Wittingly Wedgied:

'Hotter than the sun' 🌞

It is a bit of an odd thing to give oneself a wedgie. They're not something most people covet. Usually, they're done as a prank by a friend, or by some idiot school bully.  The intent with most wedgies, is to cause embarrassment and discomfort, and usually occur for the enjoyment of a crowd of giggling teenagers.

So why then, would Aussie lifesavers pull the back of their speedos into their ass crack.  If it isn't to tan to their tushies, or show off their beefy buns for their fellow beach goers, what reason would they have to purposely cause themselves discomfort.  Turns out, it's more practical, and well just beyond a peacocking move to attract attention.

For some reason the answer was a little difficult to find, at least for me.  I made the mistake of Googling why Aussie lifeguards wear thongs, or why they show their asses, but once I had the correct terminology, it the answer came right up.  The term is called 'wedging up' and it's not something lifesavers do when they're just working and patrolling the beach.   It's usually only done when rowing, and in lifesaver competitions.

This wedgie, or "wedging up" as it's called, is a functional practice that prevents painful friction burns when the rowers slide forward and back during rowing. The practice is especially important for navigating the fibreglass seats of the boats  In surf boat rowing, the rowers need to be able to move quickly and easily along the seat, and the wedgie helps facilitate this movement. 

So, I complicated what was a fairly simple and easy to find answer, but still... I had a lot of fun researching the answer and searching for images to match the mystery.  I'm not sure if Aussie lifesavers use the technique as much these days, it seems most of the images I found were taken in the 2000's and 2010's.  Maybe it's just that now, the novelty has worn off and it's become just common practice.  Either way, while some seem laser focused on the size of a speedo's frontal bulge, I'm far more focused on the back end, especially a hot wedged one.