Author: αNaturist

Fire Island

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Finally I am adding info on this famous getaway destination. New Yorkers, especially from LGBT community, flock to Fire Island, and for a good reason, or rather many reasons. On the one hand, it provides a totally tranquil and rustic environment, with its wooden houses and deer walking on the roads instead of cars. On the other hand, there is a number of bustling bars and a pretty big dance club, as well as special performances and private parties. Many rental houses are clothing-optional too, especially by the pool.

And of course, this narrow stretch of land between the bay and Atlantic Ocean is a lot about the beach. The part of the beach between Pines and Cherry Grove is commonly known as clothing-optional.

The beach turned out to be a good place to make friends. That’s where I got to know David, who showed me a backflip and thus inspired me to take a gymnastics class. Also I got to know two sweet dudes with a dozen of kites. Their parrot seemed to like me, or at least I was able to tame him, although at first he appeared somewhat crazy. It was so nice to get it as a present in the end! But I preferred to keep my distance from the shark, however.

Burning Man ticket for sale, plans and Tacoboy’s Beach Fest at Sandy Hook

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

I’ve already announced that I’m going to Burning Man this year, a crazy festival of artful, creative and positive spirit that several friends of mine say is the most memorable event of their lives. BREAKING NEWS: guess what, I’ve got an extra ticket to sell! Last year was the first time when the organizers had to limit the amount of tickets and it was quickly sold out. This year, they tried a new lottery system for selling tickets, and I was among the lucky ones who got two tickets! Unfortunately my supposed-to-be burner companion has got a new job and cannot join me anymore. So I’ve decided to give it a try and see if there is anyone interested among my readers!

Let me know by e-mail or leave a comment here if you want to get the ticket! I don’t think I need to advertise this sought-after item, but FYI the ticket is from the cheapest tier and in the good spirit of Burning Man I am selling it face value.

Meanwhile, I was trying to pick a theme camp to join at Burning Man and chose one that might not be the most artistic but definitely is one of the most handy camps: Playa Bike Transport. Apparently, bicycle is the way to go at Burning Man, and this camp provides bikes for rent and free repair service during the event. The idea to learn bike repair is especially appealing to me, because I plan some long bike trips.

Needless to say, I’ll spend a lot of time naked there – perhaps I’ll be your naked mechanic? But I still need to think of a costume for night time, as it gets really cold after sunset.

And just a couple of weeks ago, I got a bit of  a taste of Burning Man at Sandy Hook beach. One of the famous fellows from the so-called burner community, Tacoboy, organized a mini-fest there with potluck food and drinks, hula-hoops, some music (just as loud as it was allowed at this place), give-aways and lots of smiles. There was a couple of other groups that brought some decorations.

We spent a lot of time hula-hooping, as well as playing volleyball and frisbee.

As we were a lot of people, we didn’t play with just one frisbee, but with two. Simultaneously 🙂

The game provided plenty of opportunities to take photos à la discobolus statue.

But the hollow frisbee also proved to be a nice decorative tool.

As if all that wasn’t enough, we topped it up with some gymnastics! I’ll write more about our beach gymnastics classes in one of the following posts, but for now I’ll post a photo of our awesome foursome handstand.

naturist-0074-gymnastics-@-Gunnison-Beach,-Sandy-Hook,-NJ,-USA

Can you believe that the girl on the photo was able to do her handstand for the first time on that day? David, who was in charge of our acrobatic frenzy, must be a really good teacher! And again, such unexpected (and free!) class of gymnastics with a naked instructor is totally in line with Burning Man spirit the way I imagine it.

running barefoot and Vibram “Barefoot” shoes review

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

In continuation of my post about running, I would like to add my thoughts on running barefoot, which is an increasingly popular trend now. I definitely support the movement, especially if you run bare, why not run barefoot as well?

In my childhood, I was encouraged to walk barefoot by family during summers; they didn’t put much explanation to it, just said it was healthy. I didn’t really practice it seriously, and got interested in the idea again after I broke my foot almost 3 years ago. I quickly came to a webpage of a group from Harvard University that had been doing extensive studies on running. One of the conclusions of their work published in the most respected scientific journal Nature was that barefoot running style may actually “protect the feet and lower limbs from some of the impact-related injuries now experienced by a high percentage of runners”.  I would suggest you to go to the website of the Harvard Uni group for more details and videos explaining the benefits of barefoot running, and if that doesn’t convince you, there is a more graphic and visually pleasing website of a minimalist shoes producer Vibram, which is, I must add, also naturist-friendly 😉 The take-home message is that while running barefoot, you use all those muscles and tendons that are otherwise left untrained if you only walk and run in traditional shoes, AND the pattern of the foot strike changes from heel-strike to shock-absorbing and collision-reducing fore-foot strike. In other words, you make your feet and calves stronger and learn how to step more cautiously (without actually thinking about it).

When I did my search now before writing this post, I found several articles claiming the opposite, for example that ‘Doctors see uptick in foot injuries from barefoot running shoes‘ (also see this one). However, none of those articles has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and their claims that the new industry of the so-called minimalist shoes is nothing more but fashion do not have much base in my opinion, as the industry producing [currently] traditional running shoes is much bigger and has much higher capacities for advertisement. They acknowledge, however, that those injuries may be related to too sudden a transition from running in thick-sole to shoes to running barefoot or in minimalist shoes.

That’s where I totally agree with these articles: before running your first marathon barefoot, get some experience by first walking barefoot and only then running, slowly increasing the speed. I think the ultimate goal should be being able to run totally barefoot (if not totally bare ;-)), but you could use minimalist shoes as intermediate stage. That was why I wore them for my first trail race.

While I am now totally comfortable with hiking barefoot, I am not sure I could really run fast on a rough terrain like a forest trail with pebbles. That’s why I opted to stay in my Vibram Sprint shoes for the race, and I felt it gave advantage over runners in regular shoes.

First of all, such minimalist shoes are much lighter, and you do feel it! Every step you take just feels lighter. Second, having flexibility in your feet and toes being able to move, even though slightly, helps with the grip, which is especially helpful on an uneven terrain. Third, this flexibility allows you to use only fore-feet, which I found very helpful when running uphill.

There are several companies and numerous models of such minimalist shoes. I used to have Vibram FiveFingers Classic, probably the most minimalistic of all minimalist shoes.

I really liked them and they served fine for jogging and travel, but after I lost them in a trip, I decided to try another model and went for Vibram FiveFingers Sprint. They turned out to be much more flexible, and they have three velcro straps that allow very fine adjustment, so they fit the feet just perfectly.

In any case, I would strongly recommend to try those first, even if you find better deals online.

There are many other models that look more elaborate, but I think that makes them less minimalist, which defeats their purpose. In my last hike, I kept my Vibram shoes on for the first couple of hours, and after I took them off I actually felt a relief – compared to walking even in these light and flexible shoes, walking barefoot feels even lighter, not to mention that you feet don’t get sweaty. That’s why I consider minimalist shoes just an intermediate stage. Of course, all of this implies walking at warm temperatures. Also, I would rather wear such shoes in the city than walk totally barefoot; there’s just too much spit, chewing gums, and occasional dog poo or even broken glass (at least in New York City).

So, once you get used to walk barefoot or in minimalist shoes, learn about differences in running barefoot and shod. Maybe you will be able to break old habits and will re-learn how to run naturally, but I found it helpful to get some guidance from my friend Pétur who is an instructor of MovNat system. One of the techniques is basically seeing running as continuous fall forward with lifting your feet to prevent the actual fall; this technique is supposed to save a lot of energy. Perhaps following this technique was what helped me to run 7k trail race pretty fast without much previous training. Another reason could be that I got some natural ‘doping’ for breakfast: I ate some red beets, because I read they boosted stamina :p

running nude: the most human form of exercise

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

I have written many times that I like running naked, but after I came in third in my first ever naked race, it is a good time to tell why I think running naked is not only fun, but actually is the most natural activity for a human being. We just need to let the International Olympic Committee know. Actually, the Ancient Olympic committee must have known it.

Current evidence suggests that long-distance running was crucial in human evolution. Did you know that humans are the best long-distance runners among all animals? We can outrun even a horse! And one of the keys in our success as long distance runners has been our nakedness. Here are the links to a scientific peer-reviewed article on endurance running and the evolution of Homo [a genus to which our species, Homo sapiens, as well our ancestor and cousin species belong], as well as a short summary in the same journal, Nature, and another one from BBC.

Selection towards endurance running apparently shaped our body from bones to skin. It made us essentially two-legged and our legs longer than in any other ape. Not only skeleton changed, so did musculature, thanks to which we have prominent buttocks: we barely use gluteus maximus muscle for walking, but it is very active during running. Finally, our bare skin, as opposed to fur or feathers in other famous runners among animals, such as cheetahs, horses or ostriches, is an adaptation to prevent our body from overheating during running, as it allows us to sweat effectively with the whole surface of our body. So even though we are poor sprinters compared to many other animals, in the long run – quite literally – we could beat any of them! This ability was and still is used for hunting animals by exhausting them, the so-called persistence hunting.

Thus, people running in clothes, even light ‘professional running’ clothes, is evolutionary nonsense, a totally backward idea so to say. Sometimes you get questions how it feels with ‘things’ swaying and flopping. I’ve never had any issues or discomfort with that, and, at least from a male perspective when you think of it seriously, it’s difficult to see it as a real problem (you may get some insight on this issue from a female prospective from a blogpost on Young Naturists America). In the Bouncing Buns race almost all men ran totally bare, and most women without bras, so I assume most of the participants felt fine running naked. I could imagine it might be an issue for men who always wear tight underwear and for women always wearing bras, if their scrotum and breast are not used to supporting themselves, but that actually doesn’t sound healthy. On the other hand, when I told a friend about me participating in the naked race, he suggested that additional “pendulum” might be actually advantageous if you synchronise the swing with the forward move 😀

I suggest you to test this hypothesis on your own. Go for a good long run, naked run, like a real human 😉

Agistri island

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

If you go from Athens port Piraeus along Aegina island you will notice a small hilly island of Agistri. Unlike other islands around, it is fully covered by forest. Also, it has plenty of small bays with sandy and pebbly beaches. One of them is known as a naturist beach. Considering that getting to Agistri from Piraeus takes about 50min, it is an excellent alternative to naturist beaches around Athens on the mainland. Or if you are on Aegina island already, you can get from there too (Flying Dolphin in 10min, Agistri Express in 15min).

Flying Dolphin brings you to Megalochori pier

From which you’ll need to take a bus to Skala beach (€1.5), but ferries and Agistri express come directly to Skala pier.

Skala is a neat beach with clean sand, small tavernas and hotels.

Go further south along the sea and eventually the road turns into a trail.

You’ll see a hill covered with pine trees that has an entire tenting camp site. And no wonder, fresh sea breeze and pine smell create a perfect atmosphere.

The bays is hidden behind a small cape, and the way down is not obvious.

When I came to the edge of the cliffs, right by my feet, a head of another naked tourist appeared.

That’s how I found out the trail leading to the beach. From down there I saw some people above who probably couldn’t find there way down. Oh well, but I couldn’t complain, as that was what probably helped to keep the beach so pristine!

**********

This story and photos were contributed by our reader from Moscow, Igor.

Κρυμμένος θησαυρός στην Αθήνα

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

 English

Η Αθήνα έχει μερικές απομονωμένες παραλίες που είναι γνωστό ότι ελκύουν γυμνιστές, αλλά η συγκεκριμένη  παραλία είναι ένα αληθινό κρυμμένος διαμάντι: είναι κοντά στο κέντρο της πόλης, αλλά σχεδόν αδύνατο να την βρει κάποιος  χωρίς να γνωρίζει την ακριβή τοποθεσία, και όμως αξίζει τον κόπο της αναζήτησης!

Λόγω της απομόνωσης της είναι φυσικά, είναι ένα εξαιρετικό μέρος για γυμνισμό.


Έμαθα για αυτή την παραλία  χάρη στο Νίκο από την Αθήνα, έναν από τους πιστούς αναγνώστες του blog μου.


Και μετά από δυο χρόνια που είχαμε γνωριστεί μέσω email, είχαμε επιτέλους την ευκαιρία να συναντηθούμε  τον περασμένο Σεπτέμβριο, και να μιλήσουμε για πολλά ενδιαφέροντα πράγματα. Στη συνέχεια, όμως, στο πνεύμα του «active naturists»: «λιγότερα λόγια, περισσότερο δράση»

Σκαρφαλώσαμε στα βράχια πάνω από το νερό.


Οι βράχοι είχαν φωτεινά χρώματα, κυρίως λιλά και απαλό πορτοκαλί . τα χρώμα των βράχων στο φως του ηλιοβασιλέματος συνέθεταν μια πανέμορφη εικόνα.
Στη συνέχεια, ανακαλύψαμε κολυμπώντας μια σπηλιά που δεν ήταν δυνατόν να φτάσει κάποιος από ξηράς. Αυτή η μικρή σπηλιά έμοιαζε με ένα χαμένο κρησφύγετο πειρατών. Δυστυχώς δεν είχα την αδιάβροχη φωτογραφική μηχανή μαζί μου οπότε δεν μπορώ να το δείξω εδώ.

Η νύχτα ήταν ακόμη πολύ ζεστή και έτσι μπορέσαμε να απολαύσουμε τη θέα της Αθήνας γυμνοί μέχρι αργά το βράδυ.

Greek text by Nicolas

Bouncing Buns – exciting results!

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

I wish I could write as fast as I run! 😀 Here is the exciting news (almost 3 weeks later…), that yours truly came in 3rd in the naked 7k trail race and got the second prize in his age category! (With the time of 30:38.)

I already announced it earlier and was looking forward to participating in my first ever naked race.

What I find particularly encouraging, that this event wasn’t organized by a naturist organization (Pretzel City Sports for American Cancer Society), which indicates that people in general are open to the idea! But it was hosted, however, by a naturist resort Sunny Rest. It’s a very spacious place with all kinds of accommodation provided, from tenting to [almost] mansions. There are tennis courts, pool, beach volleyball field and pretty big section of the forest with the so-called Nature Trail, where the race took place.

We took advantage from arriving one day in advance and went for a walk to see the trail.

There is a wigwam with some kind of cute folk art.

Parts of the trail go through dense rhododendron bushes that create tunnels.

And the season of their blooming was just starting.

At some point there was a bifurcation for an ‘Easy’ and ‘Hard’ trails, and after some consideration we went for the hard one, of course.

Well, there were a few parts of quite steep up- and downhill trails, but nothing too demanding, most of the time it was rather flat. All trails are also clearly marked, so it would be unlikely to get lost.

We loved those parts of the forest where the floor was totally covered by ferns, which created a sea of green.

Other areas were covered by peculiar clubmosses, which aren’t mosses at all but ancient relatives of ferns.

clubmosses 0000 Sunny Rest, PA, USA

After we came back from the hike, we saw a bouncing bunny at the lawn and thought it was a sign of luck 😉

rabbit 0000 Sunny Rest, PA, USA

Then we had a naked dinner at the restaurant by the pool. Unfortunately, they close the main kitchen early (by 9pm), so we could only order from limited menu which was mostly fast-food. We went to check out the dance club afterwards, but to our dismay, we (3 persons) found ourselves to be the only ones naked. We couldn’t understand why there was such a change in attire by the night, as it was definitely warm enough to stay naked, especially when dancing. But some women even wore evening dresses and high heels – definitely overdressed for a naturist venue!

… after a quick breakfast next morning, it was time for some stretching with the new friend from Brazil who came not only to run but also write about the event for a Brazilian runners magazine.

Then we warmed up by running forth and back around the start/finish line 😀 (this was the only part of the race that was on asphalted road)

and the time for the race came! There were about 150 participants, the record number for this race, and many of them seemed likes pro runners. So it came to me as a surprise that I finished third. This year, I haven’t been jogging this year much (just a couple of times in early spring), so although I do many other sports, I wasn’t sure at all about my running performance. But I think I knew and used some tricks that might have helped me, I’m planning to write about it soon in a special post about running.

After finish, there were refreshments and snacks, and a ceremony for winners by the pool – very good idea!

I also befriended the guy who got the third prize in our age category, and as if the race wasn’t enough we played badminton on one of the lawns. I guess we still didn’t feel the pain… it came only the next day! But in any case we were very cheerful at the moment.

Bouncing Buns it was indeed!

Vimeo censored our videos

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

This website is barely half a year old in its reincarnation on WordPress and videos powered by Vimeo, and we’ve got the first blow from the latter. All of a sudden, they removed Active Naturists account entirely for ‘ Uploading videos that contain pornography or sexually explicit material’, even though their guidelines say ‘Non-sexual nudity is allowed’.

If you have a moment, write to Vimeo staff and let them know you think it was an error and you miss our vids! You can do so via their email or, if you have an account on Vimeo, through their website.

Here is also our email for reference:

Dear Vimeo Staff,

We do believe it was an erroneous decision to remove our account for ‘uploading… pornography or sexually explicit material’. We find it very sad and unfortunate if you consider any of our videos pornographic and would like to get some explanation from you.
Your guidelines say ‘You may not upload sexually explicit material or pornography. Non-sexual nudity is allowed.’ We are running a blog about naturism, a lifestyle that encourages people to feel comfortable in their natural state, without clothes. In our blog, we particularly emphasized benefits of this attitude in numerous activities including sports, outdoors, dancing… For this reasons, we’ve uploaded a number of videos with us and our friends, as well as several videos from other online sources, where people were performing such various activities as swimming, gymnastics, badminton, rugby, dancing… but we cannot recall having any videos of us or anyone else involved in anything that could be classified as pornographic, even remotely. Of course, since you have erased our account completely, we cannot verify that information and point out to each and every video, but to the best of our knowledge, not only was there no video of people engaging in sexual activities, but there was no one kissing or even hugging. In this respect, we are honestly baffled as to what exactly you consider pornographic.

Your hasty decision to take down all our videos comes even more as a surprise (needless to say, unpleasant), because Vimeo actively promoted anti-SOPA and -PIPA campaigns. But in fact it seems that you act exactly how we feared internet censorship would work: without too much consideration, without clear definitions as to what is allowed and what is not, in other words very subjective and biased. Such actions seem to us especially inappropriate when done without any warning or notice.

Please reconsider your decision, as well as the ways you communicate with your users. My website aims at creating a positive body image and stimulating people to do more sports and outdoor activities, and in the same time speaks for one of the basic and simple human rights that is somehow ignored in mass media – the right to be yourself just the way you are, in your natural state, without necessity to cover yourself in clothes imposed by societal rules. Our videos were essential for the website, and Vimeo appeared to us like a perfect platform for hosting such videos. We hope it is still the case.

Best regards,

Active Naturists
http://activenaturists.net

Sandy Hook

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Happy Independence Day! As a present for our US American readers, here is the post about Gunnison Beach at Sandy Hook. It is definitely one of the top clothing-optional beaches in the US, and for a good reason.

This beach is huge, even though large part of it is closed for protection of shorebirds, primarily plovers.

This part usually opens in the end of summer, when nesting season is over, but you can just go strolling or jogging in the protected area.

Once, the water was full of fish roe,

and it left beautiful crystal-like traces, or rather footprints, of the waves on the sand. And plovers were happy to feast on it.

But even the designated area is big enough to host numerous beach goers from NYC metropolitan area as well as Jersey shore.

Most people stay close to water, so there is a vast sandy part between people and dunes that may be used for  jogging

and of course nudists’ favorite volleyball.

The limiting factor is rather space at the parking lot which fills up quickly on weekends.

If you don’t mind spending more money – $45 0r $30 with this coupon on certain times – it is way better to get to Sandy Hook from Manhattan by ferry.

It leaves from two locations Midtown and Downtown, and you have an easy ride with fresh breeze and nice views.

Speaking of views, what makes Gunnison Beach very special is that there’s no other nudist beach that could boast with Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. You’ll definitely want a naked portrait with that background, just prepare a pair of glasses against the bright sun.

There you go!

Another option is to turn upside down 🙂

Oh wait, I think I did manage to get at least one ‘normal’ portrait. It is somewhat surreal to let it all hang out while seeing that crazy city so close.

Coming back to Manhattan after that feels like coming to another world.

Nikita beach and forest (Crimea)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

 Русский

One of very few places where primeval dry subtropical forest meets the sea on the South coast of Crimea. Simply a beautiful place! This is my last post about naturist places in Crimea for now.

Probably you’re surprised to hear about subtropical forest in Ukraine Russia (depending on your political views and the map issued by your state), but the South coast of Crimea is indeed one of the northernmost areas with subtropical climate, as it is  protected from northern winds by Crimean mountains and warm Black Sea keeps temperatures milder.

The protected forest of Nikita, officially known as Cape Martyan Reserve,  is right next to the Nikita Botanical Garden (and formally, it is a part of it), and it hosts some plants that are common in the Mediterranean, for example, arbutus, or strawberry tree.  I couldn’t resist resting on low branches of one of those the way to the beach: the bark is very smooth and has a very pleasant, slightly velvet-like, touch.

Just too bad its strawberry-like fruit were not ripe yet.

First time, I was came the beach walking by the shore starting at this point, where I also paid a park fee, but sometimes it was too rough too hike through the rocks, and later I discovered that it was easier to walk by the trail starting here. In both cases, you can use trolleybus #34 from Yalta in the direction of the Nikita Botanical Garden.

When I first reached the beach, it really appeared like paradise lost!

And after having walked behind that upright rock, I saw a man walking in Adam’s suit, so I knew I was in the right place 😉

By the way, Cape Martyan Reserve does not only include the forest but a part of the sea too, with many fish species. Numerous cormorants resting on the rocks indicated at the sea riches.

And indeed, the underwater rocks seemed teeming with life.

Second time, I brought my sister too. She is not an adamant nudist like me, but she was impressed by my photos from the first trip to cape Martyan and was eager to come along. We got some rain, but we didn’t mind it, as it was warm.

And this was what kept this place so green at the height of summer. After the clouds started disappearing behind the hills,

we climbed some of those strawberry trees again.

And then, with the beautiful sun rays on the background, I felt like posing in the role of some ancient sun-god.

The “sun” that I held in my hands was a juicy Crimean melon, which we happily ate afterwards :p

What a nice day it was to celebrate both the rain and the sun!