I Went to a Swingers Club Where Guys Audition for Threesomes

This article originally appeared on VICE Spain

Three good-looking young guys are sat together at the bar of the Jack Swan club in Barcelona, having a chat. The Jack Swan looks like an ordinary enough cocktail bar, and the guys look like an ordinary enough group of friends having a drink. They're not friends, though. And the Jack Swan isn't your average drinking hole. The door at the end of the main room leads to a swingers club, and the three guys at the bar are each other's competition. They're all hoping to be chosen as the third party for swinging couples looking for a trio.

Fifty-year-old Frenchman Sami Benorman has been organising swingers parties for years, but wanted to give his parties a touch of sass. That's why he founded the "Wyylde Elite Boys" – a group of attractive men available to couples, who'd like to extend their duo into a trio. There's no money in it for the Wyylde Elite Boys – they are just overly eager young men. Usually unnacompanied men do not get much access to swingers clubs but if you're one of Benorman's Boys, these rules do not apply. At these parties, the Boys are supposed to wear a particular shirt signalling that they're DTF and couples can call them over. When they feel they're done for the day, they change shirts and just mingle.

Sami Benorman runs wyylde.com, a site that brings couples and singles together. Through this portal, he organises his free sex parties and calls for auditions to find the best lovers in the area, who will act as the unique selling points to his parties. The website also serves as an online community for people who enjoy group sex, with posts about news from the world of swinging and videos.

Benorman developed his selection process three years ago, with a questionnaire. He was looking for men who really understood his philosophy of exchanging pleasure – men who are capable of understanding a couple's desires. Once he has completed the questionnaire, a candidate undergoes a practical test, where he gets to know a couple intimately and then afterwards the couple grades his performance. "Many of the guys get really nervous, the whole process can get quite stressful for them. But it's so much fun for the couple," Benorman explains. He goes on to tell me that in the past he's held group auditions that started with 10 candidates, but only one or two men were eventually selected for his elite team.

Later that night in the Jack Swan, I ask a straight couple that's been swinging for 20 years about Benorman's quality control. "With the Elite Boys, you have a guarantee – you know your lady will have a good time," the man tells me. "It's not the same as leaving her at the bar of some local swingers club, in the hands of some guy you just met. At other parties, you never know what you're getting. When you get to a certain age, you don't need that anymore. That's why we love Sami Benorman's parties."

The three candidates have now left the bar for one of the private rooms in the club, which is basically just an enormous bed. Benorman is on the bed, ready to interview them, questionnaire in hand. The guys sit down and make some awkward jokes – none of them are great at hiding how nervous they are.

Benorman lists the qualities he expects from the candidates. "We're looking for the perfect profile to have a threesome with. You need to be younger than 35, sporty and with defined abs. But it's not just about your physical assets. Having a threesome isn't as easy as it might seem. You have to understand the workings of swinging – know how to act around a woman and how to make the situation exciting. It's arousing, it's naughty and you have to be willing to play with all women – not just the prettier ones. But we do, of course, respect your sexual preferences," he explained. "After this interview, the women will ask you to come with them. If they don't ask you, that means they don't find you attractive enough. If they do ask you to join them and you agree, they will evaluate your performance, and we'll decide if we will invite you to the elite group or not."

The questionnaire is pretty extensive – candidates need to fill in their age, dress size, the sports they play, what music they like, list their physical preferences in a partner, the things they'd never do and how long they last, among other questions.

Each of the candidates has a different reason for being there. The youngest, who I'll call F., is 20 years old. He seems a bit nervous and looks like a dreamer. A couple of months ago he was in a gangbang, which inspired him to apply to be an Elite Boy. "I like the energy in orgies and I want to get absorbed in that. I also want to prove to myself that I can do this – I'd like to have the attitude of a man of 40, in the body of a 20-year-old," he explains during his interview. Benorman, has some advice for him: "Don't try to prove anything – to yourself or to anyone else. This isn't porn. Just relax and be natural".

The second candidate, who asked to be referred to called A., is a product manager who specialises in telecommunications. He's 32 and very excited to enter the world of free love. He hasn't had much luck so far – he went to two parties at swingers clubs that were basically deserted, but made up for it at two private parties later on. He tells Benorman that being with a woman who has a partner can make him feel weird, that he wonders what her husband must be thinking. But he says he's eager to work through those mental and physical barriers.

R., the third candidate, is 35 and presents himself with ease, although he claims to be nervous. He has been swinging for two years. "I'm up for anything, really. I love the feeling and the energy at private parties, I have a great time talking to people," he says.

After the interview, Benorman goes over the bar where a few couples are hanging out. He asks several of them if they're interested in taking one of his candidates with them. Some of them politely decline the offer, while others seem interested to have a look at their options. Two couples pick A. and R., but F. does not get chosen. "Well, I guess I've been left without a shag," he tells me. Benorman explains that F. is too young and that his delicate features can turn women off. "No woman wants to think that she's sleeping with her son. But if he gets around a little and gets a chance to learn the ropes, that could definitely change."

The two remaining candidates leave for private rooms. A. goes with a woman who's come to the bar by herself and R. with a couple. After a while, R. emerges, drenched in sweat. "It went really well, but I wasn't that into it," he shrugs, smiling. "The thing with me is that if they're not a 7 or 8, I struggle to give 100 percent." He quickly seems to have forgotten about the whole thing – he goes on to tell me that he's an inventor and that he's about to patent a revolving barbecue. While getting dressed, he shows me videos of his invention on his phone.

A. takes a bit longer. The thin walls don't leave any doubt that he's making an effort and that his partner seems to enjoy it. He seems like a shoe-in for the Wyylde Elite Boys club. But when they've finished, his partner tells me: "I'd say it was a 7 out of 10. He turned me on and used his fingers well. But he's lacking something. Of course, not all men can maintain a total erection throughout sex – especially on their first time with each partner – because nerves get the better of them. So I think we should give him a chance. I've seen a lot of guys like him at parties here, and they improve so much over a year's time. A. definitely has got style."

A few minues before I leave, Bonerman introduces to to one of his veteran Wyylde Elite Boys – we'll call him L. I learn that the skills L. acquired at Jack Swan's parties have led to offers to star in porn videos, one of which he accepted. "I didn't like it. I had to follow a script. Now, I work as a surveyor and I do this for fun. I like to improvise," he tells me. "I think being an Elite Boy is like being a 'taxi dancer' in a salsa club. Those guys are the best dancers, say yes to all the women who ask them to dance and make sure everybody has a good time on the dance floor. It's pretty similar to what we do."