My first time nude was in 1986 at Rincon Beach in Santa Barbara, California, when I was 16 years old. I ‘d been bare at home when no one else was home and was and still am a swimmer so I was used to having next to nothing on.
I saw a book in the travel portion of the bookstore about California nude beaches and detected Rincon was the closest to me. Pre GPS, I got out a Thomas Guide and figured out where to get off the expressway.
I had http://beach-photos.net on underneath just in case I backed out and still needed to enjoy the beach with next to nothing on. I walked the beach to the nude area, put my towel down, dropped my shorts, and sat down. It took just about 30 minutes I would say to start being cozy and to actually get up to walk around. Any anxieties of “excitement” went away fast and has never been a difficulty.
I visited this beach almost everyday during the summer making the one hour drive each way.
My next barrier was getting my girlfriend years later to attempt. She was hesitant in the beginning, and also would say she would do it, but would never remove her swimsuit when we got there. After several times, she eventually went topless and then bare. It eventually became illegal to go bare at Rincon and there’s nothing closer to enjoy.
Nudity was enjoyed in our house ever since.
After wedding, we bought a house with a completely private backyard and may enjoy the lawn and pool bare. We made it a point to raise our children nude also (now ages 4 – 10) and they have no difficulties with it.
A close buddy I work with knows I am a nudist and has come to our house with his wife to try. He eventually brought his two kids and they took to it right away when seeing our children nude also. The wonderful thing is kids take to it naturally and it is not as hard as when you begin it at an older age.
I am now 43 and enjoy living in a bare environment. nudism family look forward to the end of the day when I can strip my clothes off at home and just be comfortable with nothing. Still being a swimmer, a Speedo is occasionally too much for me and I wish they still had the old days at the YMCA where swimming was done bare.
-Thomas
Van Nuys, California
First Time 50 years or 1 month
We moved to CA when I was 33, bought a house and had a pool constructed. I immediately started skinny-dippin’ at night. My daughter would often join me. When she left home to join the Navy I started cleaning the pool in the nude, in the day of course. When I was 44 my firm sent us to the Bahamas to install a missile monitoring station. They had a nude beach which my wife and I seen. She claimed it was nude because there were never any people on it. I started taking off my skimpy swim suit after a week or so and after about a month I just left it in the luggage compartment of the car. One day we’d walked about 3 miles down the beach and turned to go back. Around the first bend in the beach we saw 3 couples walking toward us in city clothing. It was high tide so we went into the water so that they would have room to pass without getting wet. When they were even with us they inquired if we lived on the isle and we responded “yes.” Then they barraged us with questions-what did we do for recreation, cost of living, etc? We rather pointed at the seashore, water and some nice shells we’d picked up. As we got to our car one of the guys asked if I was not sort of embarrassed being the only naked guy in a group of eight. I looked down and said “Gosh, I’M naked! You know it IS a nude beach and I ‘d presume YOU’d be embarrassed wearing clothes.” Fast forward thirty years, my wife fell into delicate health and I lost her five years after. Our last serious chat she suggested I marry again and I should join a “nudist colony.” After she passed I spent a miserable month and then recalled her suggestion. I printed out the free first time visitor pass and went to Glen Eden. I met many fine people, swam a lot, basked in sunlight and that night I slept all night with no tears. The next week I took the motor home and dogs and went again for two nights. Again I slept like a baby all night. Guess what? The next week I joined and got a Gold Seal gate pass. I only live 17 miles so I go out about every other day and my sleepless nights have virtually disappeared. So now, was I a nudist when I skinny-dipped in my own personal pool or on my first trip to GE?
-Jim W
Riverside, California
What did you expect?
After several years of wrestling together with the notion,
I eventually made it to a naturist resort in beautiful Palm Springs. I was moments away from stepping outside for my first ever experience, when someone knocked on the doorway. Without thinking I popped it open to discover a lovely but entirely clothed woman standing there. Apparently she had the wrong room number. I am proud of the fact that I didn’t even flinch. Her direct eye contact was as if it was set in stone. However, when she turned to leave she really “got an eye full” as she walked away.
My first idea was something like, “Well, what did you expect, feathers?” So, with that thought in mind I went outside and began the finest and most relaxing vacation I ‘d ever had. Needless to say, I haven’t looked back,
except to laugh. Then, I became a
practicing naturist and I am proud of it.
-Doug from Michigan
Marshall, Michigan
Adding to my bucket list
My first experience was at Blacks Beach in La Jolla California. I was there only out of boot camp and while in my “A” school I kept hearing about the nude beach in La Jolla. I had started a bucket list of stuff I needed to do in life a couple of years earlier and got to thinking….why not? I could add this to my bucket list!! I’m 3000 miles from anyone I know, it would be fantastic to say that once when I was 24, I went to a nude beach.
One of my “A” school friends and I made the decision to give it a shot on our last weekend in San Diego. We were a bit nervous as we headed to the seashore. Finally when we got there, we preferred to walk up and down the shore with our clothes on and then made a decision to drop our clothing!
We were both astonished at how quick we became comfortable with being naked, we really felt more awkward when we’d clothes on and nobody else did! We stayed for a number of hours, swimming, enjoying the sun, and having a great time. Amusing story about that trip, I dozed off on the seashore. Not sure what I was dreaming about, but I started to get an erection and it woke me up and I needed to sit up and cover up, and was fairly embarrassed. In 22 years since that point, it is still the sole spontaneous erection I’ve ever had at a bare resort. When folks ask me questions about being a nudist, that is one of the most commonly asked questions, plus it just doesnt occur.
When I returned home from that first encounter, I thought that was it. I didnt know it existed elsewhere. Several years later, after moving to South Carolina, I somehow found out about a resort in the Columbia, SC area. They’ve an yearly even called Nudestock and I spent the weekend there and was caught! Now everywhere I go, I seem to see what nudist resorts are in the region.
I have a whole change in my self body image. Before my first experience I was quite self conscious of my body….now I am extremely confident in my body. I feel amazing when the sun, winds, and water caress my body…it is absolutely a completely freeing experience! I talk openly about my encounters and have taken several folks for their first encounters and never has anyone had a poor experience.
-Rob Messner
Summerville, South Carolina
Free at Last
My first time bare experience occurred when a friend of mine talked me into going to a clothing optional get together at health club with her. I was very nervous the entire week before but I was comitted to doing it. We entered the club and went to what was marked as the women’s locker room to undress. The very first thing I saw was a guy taking his briefs off. My friend saw my confusion and laughingly said “everything’s coed here.” We got a couple of lockers. She was naked very quickly. I ‘d gotten my top and short pants off but froze there; too worried to take anything else off. I kept looking around at who else was in the room and was just plain nervous. I attempted to unhook my bra but my hands were trembling so badly I really couldn’t manage it. My buddy took care of it for me. So there I was topless. I quickly drop my panties and put everything in the locker before I lost my nerve. What a feeling when I walked out of that locker room entirely nude iin front of 100 people. It was exhilirating and embarassing at the exact same time. But there I was concealing noothing. We headed for the pool. Swimming around naked felt so good and it kind of felt I was covered. Next came the sauna for about 5 minutes to dry off. By the time we departed the sauna I felt totally comfortable with being nude and wondered what all my nervousness had been about. I was hooked. This was great. So liberation. We went over to observe the volleyball game for a little while. When that game ended I joined the next game. OMG. Was this great or what? Here I was bouncing around the volleyball court fully naked and loving every second of it. It struck me that in about a half hour I went from petrifed to take my bra off to cavorting naked. I was so free. We stayed for over two hours and I hated to put clothing on after. LOL. That was it for me. I came to be a nudist. That was about 20 years ago and I Have never looked back.
-Liz