Blog

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!

World Naked Bike Ride NYC 2012 – [modest] success!

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

So, two weeks ago it happened after all! I was really worried about how the NYC edition of the World Naked Bike Ride would go, as last year, more-than-necessary police presence scared the participants, so no one even dared to get naked. This year was quite an improvement in this respect, even though only several tens of people of showed up. For whatever reason, there was no intervention whatsoever, and the ride went totally smooth.

It started with some speeches from the organizers with the iconic Manhattan skyline on the background.

I couldn’t believe it, but right after we took off, one guy disrobed totally. Obviously, I couldn’t help doing the same. He turned out to be from Portland, where WNBR attracts thousands and most of participants are naked, so he rightfully pointed out that was actually why it was called ‘naked bike ride’.

Well, yeah, maybe in Portland and most of the Western world, but I had to explain that NYC was somewhat difficult. But there I was, riding naked through the streets of New York.

Soon, the leader joined the naked team,

and even more people followed.

After Williamsburg, we headed to East Village,

Chinatown,

and Lower East Side. We weren’t as many as we’d like to, but we still filled the road for about half of the block. And we definitely attracted a lot of attention from the crowd!

When we stopped at the crossings,

or even while riding, we were asked by pedestrians and drivers alike what it was all about. I tried to explain in two words, but hopefully many did their search online afterwards so that awareness about cycling in the city would spread.

One of the important points was stopping by BP gas station, still symbolic as one of the major pollutants after the spill in Mexican Gulf.

Unfortunately, we didn’t go through main sights of New York City, like most of the naked rides do in other cities, but we did encounter some sightseeing buses, and I bet it the highlight of their tour.

Well, I hope next year we’ll cover more areas of Manhattan – to get more people involved, interested, alerted – but also for the fun of it. Isn’t it just awesome to have a group bike tour through NYC, and on tope of it in the buff?

Before heading out to the after party, we had one last naked stop in the park. I wish we could have a party in the park like it was in Madrid, but I feel that would be too risky in NYC.

PS thanks to the reporter from Village Voice for nice coverage (and yes, he was fully covered). I’ve used some of his photos.

Forested area near Balaklava, Crimea

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

 Русский

Balaklava is a former home of Soviet nuclear submarines, but now it is merely a small colorful port full of tourist vessels (but you can still check out the natural submerged cave where submarines were located).

You can go by scheduled boats and then hike to a remote beach; or you could just rent a smaller boat that would bring you directly to one of the numerous secluded spots to the south of Balaklava.

There is a dry pine forest, and small pebble are beaches squeezed between the rocks. We went there just for a day, but apparently it is very popular for camping. Nudity is a commonplace.

On the way back, my sister and I saw a bunch of guys covered in grey mud, but it didn’t occur to me to take a photo, although they were posing like statues. I guess I’ll have to return there!

Uchkuyevka beach, Sevastopol (Crimea)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

 Русский

Uchkuyevka (aka Lubimovka) is the only beach within Sevastopol city area with well established nudist area. This beach is very long, with nice soft sand and picturesque sandstone cliffs. You can get there from the main part of the city by boat directly (once an hour from Artilereyskaya bay) or by more frequent ferry to Severnaya side first (from Grafskaya pier) and then minibus.

Naturists gather at both southern and northern edges of the beach, but the latter is more popular. As soon as you pass these sandstone cliffs,

you will see most of the people enjoying the sun and the sea without swimsuits. So you can disrobe immediately and pick your spot, there is still a couple of miles of beach ahead!

So you can find a quiet spot for yourself, come with your family (like I did, but I will talk about it some time later), or a big group of friends.

Goluboy [Blue] Bay (Crimea)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

 Русский

Another picturesque location to enjoy the sea au naturel in Crimea is Blue Bay near Simeiz. It is located under Mount Koshka, which means ‘cat-mountain’ because of how it looks from a certain point.

Coming from the centre of the town, you’ll have to walk by this beautiful alley on Lenina Street, which already has some hints promising clothing-optional leisure in the end.

After this building, Lenina Street becomes Golubaya Street (Blue Street).

Then, watch out for this sign on the left.

Like at Cape Fiolent, there are some politically-charged signs too, with a very different tone, however: this one says “Freedom to gays!”

Simeiz is actually the only known holiday destination that attracts a large proportion of gays from Ukraine and Russia, and by coincidence the name of this bay, Goluboy, means both ‘blue’ and ‘gay’ in Russian. Which meaning you think is of more relevance is up to you to decide 🙂

From the bay itself, you can see Crimean mountains including the highest peak of Ai-Petri.

And this is how it looks from this peak.

There are a lot of different fishes, and the rocks are covered with colorful algae.

The area is relatively green, so you can stay in shade and even camp under trees,

but most people stay on the rocks in the open,

right under this steep cliff.

There are also many rocks that provide more private setting.

And some of them are also popular for cliff diving. I dived from this one, but unfortunately I don’t have any photo evidence.

Maybe next time?

beaches of Cape Fiolent (Crimea)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Русский

With this post I am starting a series of descriptions of Crimean beaches. Right on time if you plan some vacations in Ukraine after the final of the Euro Cup 2012 😉 Crimea is the main tourist destination in Ukraine with rich history and diverse nature, as well as several nudist beaches.

Cape Fiolent near Sevastopol provides some of the best beaches in the area thanks to the beautiful scenery and clear waters. Several years ago it was treated as a protected area, so the number of visitors was limited and one had to arrive in the morning and get tickets in a nearest pension or hotel, but in 2010 it was no longer the case, which I found rather unfortunate, even though it made it easier in terms of reaching the beach.

In any case, prepare to go down by hundreds of stairs, as the beaches are down by the steep cliffs.

If you go to the beach on the western side of Cape Fiolent, aka Tsar beach, you’ll be stunned with the vast views over the Black Sea.

At sunset, the colors are only more dramatic.

The nudist section is behind that big rock that you see in the center of the photo, but it is actually even marked as such (probably by its visitors themselves).

This beach is mostly pebbled, which is not the best option for sunbathing, so there was only more reason to go swimming. Luckily, I had my waterproof camera too, I was surprised to find rich underwater life.

Most of the rocks are covered by green, red and brown algae and moss animals (bryozoans).

And I’ve never seen that many hermit crabs as there.

Of course they were hiding in shells and were not eager to pose before my camera whatsoever.

But I was able to get a comb jelly photographed, also a relatively rare but beautiful sight; while moving, it created shiny multicolor waves at the edges of its body.

If you go to the beach on the eastern side of Cape Fiolent, aka Yashma [jasper] beach, the views are even more picturesque,

with a small monastery on the left.

Probably it was them who put a big cross on the small rocky island right in front of the beach.

Given a conservative stance of both Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches (I don’t know to which one the monastery belongs), I hope they don’t mind that part of the beach is by default clothing-optional. Actually, I was so inspired by the view with the cross, I felt like I could walk on water!

OK, I’ll have to tell you my secret, there was a barely submerged rock a few meters away from the shore.

And this is how the beach looks like from that island with the cross.

The unofficial nudist again hides is protected by the rocks and has a sign.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only sign there. I saw also another custom-made sign, or rather obscene homophobic warning (this time not only in Russian but in English as well), which was apparently painted, erased and repainted a few times. Hope it didn’t represent an ongoing ‘battle’ between different beach visitors and was rather a flick by a single individual idiot.

In any case, whenever I was at that spot, it all seemed very peaceful.

Further behind another set of rocks, accessible only by water, there was a place where fresh water was coming down by the rocks covering them with a thin layer. Useful if you decide to camp there, or at least to refresh.

But I wasn’t the only one who leaned against the rocks there.

Even further away from the beach, there are rocks of contrasting colors,

that look especially spectacular from and underwater.

Algae, moss animals and mussels appear highlighted on the white background of chalk rock.

Then I saw two bright animals side by side: a blenny fish, and a big prawn, 

that was actually transparent but had some bright blue, orange and white spots.

This kind of prawn is like the next level of nudist, with most of its body parts being transparent 😀

The blenny fish first appeared somewhat sad but then flashed with its bright colors before swimming away.

That was definitely a memorable swim; I’d love to come again in search for sea life posing on light background of chalk rocks.

Bouncing Buns 7k Trail Race in Pennsylvania for American Cancer Society

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

In the season of the World Naked Bike Ride across the Northern Hemisphere, there is another chance for active naturists to become also naturist activists: Bouncing Buns 7k Trail Race in Pennsylvania for American Cancer Society on the 23rd of June, Saturday next week! 7km is the longest distance that I’ve seen for a naked or clothing-optional race (correct me, if I’m wrong), it’s good to be challenged, moreover for a good cause.

The event is organized by Pretzel City Sports and you can register for the race at their website. Your $30 registration fee will support American Cancer Society, and afterwards you get an opportunity to hang out at Sunny Rest naturist resort, where the trail race will take place. It’s a great opportunity to run just the way you like. The event is clothing optional, and we’ll certainly opt for the style of the [original] Olympic runners 😉

If you plan to stay in the area and wouldn’t like to wear anything on your sweaty self after the race, there is a couple more options besides Sunny Rest: a family-friendly nudist camp Beechwood Lodge and gay campground ‘the Woods‘.

Hope to see some of my readers there!

secluded rocks near Genoa

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

In Italy, as it’s known, the nudity is generally not allowed by law. However there are many secluded spots where you can practice naturism without too much risk. One of these, and the nearest (12 km East) to the city where I live, Genoa, is a corner of the sea cliffs in the Comune of Pieve Ligure, called Scalo Fontanino. Here, there are only rocks, no beach, but the view from the promontory of Portofino is very nice and the water is clean. A high rocky cliff protects from unwanted viewers from the villas above. The “seats” available are not numerous, but still there is always enough space to lie down and sunbathe for all visitors. This is my favorite place where I usually spend my weekends, naked and happy!!
Here just a couple of pictures with me in one day with stormy sea.

Guest post by Michele.