a damn MOOD — and probably represents the thousands of other people who were NOT participating.
If you’re gonna do it, go all out!
Flex on the normies with a body positive message gracing the upper portion of your lady business! CONFIDENCE QUEEN.
