I was born with hypospadias, and the urethral opening is on the underside of my shaft about a centimeter from where my frenulum would start (at the base of my glans) if it had developed.
Similar to you,
NCbear. The kind we were born with is called "glanular hypospadias", or type 1, as the opening is entirely on the underside of the glans, not below the head. Mine forms a kind of "V" where the urethra ends, about 4mm onto my glans, then tops it with a sort of false pocket above, which is where the urine stream often hits and turns downward. But the opening couldn't be called anywhere near the tip of my glans.
I've seen far more pronounced hypospadias, some going an inch or more down the shaft from the head. But I've never seen a repaired hypospadias in person; the trend toward actually surgically correcting it occurred well after I was born.
Many anatomists believe the placement of the meatus and the formation of the frenulum have to do with whether there is a normal hormonal surge of testosterone to the fetus at critical points in development. Some also suspect endocrine disruptors, like hairspray. Some intact guys have a frenulum that ends below the head, but in most instances of complete sex organ development the frenulum continues along the underside of the glans and actually forms the lower lip of the meatus.
As a kid, I never knew I was any different from anyone else in that department. But my dad was checking me out (at my request) for something stupid I did one time and he noticed the placement of my meatus. He made a big deal about it. He was so concerned that he made an appointment with both our family doctor
and his urologist, and that's when I began to become self-conscious about it. I tried to understand where other boys' and men's urethral openings were located, but it's really not the kind of thing you can work out by casual observation in gym class. You've gotta get up close.
At first I thought it was really, really odd that any guy would have a tube running through his entire cockhead and exiting at the very tip. To some extent, I still do.
What I find interesting now is
epispadias, where not only does the urethra run through the glans (diagonally!) but it stops somewhat short of the tip, on the
topside of the head. Kind of like a sperm whale. I've only seen a few instances of that, and it's kind of cool, especially in uncut guys. I wonder how they pee.
Knowing my meatus was different from other guys' (but not exactly
how; I'd never seen another meatus up close) made me avoid sexual encounters until I was in my mid-20s. The plus side of that is that I was more mature and responsible by the time I did become sexually active.