Meet Rigo Pimentel. He is a 33 year old professional male living in Pasadena, California. Like most men, Rigo is into sports, drinking games, loving his car, and hanging out with his friends. So what sets him apart from being the usual “Guy’s Guy?”

Rigo carries a purse.

I’m not too sure what I should be calling it. Is it a messenger bag? A satchel? A man bag? A murse? Whatever it is, the purpose of the bag is to carry all the junk that is essential and that you must have with you at all times. I’ve grown accustomed to seeing men carry wallets and nothing else and have often wondered where they carried stuff like lotion and gum. Your pockets can only hold so much before you look like you’re smuggling rocks in them. Although carrying a “murse” makes sense, I can’t help but associate purses with being an accessory for women since we tend to carry make-up, feminine hygiene products and practically our entire lives in them. Being that the concept of the “man bag” is rather new to me, I’ve been dying to know what men could possibly be carrying in one. Call me nosey (but please don’t because I hurt easily) but ever since I began seeing men with “murses” I’ve wanted to rummage through one and I finally got the chance.

I met up with Rigo to ask about his murse and to gauge how much he was willing to share with me about its contents. He had no objections about showing me what he carries while we chatted about his social experiences with it. I came to learn he carries two murses on a regular basis: one for work and another for his personal items. He’s been carrying some sort of murse for the last eight years and doesn’t see himself stopping anytime soon. It gets him loads of attention: “The birds love it,” he says, “Girls love to talk to me about it.” Guys, on the other hand, find his murse hilarious and use it as ammunition to poke fun at Rigo. He is also pretty okay with the fact that he is sometimes confused for a gay dude and gets hit on by men from time to time. Is this guy confident or what?

After eyeballing his bag for a while, I wanted to rip it open. I finally had to ask, “What’s in your murse?”

-Pepsi Throwback: It’s made with real sugar and Rigo’s absolute favorite drink. He’s not willing to risk going to someones home or a restaurant without taking his own Pepsi, just in case it’s not offered.
-Bible:  Although he admits he’s not a religious man, he carries it just in case.
-Flask filled with Patron: I think this one is a little self-explanatory.
-Flashlight/Laser Pointer: I get why he carries this. Most guys do (in their cars). I’ve never thought of carrying one because I’m much more concerned with carrying my make up bag.
-2 different types of lotion: You can’t be expected to moisturize your entire body with the same lotion.
-2 different types of antibacterial gel: Obviously he needs options on how to rid himself of germs. I thought one did the trick for that sort of stuff but now I’m convinced he knows something I don’t.
-Checkbook: This one surprised me. People still carry checkbooks?
-Cologne: Romance by Ralph Lauren, this is impressive. Not too many guys carry their cologne and much less in a murse.
-Keys: For his home, car and work.
-iPad
-2 bottles of Visine: I may need to do some follow up on this one, I’m confused as to why two are necessary.
-Matching coin purse: I noticed he didn’t have any loose changing floating around the bottom of his murse and it made me feel a little inferior about the abundance of coins sitting at the bottom of my purse, all alone and forgotten.
-Matching ID carrier: The ID carrier matches the murse, which matches the coin purse. I suddenly feel like that girl who doesn’t match her bra to her underwear on dates.
-Variety of Mexican candy: Enough said.
-Soft Lips lip balm and Carmex lip balm: The well-being of his lips is obviously a priority in this man’s life.
-Nail clippers
-Business card holder
-3D glasses: This one made me laugh. I didn’t know people had their own pairs of 3D glasses!
-Harmonica: He doesn’t know how to play it. He did admit that girls seem to like the fact that he carries a harmonica but here’s hoping he’s never asked to play it.

After seeing all of this laid out in front of me, I realized I need a purse make over. I was half expecting to find that men carry things like screw drivers and dirty magazines in their murses but I was taught otherwise. I came to the conclusion that men who carry murses are pioneering the movement to make male purses a social norm (bless their hearts for dealing with so much ridicule). My unhealthy need to know what men carry in their murses has been curbed!

Special thanks to Rigo Pimentel (@mrrigo) for allowing me to question him on this personal matter and to Desiree Estorga for setting up this meet and pry session.

Featured Image provided by Dave Pimentel