Man who masturbated for nearly 10 hours describes penis as ‘wounded soldier’

Masturbating for 10 hours is not advisable (Picture: Masanobu Sato/Metro) Masanobu Sato was just 26 when he took the stage at the 2009 US Masturbate-a-thon, self-pleasuring for a record nine hours and 58 minutes. He’d beat his own record he’d set when he competed in 2008, lasting for nine hours and 33 minutes, winning the endurance category two years in a row. Now 43, the Malaysia-based CEO of TENGA Healthcare says he joined the event, hosted by The Center for Sex & Culture in San Francisco, because he wanted to ‘challenge the shame and taboo surrounding masturbation and encouraging people to talk more openly about sexuality’. ‘Even though the event itself was unusual and fun, the idea that masturbation should not be something people have to feel ashamed of was something I genuinely believed in,’ he says. ‘That was a big part of why I wanted to participate.’ Now, 17 years on, this act is also known as ‘gooning’, the internet slang term for a prolonged form of masturbation that focuses on edging — coming close to climaxing, but pulling back to achieve a trance-like pleasure state. It was also predicted to be one of the hottest sex trends of this year. But, while Masanobu’s masturbation record taught him some important lessons about sexual gratification, what was immediately obvious was the toll that it took on his body. ‘That part of my body was under a lot of stress,’ Masanobu explains to sex site Erobella. ‘I remember that the surface of my penis looked dark and worn, almost like it had been through a battle. ‘It felt a little like a wounded soldier.’ Masanobu didn’t have any long-lasting side effects from prolonged masturbation (Picture: Masanobu Sato) Sign up to The Hook-Up, Metro's sex and dating newsletter Love reading juicy stories like this? Need some tips for how to spice things up in the bedroom? Sign up to The Hook-Up and we'll slide into your inbox every week with all the latest sex and dating stories from Metro. We can't wait for you to join us! He was also completely exhausted. ‘My concentration and physical energy were also used up,’ he adds. ‘If you keep giving the same kind of stimulation for a very long time, it can put stress on the skin, nerves, and muscles.’ Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. Sarah Mulindwa, Lovehoney sexual health expert and practicing senior sexual health nurse, tells Metro that 10 hours is an extremely long time for any part of the body to undergo repeated friction and pressure. ‘The most likely effects on a penis would be soreness, chafing, redness, swelling and temporary reduced sensitivity or numbness,’ she says. ‘Vigorous stimulation could also irritate the urethra or cause small abrasions to the skin. If you have foreskin, repeated pulling may make it particularly sore or swollen.’ The sexual health nurse adds that prolonged masturbation likely won’t give you any serious long-lasting injuries, but your technique, force, lubrication, toys, existing skin conditions and breaks, all contribute to how painful your penis can become. ‘Most mild irritation should improve after resting for a day or two,’ Sarah says. ‘Seek medical advice if there’s severe or persistent pain, extensive swelling or bruising, difficulty urinating, significant bleeding, discharge, loss of sensation that does not settle, or signs of infection. ‘Masturbation itself is not harmful, but ignoring what your body is telling you can be!’ How to safely practice prolonged masturbation When it comes to gooning, lube is essential! According to Ness Cooper, psychotherapist and clinical sexologist, the practice can lead to fissures if performed over a long period of time, and genitals can become very sensitive, and you may need a break. ‘Some may find changing position during gooning helpful, as it can leadto some muscles in the glutes and pelvic floor tensing up when performed in one position for a very extended period,’ she advises. It sounds like a lot of effort to us – if you’re a pillow princess, it may not be for you – so why is prolonged sexual arousal so popular? Ness explains that it’s a good way to relieve stress. She says: ‘Many of the hormones released before as well as during, and after orgasm can help reduce stress and make you feel better.’ While Masanobu recalls no long-lasting side effects from the event, he says it made him far more aware of his difficulty with ejaculation. ‘I already had a problem with taking a long time to ejaculate,’ he explains. ‘When I was 20, I had circumcision surgery. After that, my sexual sensitivity changed a lot. I started to suffer from delayed ejaculation and difficulty ejaculating during sex. ‘Many people may think, “lasting long is amazing.” But for me, it wasn’t only something to be proud of. Taking too long to ejaculate can be a serious concern.’ If you’re wondering how Masanobu lasted nearly 10 hours when masturbating, he trained, but not in the way you might expect. The CEO now runs a sexual education website, Seicil, to reduce the taboo around sex and sexual pleasure (Picture: Masanobu Sato/ Erobella) ‘One thing I did was masturbate while watching comedy shows,’ he says. ‘Normally, people use sexual or erotic images to get aroused, but I tried to train myself to stay hard even when I was watching something completely unrelated to sex.’ Since he was going to be surrounded by people, he tried to build his confidence by taking part in an ‘Air Sex’ competition prior to the event. Air Sex is a performance activity originating in Japan, where fully clothed people simulate sexual activity with an invisible partner, in an adult parody of air guitar. Think of it as exaggerated sexual miming. ‘It helped me get used to doing something unusual in front of a crowd, without feeling too embarrassed or nervous,’ Masanobu adds. When it came down to it, the CEO treated the event ‘almost like a sport’. ‘I was not only trying to stay sexually excited, but I was trying to maintain my body and my mind,’ he explains. ‘After about six hours, it became very hard physically and mentally. If your mind gives up, you cannot continue. ‘For me, I also felt “I’ve come this far, and people are supporting me, so I should continue until the end”. At the end, it felt less like sexual pleasure and more like sport, or even training.’ But, he did enjoy the masturbation itself. ‘Being able to spend a whole day facing your own pleasure is a special experience,’ he adds. ‘Looking back, it makes me laugh a little, but at that time I was very serious.’ Sexual health nurse Sarah Mulindwa warns that pleasure shouldn’t be a sport, and Masanobu agrees. ‘I want to be clear: this was preparation for a very special event,’ he says. ‘I do not recommend this to ordinary people. It’s very different from healthy self-care masturbation in normal life.’ Do you have a story you’d like to share? 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