Letter to the Editor: Enjoy Being Naked at Lupin

When I was a teenager I found that I liked to go nude when possible and to do so outdoors was especially enjoyable.

With my knowledge of the "back country" in Marin I had and still do have private meadow areas to picnic and sun in that have no chance of being walked through by even the most aggressive hikers.

In my 30s I joined , a clothing-optional naturist club in Los Gatos. I wished I had joined sooner because it is and remains a great get away from the clothed world. I am with like-minded people in a place where nude is normal and any anxiety about being seen and offending anyone dissolves in the nude-friendly atmosphere.

It is great feeling every time I go to park and undress at the car, leaving my clothes behind. My initial fears about having a less-than-perfect body or walking into a clannish, Who's the new guy? atmosphere were completely unfounded.

When I was younger and looking at nudism from the outside, though I liked to go nude, I would never have imagined calling myself a nudist or being a nudist -EVER. But never say never because now I am a card-carrying member of the American Association for Nude Recreation and the Naturist Society and label myself as a nudist.

I have discovered that nudists or naturists, call them what you may, seem to be better adjusted than the rest of society with an honesty and ease-of-self mostly lacking in the textile world.

So here I am completely comfortable with being naked and going naked but in a world where nudity unfortunately is not understood from my experienced perspective of it being natural and healthy.

The other perception is that it is offensive, in some way sexual, and even a sexual perversion. Unfortunately we can be viewed in terms of "indecent exposure" and "flasher." Add to this vocabulary my being a single male and unfortunately the possibility for misunderstanding when confronted with the unexpected is greatly increased.

Despite this, my time a Lupin has taught me that going nude is natural and that one can "forget" that one is naked while engaged in other outdoor activities and that this is freeing and relaxing, something outsiders just can't believe unless they have tried it. It is no longer enough to sun myself in some remote meadow. 

After graduating from college I settled in San Francisco. Yearly, The Bay Guardian would do articles and reviews of local clothing-optional beaches. I read them with interest, especially a place called Red, White, and Blue Beach (now closed) near Santa Cruz that was described as something like a nude state park.  It was run by an older gentleman and his family and there was a charge for admission. It was beautiful and secure and, indeed, nudity was allowed anywhere on the property.

At first I would walk to my spot on the long beach clothed, but, after a while, I just left my clothes in the car and walked onto the beach nude from the parking lot as some others did. I loved walking along that beach nude feeling the power of the crashing waves and the sun and sea breeze and on my skin.

What was interesting about this place was it was open to everyone and clothed people used the beach as well. I imagine there were more than a few first-timers since some would be very furtive in their nudity, staking out a distant place on the beach and not traveling off of that spot so as not to be seen by others. 

One incident with a clothed person sticks out in my mind. One day I was walking back to the car from the southern portion of the beach with a cooler and a tote in my hands. I had left my clothes in the car and was nude, enjoying the last sun and wind before departing. A clothed jogger was coming down the beach in my direction and there was a realization at a certain moment, as he approached, that I was naked. He made a crisp U turn rather than deal with my nudity. 

Though Red, White, and Blue was accepting of nudists I was reminded that I was occasionally sharing the beach with less enlightened people and possibly gawkers who came to see nude bodies and were not nudists.

I write this next portion for those who will read it that are budding nudists. It seems that most articles in nudist publications are “preaching to the choir.” We already know the joy and freedom of being without clothes. It has come to be natural to us and brings us closer to the environment, ourselves, and God.

Though I was comfortable with my nudity I wondered how accepting Lupin would be of a newcomer. Was this a cliquish close-knit group who would be asking, “Who is the new guy?” Would it be uncomfortable? I decided to put fears aside and to try it. I scheduled a visit. On the first visit you receive a tour of the grounds leaving your clothes in the car. By great coincidence there was a couple who did the tour with me who were in my same profession in San Francisco and we each knew of the other. I guess he was nervous because he asked me, “Do you come here often?” I reminded him that it was the introductory visit for both of us! We still run into each other at meetings occasionally and it is completely fine that we also know each other as naturists and I think respect each other a little more because of it.

What I found at Lupin was an accepting not-too-close-knit, but amicable group of singles, couples, and families enjoying the out of doors and the sports one might enjoy at any country club, just without clothes.

After an interview, I joined Lupin and each time I visited I could not wait until my next visit. Upon arrival and entrance into the grounds, I knew I was in a safe place to not wear clothes and could not get them off fast enough once I parked in the parking lot. Unlike the beach, it was an extra free feeling to be in a place where you are with like-minded people to whom nudity is accepted, understood, and in no way provocative or offensive.

Lupin is a big outdoor space and you never have to be concerned about being without clothes or that nudity is in any way abnormal. This is the advantage of a naturist club such as Lupin; you don’t have any worries about being seen by the “wrong” people unlike more public venues such as Red, White, and Blue Beach.

Oh, one other fear I had before visiting Lupin was that the people who frequent Lupin were all people with “beautiful” tan and fit bodies and I would be judged as less perfect. The answer to that is that there are people just like anywhere else. They are slim, heavy set, fit, not fit, old, young, tan, not tan, partially tan, just like everywhere else except unlike everywhere else they are honest with themselves, have no shame being clothes free and that makes them more open, outgoing, and at peace with themselves and others. 

I remember one frequent visitor there who was very heavy set but she was totally accepting of herself and in no way ashamed to be nude. She had a lot of skin and it was all tanned. Where others so often attempt to conceal their weight in clothing she treated her body as the beautiful and unique creation it was and seemed so comfortable in her own skin. She was a beautiful person. I still wonder why others go through life crippled in their minds about their body form when they could be accepted, normal, and set free by nudity in a place like Lupin.

Last summer I confided in a longtime friend that I was a nudist. She was fascinated and wanted to try it, asking if she could go to Lupin with me. We went on a warm summer day and she loved it. She immediately slipped off her clothes and was soon in the pool playing in a volleyball game at the shallow end and where she invited me in to play. There was no self-consciousness because the other people, old, young, and families with children were enjoying themselves in a natural healthy environment where nudity was normal and where the feeling of a body completely exposed to sun, air, and water heavenly.  

Some final notes on nudism especially directed to those new to it or considering their first social nude experience. There is nothing wrong with it. We are all human and created in God’s image. Nude is not lewd and to me and many other people in this country and the world, normal and healthy. It is not voyeurism, exhibitionism, narcissism, a sexual perversion, or any of the other views commonly voiced by those who have never experienced nudism and have no knowledge of what it really is. If you think it is shocking and can’t imagine it because of embarrassment of others seeing you, think again. You will be among people who are being themselves and not in the least bit preoccupied with your nudity because everyone is nude and on an equal basis.

Unfortunately we live in a society bombarded by mass media were youth is worshipped, beauty narrowly defined, and nudity and the scant covering of body areas intended as a sexual tease. “Indecent exposure” is how many view nudity.  Most of society accepts this as normal, but for those who can take the chance, what will be experienced is totally different than the stereotypical view. What is discovered is that personal nudity or others being nude is not to be feared or ashamed of. Fears of one’s own personal appearance or of seeing others unclothed quickly dissolve and prove all preconceptions unfounded. Others are just like us and not the freakishly “ideal” images in magazines, movies, or television. Enjoy and be proud of your own skin because it was created to feel the sun, wind, and water. It is a relaxing experience where barriers are removed between other people and where you are honestly yourself, humble, and connected with nature. When clothes are inevitably replaced you will feel your skin in them as you never have before and perhaps have a little different attitude towards yourself and others. It is a mental and physical catharsis and a mini vacation available at a moments notice and a world away from your everyday life.

These are the words of a person who in a former life was self-conscious about his body and would have completely rejected the idea of being a nudist. Fortunately enlightenment and opportunity prevailed. Create your own opportunities and see what follows.