Imagine a world where a man has to check in with someone before every decision he makes. His happiness depends on his partner, and he cannot go even one day without the companionship of this person. However, this person is not his romantic partner. This important person is his best friend, and this is his bromance.
Vince Trujillo and Nick George know about the concept of a bromance all too well. They are a modern-day "Odd Couple" and their friendship is the embodiment of what a bromance should be.

"We do everything together," says Trujillo, 22. "Its actually kind of ridiculous."

While playing the video game "Dance Dance Revolution Super Nova" in San Francisco's Metreon, the two men argue over which song they should dance to. Their argument sounds like the bickering of an old married couple, until they finally decide on "Doesn't Really Matter" by Janet Jackson.

This kind of non-sexual love affair amongst males used to be taboo in American society, but today men just like Trujillo and George are living out their friendships to the fullest.

"I like that I can be myself with Nick," Trujillo says. "With other people I can't be myself because they think I'm weird. I'm lucky to have found someone who can accept me for me, even if that someone is just my best friend."

Trujillo and George, who are both heterosexual and single, recognize that a lot of people mistake them for a gay couple, and the mistake seems plausible, as they walk through the arcade, singing a duet of Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called To Say I Love You" to one another. "If I go somewhere without Vince I always hear 'Where's your friend? Where's your better half? Where's your partner?'," George, 22, says with a laugh.

George and Trujillo are not alone. Thanks to popular movies like "Superbad" and "I Love You, Man," which are based on the concept of the bromance, men across the country are celebrating their love for one another.

Dave Carnie, who coined the term, says that "bromance" is just a funny play on words to describe a group of dudes that are really close. Carnie, a former editor-in-chief of Big Brother Magazine and one of the original creators of the television show "Jackass," says the word stems from the tight-knit bond common among skateboarders.

"Skateboarding is, I don't want to say incestuous, but they kind of have a pack mentality," Carnie explains. "Skaters go about their day in packs with that group of bros. And bros- they just have their little bromance."

Carnie further explains that friendships like these often develop among athletes. These athletes share rooms and see each other so often that they form this kind of bond that seems irreplaceable.

"No pun intended, I think the word is kind of gay," Carnie says. "But when I say 'gay' I say it in the slang as in 'dumb' or 'stupid.'"

In fact, Carnie actually debates inventing the word altogether.

"I don't remember consciously inventing it," Carnie says. "But everyone from fucking MSNBC to GQ credits Dave Carnie as the creator. It shows the nimble weaknesses of Wikipedia and the internet."

Carnie admits that he must have used the word in an article somewhere but cannot remember where or when.

"When I heard I had invented the word, it was kind of interesting," Carnie says. "So I say 'bring it on!" It feels kind of good that I'm credited with creating a word, even a dumb word, because I'm a writer."

Despite Carnie's uncertainty of the origin of the word, there is no doubt that the concept of a "bromance" is gaining ground in today's society. "Femance," an offspring of the concept is gaining popularity as well.

Brie Hernandez and Sarah Baker have a relationship similar to George and Trujillo's.

"I think Brie and I have a really awesome relationship where we are more than best friends, more like platonic life partners, if you will," says Baker, 23.

The two friends even celebrate the anniversary of their friendship every year.

Baker also notes the distinction between a femance and bromance. "I think that it's probably always been a bit more acceptable for two ladies to have this kind of kinship than for men, although I think there are men who have always had this sort of close relationship but maybe played it down because a lot of guys have these weird masculinity issues or something," says Baker.

Echoing Baker and Hernandez's sentiments, 'bromantic' and 'femantic' relationships seem to have a positive impact on each individual "couple."

"I think that it's a great thing to just have a person in your life that just really gets you, always has your back and wouldn't judge you," says Hernandez, 25. "It's a type of love that some people find with a significant other and some people find in a friend." [X]