Bare-chested activities

When you participate in various combat sports, such as oil wrestling (where the grip is of crucial importance) and most boxing disciplines having a bare chest in of great importance as this could be a hindrance or too your opponents advantage.

If you are a sporty person you should know that generally informal sporting matches, such as a game of rugby, soccer or football in the park or playing cricket on the beach, players will often be ill equipped regarding separate shirts or bibs for the two teams. In these situations, a common option, at least for male teams (e.g. in soccer and basketball), is to play Shirts and Skins: one team goes bare chest and are hence said to be 'Skins', whereas for reasons of identification the other team keep their tops on and are called 'Shirts'. Men are also seen bare chested when running or jogging.

In some sports, the male standard-attire is bare-chested, especially in most aquatic disciplines such as swimming, diving, surfing or water polo, and in the beach version of other sports, such as beach volleyball, and various activities in or on the water, as swimwear is generally appropriate.
Many boys and men go bare-chested when doing yard work or when they are outside, e.g. cutting the lawn. The motivations for doing so are usually comfort-related, most commonly to facilitate loss of body heat in warm weather. Also, some may wish to get a suntan or showcase their bodies. This is not as common in America as in years past likely because of skin cancer concerns and changing attitudes.

Many men prefer to sleep without wearing a shirt. Weather conditions, personal preference and family tradition will usually determine if a boy or man wears a shirt to sleep, but most American males between the ages of 16 and 55 sleep shirtless.