Yeah, I'm starting to do it in real life for a few reasons.
1. What else is there that I could call you guys without sounding like a flaming homosexual? Buddy? Guy? Bud? Dude?
2. I figured that if I have no choice but to say "bro" here, then by jove, I'm gonna say it anywhere else. At first some of my buddies were like "huh" but now they got used to it.