WNBR en la ciudad de México (2017)

English

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Han pasado unos meses desde el devastador terremoto en la Ciudad de México. Esperemos que se recuperen pronto y queden mejor de como estaban antes. Vi bastante de esta ciudad en junio durante uno de los eventos más divertidos que uno pueda imaginar: ¡el World Naked Bike Ride! Ya durante mi primer WNBR en 2009 en Madrid (también conocida como “marcha ciclonudista”), estaba claro que esas rodadas eran una excelente forma de ver la ciudad, y en compañía de cientos de personas desnudas. ¿Puedes pensar de un mejor tour de la ciudad? Y todo es por una buena causa para promover el ciclismo como mejor modo de transporte en respuesta a la creciente contaminación y sobrepoblación. La desnudez aquí ayuda para promover el mensaje: los ciclistas usan solamente energía del cuerpo humano (¡entonces a mostrar ese cuerpo!) y aún de que somos los más propensos a la verdadera indecencia del tráfico y la contaminación que dejan los vehículos.

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Y no da pesar tener algunos mensajes directos escritos en esos cuerpos desnudos, por eso en el inicio del evento, muchas personas hacen body-painting y decoran sus cuerpos de una forma divertida y creativa. Yo tenía “energía pura” escrito en mi pierna,

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y este chico “frágil”,

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otro nos recordó de mantener la distancia de 1.5m de separación de los coches,

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otros sólo constaban su gusto por andar en bicicleta,

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etc, etc.

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Y esta pareja paseaba un mensaje sobre el ridículo enfoque de la sociedad hacia la aceptación del cuerpo sin palabras pero usando un bañador (uno entre los dos =)

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El WNBR une a todo tipo de personas,

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y desnudos, hasta nos sentimos más unidos.

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¡Incluso el Presidente del país vecino del Norte se unió al WNBR en la Ciudad de México!

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¡Jaja! Bueno, eso pudo haber sido demasiado revolucionario, pero con sus ideales sobre el cambio climático y la falta de respeto hacia los cuerpos (por lo menos de las mujeres), esto debió haber sido sólo sarcasmo. De cualquier modo, uno de los cantos que se escucharon en el WNBR de la Ciudad de México fue “si Zapata viviera, en bici anduviera”. Pero él ya no anda por aquí, y otros políticos prominentes notablemente no aparecen en el WNBR. Así que, ¿sólo tenemos esperanza en super héroes?

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De hecho eventos como el WNBR muestran cómo todos podemos ser una solución, especialmente si actuamos juntos.

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Como siempre en eventos nudistas masivos como este, fue interesante observar la reacción del público, y mientras que la mayoría se veían intrigados por la marcha, otros no estuvieron tan contentos.

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De alguna forma sería de ayuda si no sólo el público general si no también algunos negocios reconocieran el valor de este tipo de eventos (a pesar de que tal vez algún repartidor de Uber Eats se nos unió mientras regresaba de trabajar).

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Pues bien, los servicios de renta de bicicletas serían obviamente los más interesados en esto, ¡y de hecho había algunos ofreciendo descuentos para el WNBR en México!

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Siempre es bonito ver a otros medios de transporte impulsados por el propio cuerpo en estas rodadas, como las patinetas y patines así como varias formas de bicicletas: tandem,

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altas,

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yacente…

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Y esta escultura parece que estaba participando también, a pesar de que atrajo un poco menos de atención.

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Tuvimos una breve parada en el Auditorio Nacional en la avenida de Paseo de la Reforma,

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Pero algunas personas también se detuvieron para tomarse fotos con la escultura de Alas de México. Este es aparentemente uno de las cosas más fotografiadas en la Ciudad de México (bueno, de hecho está perfectamente montada para una buena foto), pero supongo que no hay muchas posibilidades de tomarte una foto desnudo ahí, a pesar de que su escultor, Jorge Marín, seguramente lo aprobaría, ya que la mayoría de sus creaciones son desnudos o semi-desnudos.

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Después de eso, estábamos de regreso en las calles,

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En el verdadero espíritu del World Naked Bike Ride.

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No como en Nueva York, pero parecido a como en otras de las grandes ciudades en las que se realiza el WNBR, esta manifestación aquí fue sancionada y apoyada por la policía. La ruta tiene que ser coordinada desde antes y cambia cada año. Algunas veces va a través de más partes de la ciudad, otras veces menos; este año la ruta cubría una buena sección del centro, pero aparentemente ha habido rodadas más largas en la historia de este evento. Terminamos en el mismo punto en el que iniciamos, lo cual fue bueno para tomar algunas fotos con otro importante: el Monumento a la Revolución.

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Con tantos participantes, al final había todavía algunos que no había visto durante la rodada y que tenían pinturas interesantes en sus cuerpos (estilo Día de los Muertos),

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…o nada de body paint.

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Había también un vendedor ambulante con nieve, lo cual fue perfecto después de la rodada.

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Disfruté por unos minutos el simple hecho de estar desnudo en la calle, como si fuera otro día en la ciudad… pero sin ropa.

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¡Uno puede soñar! Pero el WNBR ciertamente ayuda con la aceptación del cuerpo y así puede hacer que ese sueño se vuelva realidad!

Aquí está un bonus, un video de 15 minutos de la excursión a través del centro de la Ciudad de México con un montón de personas desnudas.

WNBR – Mexico City 2017

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It’s been a month since the devastating earthquake in Mexico City, and let’s hope it will recover well, to be better than before. I saw quite a bit of this city in June during one of the most fun events imaginable: the World Naked Bike Ride! Already in my first ever WNBR – in Madrid 2009 – it was clear that such rides provide an amazing way to see the city, and in the company of hundreds naked (or so) people. Can you think of a better city tour? And it’s all for a great cause to promote cycling to be the major mode of urban transportation in response to ever increasing pollution and overpopulation. Nudity here helps to get the message across: cyclists use the pure power of human body (so, show that body!) – and yet we are the ones who are most prone to the truly indecent exposure to the traffic and vehicle pollution.

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And it doesn’t hurt to get some more specific messages written on those naked bodies, so in the beginning of the event, many people spend time with body-painting and decorating themselves in other funny and creative ways. I had ‘energía pura’ written on my thigh,

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and this guy – ‘fragile’,

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another reminded to keep the distance of 1.5 m away from cars (‘distancia de autos 1.5 m’),

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others just acknowledged their love to cycling,

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etc etc.

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And this couple conveyed a message about society’s ridiculous approach toward body acceptance without words but by wearing a bathing suit – one between the two of them =)

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WNBR brings all kinds of people together,

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and naked, we feel even more united.

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Even the President north of the border joined WNBR in Mexico City!

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Haha! Oh well, that would have been quite revolutionary, but with his views on climate change and lack of respect to (at least female) bodies, this must have been just a sarcasm. By the way, one of the chants at the WNBR in Mexico City was ‘si Zapata viviera, en bici anduviera’ (if Zapata lived, he would go by bike). But he is not around anymore, and other prominent politicians are notably absent from the WNBR. So, can we only hope for superheroes?

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Well, actually events like WNBR show that we all can be a solution, especially if we act together.

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As always at such mass naked events, it was interesting to observe reaction of the public, and while the majority seemed to be quite intrigued by the parade, some were not as amused.

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Certainly it’ll be helpful if not only general public but some businesses recognize the value of such events (though maybe that ‘Uber eats’ guy  just joined us on the way from work).

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Well, bike rental services would be the most obvious interested party, and actually there were some offering special deals for WNBR in Mexico!

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It is always nice to see other body-powered modes of transportation at these rides, such as skateboards and roller blades, as well as various forms of bicycles – tandem,

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tall,

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recumbent…

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And this sculpture was seemingly participating too, though it attracted a bit less attention.

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We had a brief stop at Auditorio Nacional on the avenue of Paseo de la Reforma,

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but quite a few people also stopped to take pictures with the sculpture of Alas de México (Wings of Mexico). This is apparently one of the most photographed places in Mexico City (well, as it is obviously set up perfectly for a portrait), but I guess there are not many possibilities to take a nude photo there, even though its sculptor, Jorge Marín, would surely approve that, as most of his creations are nude or almost nude.

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After that, we were back to the streets,

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in the true spirit of the World Naked Bike Ride.

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Unlike in New York City, but similar to other major cities that host WNBR, this manifestation here was sanctioned and supported by police. The route has to be coordinated in advance and changes every year. Sometimes it goes through more parts of the city, sometimes fewer; this year it covered a decent section of the center, but apparently there’ve been longer rides in its history. We ended at the same spot where we started, which was nice to take some photos with another landmark – Monumento a la Revolución.

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With so many participants, in the end there were still some that I hadn’t seen during the ride with interesting body paint (Día de los muertos style),

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… or no body paint at all.

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There also was a street vendor with ice-cream, which was perfect after the ride.

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And I enjoyed a few minutes of just being naked on the street, as if it was just another day in the city… but without clothes.

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One can dream! But World Naked Bike Ride certainly helps with body acceptance and thus may make that dream come true!

Here is a bonus – a 15-minute video excursion through the center of Mexico City with a bunch of naked people.

 

recap of the BodyPainting Day in NYC

NYC BodyPainting Day It’s no surprise that body painting works best with naked people, and Andy Golub brings this art form to the next level by arranging massive body painting sessions in public spaces. While I thoroughly enjoyed those body painting parties that used to be quite common in New York a couple of years ago, it is a totally different experience when you get painted by a professional artist while being watched by dozens if not hundreds of passers-by somewhere like Times Square – you do feel like you become a piece of art! And that was the theme of the 2nd annual BodyPainting Day – ‘All Bodies Are Works of Art’ – Andy Golub’s  biggest event so far which he organized together with Young Naturists America. In case you missed my report from the first one last year, here it is; and you can still participate in the European gig in two weeks – BodyPainting Day in Amsterdam on the 15th of August. Don’t miss it if you’re around! Here is my recap of the event in New York just a little over a week ago, with 100 models and 70 artists! We first got painted at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza.  It took 2-4 hours for some models to be finished, so it’s a pretty serious commitment for both models and artists. It turned out that my artist, Naty, and I had a friend in common, but we surely became friends too during the painting process 🙂

I was covered in bright sunset colors and strings of DNA, symbolizing our deeply embedded connection with nature. Our neighbors were a mother and her son painting her. It was really amazing to see how understanding and natural they were with each other – a level of comfort that not many people reach with their parents. And here are some more of my favorite photos:

from the painting process

and a bit of posing

– luckily it didn’t rain!

– reference to last year’s theme – faces?

– my friend from FreeForm Festival; he was supposed to join my theme camp for Burning Man too but had to cancel his trip – well, at least he’s on fire here!

– just chilling on the bench 🙂 – Eve and the evil Serpent in one – probably my favorite work from this year!

After all that painting and posing, we were really hungry, but luckily lunch was included in the program. I bet this was the most amusing workday for that food truck! Lunch break wasn’t too long though, as we marched out towards the UN building. Some posing with police 🙂 Even though it’s legal in New York to be naked for art performances, police gave Andy Golub hard time during his first public body art gigs, so he eventually got a special permit. Good to see police actually being supportive of an event like this! Maybe they won’t arrest us anymore during the World Naked Bike Ride either? As we got to the UN, we were surrounded by a pretty big crowd – maybe some UN workers among them? Hopefully one day the freedom to be naked will be acknowledged as a fundamental human right – the right to be just the way you were born, and the way you are, uncovered. naturist 0000 BodyPainting Day, New York City, NY, USA Well, for now, we need events like this to be able to take a nude photo by the UN building 🙂 naturist 0001 BodyPainting Day, New York City, NY, USA I tried to replicate DNA double helix shape with my body; naturist 0003 BodyPainting Day, New York City, NY, USA handstands weren’t as meaningful, but when else would I get a chance to act like that by the UN? Too bad there probably was nobody to appreciate the view from those offices, as it was Sunday… I actually ride my bicycle on this bike lane a few times a week – this place will never be the same for me! 😀 Then we all (models, artists and photographers) got on two double-decker buses and rode around Manhattan cheering and amusing passers-by – and also being cheered back. The first stop for a group shot was at Rockefeller Center (see the first photo in this post) followed by the NYC Public Library. Then we went down to Washington Square Park, where we started dancing to the music of street musicians, so our appearance was more like a fun flashmob. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbe1cbo5DiE During those stops we also had an opportunity to talk to people, as many were wondering about the cause. I don’t recall any negative reaction, which once again shows that by far majority of people, once confronted with nudity, don’t actually see it in a way that you might expect judging by our legislation – our bodies are nothing to be ashamed of and on contrary are works of art!

WNBR in Northern Hemisphere is coming!

World Naked Bike Ride will gather thousands of cyclists in many cities of the Northern Hemisphere to promote cycling as a mode of urban transportation, as well as body acceptance. The dress code is “as bare as you dare”, but in my opinion being naked is the best way to get the message across: cyclists use the power of human body for commuting in the city – so, show that body! – and yet we are the ones who are most prone to the truly indecent exposure to the traffic and vehicle pollution. In most cities, including my current hometown NYC, the ride will be held on Saturday the 13th. You can see the list of participating cities here, though it’s not entirely updated – look up if you have a local World Naked Bike Ride near you!

You can see my reports from WNBR in NYC 2013 and 2012, Boston WNBR 2014, as well as from Madrid in 2009Philly Naked Bike Ride was in is the biggest one I’ve participated so far. As long, as NYPD doesn’t disturb us like last year, we should have a fun ride all along – come and join WNBR NYC if you’re around:
Bodies assembly at 4:00pm, ride departs by 5:00 pm sharp. Arrive early for body painting, trainings, teach-ins, and socializing! Volunteers plan on coming early!
Grand Ferry Park; final route will be communicated to riders who show up only. More details on WNBR NYC wiki page!

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[interactive] arts rock!

Lately, there’s been a lot of discussion whether New York City has lost/ is losing its artistic scene and innovative atmosphere – see if this New York Times article can convince you otherwise. However, I’m happy to be involved with two local artists – Andy Golub and Shungaboy – who have a unique approach to art, which allows people to participate in art rather than being its passive consumer (not that there’s anything wrong with that, though).

Andy Golub is a renowned artist that often uses body as canvas, and he often makes a performance of the process itself too by painting bodies of (often non-professional) models at public places in New York. This is probably as interactive and public as art can get: you yourself may be transformed into a piece of art, in the middle of a busy street! Nudity certainly draws attention, but it also certainly makes people think and re-evaluate their attitude towards human body, such as what can be considered ‘beautiful’ or ‘appropriate’, and this is when art becomes meaningful.

I’ve already written up on two events organized by Andy Golub – body art at Times Square in 2013, and the 1st NYC Bodypainting Day last year. You got it right, that was the 1st Bodypainting Day, so the 2nd must follow and so forth 😉 This year, Andy plans to double the capacity for the event in New York some time in July, but he’s also announced a date for the Bodypainting Day in Amsterdam on the 15th of August 2015! You can hear more about these events and Andy Golub’s ideas during his interview as well as see or even participate in nude body painting demonstration this coming Saturday, 24 Jan, in Nyack, NY.

 

Andy Golub has interviewed himself some of participants of his event (check out his Vimeo channel), here are just two of those.

Felicity from Young Naturists America tells how she feels becoming an art object,

and Sidney loves the public aspect of it.

My friend known by his artist name Shungaboy has just started a group for nude male figure drawing. What I like about this group is that everybody joining the group is expected to participate both as an artist and as a model. This creates a friendly atmosphere, and it also must be useful for models and artists alike to try both roles.
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I am certainly not the only one with this impression, as  Shungaboy’s MeetUp group has proved to be very successful from the first class. I actually had never modeled for a drawing or a painting before that, and it was also nice to brush up my painting drawing skills.

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The workshop allowed 15 minutes for each sketch, and with 14 participants, most models were paired.

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What’s nice about sketch format, is that we could put up our works on the wall for immediate discussion, which kept the whole atmosphere stimulating and interactive.

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Having my photo camera handy, I couldn’t resist taking some pictures

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of the painter and the painting process. Now, that I look at these photos, I think the scene of a nude artist painting nude models itself is worth painting too!

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You can see this and another works of the group clicking on the image below.

 

So, whatever you may think of the art scene in New York these days, if you consider yourself an active or artful naturist, you should definitely check out these groups!

blue multi-faced humanoids take over New York City

Last Saturday, something incredible happened: blue humanoids with additional faces in unexpected places took over the streets of Midtown Manhattan! No, it’s not a plot of a sci-fi thriller. In fact, the humanoids were greeted by New York denizens and visitors with joy and excitement!

It was New York Body Painting Day, a project by the artist Andy Golub in collaboration with Young Naturists America. I participated in a similar body art event at Times square a year ago, but New York Body Painting Day must have been the biggest so far, with 3o artists and 40 models!

Besides bringing art to the people in the most interactive way imaginable, New York Body Painting Day had a clear message on body acceptance.

We started at Columbus Circle by the corner of Central Park. After the artists spilled their creativity over the models with flying colors,

some of the models helped to finish painting their fellows. By the way, this photo below with my legs being painted by the model-turned-artist made it to an article on BBC website, which was among the top-read news on that day!

Given that my upper body appeared in a cover photo for the last year’s event coverage on NBC, I can only guess what other parts of my body will feature in the top news outlets, if I keep on participating in these events! 😀

The models who were finished earlier strolled to Central Park for a photo shoot.

Here are just a few of my favorite photos. Rocks and trees provided a naturalistic background

and an opportunity for some bolder poses.

Some models did not just pose but performed a little show with hula-hoops.

When all models were ready, we gathered by the fountain at Columbus Circle

and strolled down Broadway.

Being in a very cheerful mood, we of course took every opportunity to stop and play with whatever we encountered on our way.

I was offered to ride a pedicab… Not often do you get a chance to ride a bike naked in New York without risk of getting arrested. Unfortunately, that photo is no longer available from the original source, and I have never downloaded it :-/

The red stairs at Time Square gave us a great opportunity for some group photos.

All eyes on us!

That wasn’t our final stop, however. We then had an entire double-decker bus for ourselves and rode through Midtown to East Village.

I’ve never taken such city sightseeing bus tours, but I assure you this was something else! We had so much fun greeting the crowd and getting their amused and amazed reaction back! We actually got a couple of passers by naked in solidarity with us 🙂 [Unfortunately, that photo is no longer available from the original source, and I have never downloaded it]

But there are some great photos of people’s reaction, which ranged from WTF kind of amusement

to pure cheerful smiles

and I wish I was there look on the face 🙂

And then, that awkward moment when Naked Cowboy realizes he is not actually naked…

We had a break at Andy’s studio with some snacks and art viewing

and then headed back for an after-party.

It was a day to remember for all the participants and spectators alike!

WNBR NYC and Free Form Festival: free, arrested and then freer than ever!

Last Friday, the weather in New York city wasn’t the most cooperative for the World Naked Bike Ride, and yet a couple of dozens of hardiest cyclists showed up at the Grand Ferry Park. We welcomed the thunderstorm by dancing naked in the downpour, and as the rain was calming down, we took off to the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Despite the weather, there were still people on the streets, and we got cheered by pedestrians, other cyclists and car drivers alike! We got some friendly smiles and hand waives even from police. When passers by asked us why we were naked, I replied that skin was waterproof 😉

By the time we got to Washington Square Park, it stopped raining altogether.

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But some of us seemed to miss water already 🙂

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I wish New York accepted nudity, at least in parks, and as these rides show, general public doesn’t seem to be opposed to it, once confronted to a cheerful naked crowd.

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The World Naked Bike Ride aims to promote safe environments for cyclists and public in general, and who would argue that if you can feel safe in your city while being naked, it must be as safe as it gets?

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Then we headed out to the Hudson Greenway and took some more pictures with iconic views.

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As to the banner, I personally don’t think NYC should be car-free altogether, but it would definitely become a better city, if half of the drivers switched to bicycles 🙂

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Unfortunately, our ride after that didn’t go as peaceful and proved that it wasn’t the weather we should have been worried about:

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All of a sudden, we were overtaken  by an undercover police car (disguised as a yellow cab!) and then even more police came and blocked the street. We can only guess why, but they also arrested two of the participants!

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It was pleasing to get support from bystanders. One of them shouted that he thought he happened to be in Iran. However, this didn’t stop police, and our two arrestees were detained till next evening! Your can read more at the blog of one of the organizers of New York’s WNBR, Ben, as well as an article from Gothamist.

I was very happy about how our ride went last year, and there is no reason why it should have ended so bitter this year. I’m especially puzzled why this happens in seemingly liberal New York. I bet many spectators of our ride on Friday had that “only in New York” moment, but what they probably didn’t realize was that in many cities of the world and US, the World Naked Bike Ride actually attracts many more riders, and what happens only in New York perhaps is that participants of such rides get arrested. Hopefully, it’ll be better next year. And there’re still some more rides this year too, including WNBR Boston next Saturday, June 28 (read this announcement about at Boston Magazine).

 

Last weekend, I went to Free Form Festival at The Schuylkill County Fairgrounds, PA,  and it was a nice and necessary breath of freedom after I witnessed the arrest at WNBR.

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This festival celebrates anything positive and artsy, anything that brings people together and raises the spirit, and social nudity is a part of it.

I started off with a naked lunch, which by coincidence seemed to be all Tuscan style – featuring Tuscan salami, Tuscan bean salad, and Tuscan salami – despite I bought those at different places without thinking about it :p

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Free Form Festival follows the format of Burning Man, just at a smaller scale and with grass instead of dust.

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I didn’t take many photos, as it was more about having fun and interacting with people.

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Even though nudity is not common there, it’s definitely welcome. As you can see at this photo from a contact workshop, where we pretended to be a school of fish, nobody had a problem with following a naked dude.

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At night, everybody gathered for the effigy burn, and a few people, including me, were dancing naked around. One of the fire spinners got naked too, and had a solo performance on the side. Also, a guy whose dance style was more like Tai Chi got naked too and taught me a couple of principal Tai Chi moves. Then he brought me to a creek with cold water behind the amphitheater. And that was my experience of duality – this year’s theme of Free Form Festival – fire and water, heat and cold, light and darkness…

Hopefully, events like the World Naked Bike Ride and Free Form Festival will make world a more open, accepting and freer place, so that you can feel safe even naked!

some upcoming events this month

WNBR NYC 2014

World Naked Bike Ride will gather thousands of cyclists in many cities of the Northern Hemisphere to promote cycling as a mode of urban transportation, as well as body acceptance. The dress code is “as bare as you dare”, but in my opinion being naked is the best way to get the message across: cyclists use the power of human body for commuting in the city – so, show that body! – and yet we are the ones who are most prone to the truly indecent exposure to the traffic and vehicle pollution. In most cities, the ride will be held on Saturday, 14 June, but in New York City, it’s on Friday the 13th. This will be a hell of a fun ride: an awesome way to finish off the work week, to say the least! You can see my reports from WNBR in NYC last year and 2012, as well as from Madrid in 2009; Philly Naked Bike Ride is in August, and with 3500 participants last year is the biggest one I’ve participated. Although I don’t know the reasons why WNBR is held on a different day here in New York than in most the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, I’m glad that it’s on Friday, because it lets me go for the weekend to yet another amazing event.

Free Form Festival brings together the vast East-Coast creative arts community from 12-16 June at at The Schuylkill County Fairgrounds, Pennsylvania. With its aim to “increase diversity in our local artistic landscape”, it will surely be interesting and fun, and by the way, it is an officially clothing-optional event too! Tickets are still on sale and may be purchased by clicking here. Who else is going?

I’m also looking forward to ‘Bouncing Buns7k Trail Race in Pennsylvania for American Cancer Society on the 21st of June. 7km is the longest distance that I’ve seen for a naked or clothing-optional race – it’s good to be challenged, moreover for a good cause. Well, in 2012, I passed the challenge pretty well, coming in third! I ran a bit faster last year, but with fiercer competition, I had only 7th result. This year, I cannot hope to run faster, as I’m still not 100% recovered after my ankle injury, but will I have less fun? Of course not! With 150 or so naturist folks of all shapes and ages, everybody can feel comfortable in their own skin. However, I’m going with a couple of fellows again, and it doesn’t hurt to have some healthy competition, just like with the friends in ‘Team America’ that I got to know last year. The event is organized by Pretzel City Sports and you can register for the race at their website: $25 before June 9, $32 after. Part of your 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 [authentic] Olympic runners 😉 Also, if you have any doubts about running naked, have a look at my brief overview that links running and our naturally naked (furless) body from an evolutionary perspective – I hope it’ll make sense to you. Besides participating in the race, we also plan to do some yoga at Sunny Rest, as well as play badminton and volleyball.

Last but not least, as the beach season has commenced, it’s worth mentioning that there is a Groupon sale for the Seastreak ferry from Manhattan to Sandy Hook beach: $25 instead of regular $45. Unfortunately, unlike in previous years, there is no $30 coupon on Seastreak’s website, and you can only get one groupon ticket…

body art in a new light

Camping trips are usually associated with such visually pleasing activities as watching fire and starry sky, but on our outing to Painted Canyon (aka Mecca Hills), California, we had a rather artsy experience – light painting. It’s a photographic technic that uses a light source for “painting” (illuminating certain parts with certain colors) or “drawing” while the camera captures the scene at a prolonged exposure time. Ramon thought of it as soon as he saw a small light with red laser pointer on my key chain. It was of course very different from watching fire, because we were actively creating the imagery, but the other hand it lacked immediacy, as we couldn’t appreciate the result fully until we saw the photos on a bigger screen. However, it didn’t stop us from being engaged with light painting for most of the evening

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Here, I became fire spirit.

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Don was about to start flying with his multiple arms that emitted electric pulses…

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and then he became a pure spirit after separating from the shady and sketchy alter egos.

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Meanwhile, I was fighting with the Devil himself.

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Despite his tricky rasteira (a movement in capoeira used to sweep or pull an opponent’s leg in response to a kick), I still won…

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and became a god of lighting!

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So, this is what happens when naturists turn into artists 😉 Next day, we also had an amazing hike in the Painted Canyon.

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The next opportunity for body art, even though it will be a very different experience, is next week already  – “New York Naked Painting Party – World Tour Kick Off!” – see you there?

body art at Times Square

US is often portrayed as a pretty uptight nation, but luckily there are people who challenge this view. One of them is the artist Andy Golub. He creates body art at landmark locations of New York City. Body painting in this case not only serves as an art act but also promotes body acceptance, i.e. it helps people to see human body as something normal and nothing to be ashamed of (as oddly, as it sounds – how come that we actually need that?). As you may know from my blog, I feel very comfortable naked, and I have been to numerous events that involved full body painting, but doing it at Times Square brings it to the next level.

naturist 0000 body paint art, Times Square, New York, NY, USA

When I arrived there, Andy Golub and his team had already been painting several people for a couple of hours… surrounded by dozens of onlookers. I guess for all models it took some time to get used to be in the centre of attention, but the general atmosphere of fun and encouragement made it easy to enjoy it! This is definitely a good exercise for your confidence 😉

naturist 0001 body paint art, Times Square, New York, NY, USA

I couldn’t wait to join the fun and get painted. What colours would I get?

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Finally, it was my turn, and Andy brought me to his assistants – Gypsy Twins, as they called themselves.

naturist 0002 body paint art, Times Square, New York, NY, USA

Andy gave them an idea as to how he envisioned me painted, and there I was getting covered in gold. First, I kept my shorts on, to make the transition less ‘shocking’ to the audience, but not for too long 😀

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I don’t think I’ve ever been that shiny!

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Then, it was time for face. It was quite contrasting to the rest of the body, but regardless, it felt almost hypnotic to get my face painted by both twins simultaneously.

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After that, the master himself was about to paint me.

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It took him a moment to get an idea,

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and shortly, a black pattern was emerging on my chest.

naturist 0010 body paint art, Times Square, New York, NY, USA

All this time, I and the rest of the models were constantly being photographed by the crowd and Andy Golub’s crew. Most of the photos in this blogpost are courtesy of Arthur.

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After we were done with painting, it was the time for photo shoots.

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Needless to say, most of the audience loved it, someone provided his skateboard as a stage for one of our models.

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I’m not generally into posing, but the fellow model Sky got me inspired.

naturist handstand 0018 body paint art, Times Square, New York, NY, USA

When else could I do a naked handstand at Times Square? I didn’t want to miss that opportunity!

naturist 0012 body paint art, Times Square, New York, NY, USA

Obviously, many people were curious about what was happening, and you could see all kinds of reactions but almost all were positive. Many people were surprised to find out it was totally legal. It was funny to hear that even when people were baffled at first, they immediately approved the event as soon as they heard the magic word ‘art’ – why are we so attached to labels?

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Luckily, some people noticed another important aspect of this body art event – the models were of different ages and body complexions, which certainly promoted body acceptance.

naturist 0014 body paint art, Times Square, New York, NY, USA

And could there be any better place for that than Times Square?

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The Statue of Liberty obviously approved that! Would there be liberty without nudity, and would there be art without nudes? (I know, someone else already said that.)

naturist 0017 body paint art, Times Square, New York, NY, USA

Thus, despite the ban on clothes-free recreation at some Fire Island beaches this year and nudity ban in San Francisco, success of the World Naked Bike Ride in NYC this year, and now body art performances in landmark locations in Manhattan by Andy Golub give us hope!

PS Andy is planning more similar acts, so keep your eyes open!