A couple of recent events in my life made me think about this important topic so in order to hopefully get others to think about what they can do I will tell you about some things I have done since the last time anyone posted to this topic.
Let me start by saying that I have been as guilty as most everyone else here in keeping the fact that I am a nudist a secret from others I know. I started going to nude beaches back in the late 70’s. but it was at least five years before I told anyone that I went there and then only family members.
2010 turned out to be a very good year for me in enjoying more nude events. In April I ran in the first Bare Burro 5K at Olive Dell Ranch. As a participant I received a t-shirt with very large print on the front commemorating the event.
Then in June I rode in the first Los Angeles World Naked Bike Ride. Talk about actively promoting nudism, riding for over two hours though the streets of L.A. completly naked with thousands of people cheering and laughing is a feeling I will never forget. In fact I have been fortunate enough to ride every year since then.
Now for what I should have done but until recently did not.
After the 5K it took me over a year before I would wear the t-shirt in public. Unfortunately I am not allowed to wear it to work and I have yet had anyone out in public seem to even notice what it says but I continue to wear it in the hopes that someone will comment and I can tell them about the positive aspects of being a nudist.
The only people I interact with on a regular basis outside of other nudists are my family and my customers at work. I need to tell you a little about our business so you can understand why it has not been easy to talk to my customers about my nude lifestyle.
My boss/Brother-in-law and I sell cabinet hardware to contractors and the general public from a small warehouse in Valencia CA. Due to the downturn in the housing market our customer base has declined by more than 60 percent in the last three years. Now my BIL knows I am a nudist, in fact one day he came into the office unexpectedly after hours and found me working nude. His only request at that time was first to cover up and then to make sure no one else saw me nude..
With having such a small base of regular customers I have been reluctant to bring up anything that would make them uncomfortable and possibly take their business elsewhere so I have not tried to bring up the fact I am a nudist even when there have been some opportunities to do so,
About a year ago I changed my work computer screen saver to a picture I took at Deep Creek Hot Springs that showed the area but with no people in view. I have had two customers ask me about the picture and I told both of them where it was taken and that the hot springs are used by some in the nude. The first customer said that the area looked nice but could not go there because he felt public nudity was wrong. Obviously I did not tell him I am always naked when I go there. The second customer said that is the only way hot springs should be used. I figure that so far I am batting 50 percent which is not that bad.
Now for the two things that occurred last week to make me want to bring this topic up again.
This past Wednesday I was driving home from work, nude of course, when one of my sisters called to say she needed a ride to the store. As I said before my family know I am a nudist but not that I like to drive nude as well. I decided to tell her that I was nude and did not feel like putting on my shorts to take her to the store but that I would if she was not comfortable with my nudity. To my surprise she said I could stay naked.
When I got to her apartment building I called her to say I was there but did not say I was still nude. When she got in the car there was no negative reaction, in fact as we talked she said I could stay naked anytime I had to take her anywhere.
On Friday afternoon I was working in the office and had my shirt completely unbuttoned when my BIL came in. Remember this is a warehouse with no effective AC and the temperature that day was 100 F. I did not think anything of it until he made a comment that to make sure I was “properly attired” if a customer was to come in. I told him of course I would. I did not tell him that I already had two customers come in and they did not care that my shirt was open.
Normally when I work late I will be nude and since everyone else in our unit normally leaves at five when I leave I can go out to my car still nude. A few months ago, one of our regular cabinet shop customers moved into the unit two doors up from us. One of his employees has been working late the last several days and I have not been able to leave nude. As I was getting ready to leave this employee came out of his shop just as I was taking some things out to my car. Since I only had on a pair of shorts and sandals I decided to tell him what my BIL said and ask him how he felt about it. He said he could care less how I was dressed. It was at this point that I decided to do something I have never done before and I told him that I am a nudist and that normally when everyone else is gone I would be working nude. Again he said he did not care and I could be nude if I wanted to be.
I returned to our shop and immediately got naked and continued to close up and get ready to go home. Regrettably we did not see each other again that day but now that I know it is OK to be nude when he is there I am sure that one day he is bound to see me nude.
The main reason I have posted these accounts, and I do apologize that it is so long, is to get everyone thinking about their everyday encounters with others and how they could be more open about being a nudist with those they meet.
I am not an organizer, nor do I have the skills or contacts to put together some type of demonstration or event to promote body acceptance but I am sure there are those here on this forum that do possess those skills but have not really given it much thought about how those talents could be used to promote the nudist lifestyle.
Please try to think about what you can do either on an individual basis or as a group to make people aware that there are many more nudists then they realize and that simple nudity is not wrong, only lude conduct is wrong.
Reply With Quote
