Tag: Burning Man

camp Gymnasium at Burning Man 2017

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists, Burning Man

Just on time, as Burning Man kicks off its ticket madness today, here is a recollection of events at our theme camp Gymnasium and beyond in 2017. If you would like to get engaged with our camp this year in any way, please e-mail us or leave a comment to this post! You can read more about the concept of our camp on its webpage, but overall our theme refers to the Ancient Greek institution for athletics, philosophy and socializing.

naturist camp Gymnasium 0000 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Traditionally, our first even was a running race – from the esplanade to our camp at 7:30 Plaza.

naturist camp Gymnasium 0001 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Being on the first day of the festival, the race was dominated by our own campmates,

naturist camp Gymnasium 0002 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and the winner turned out to be yours truly 😉

naturist camp Gymnasium 0003 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

This time, we no longer used laurel wreaths ordered online – instead, we had them hand-made by two campmates from the Netherlands. They added a bit of a Dutch twist to it though: judging by the shape of the leaves, it was more of a ‘weed’ wreath 😀

Our Gymnasium also featured a massage station,

naturist massage camp Gymnasium 0004 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

especially popular after sport events, and some lucky winners even got a four-hand massage.

naturist massage camp Gymnasium 0000 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Even though our theme camp was first conceived with an idea to revive the ideals of the Ancient Olympics, we keep on adding more elements to have a more complete ‘gymnasium’ in its original meaning – with philosophical discussions and arts as well.

naturist camp Gymnasium 0007 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

2017 saw our first installment of a pottery workshop, which was a lot of fun, for campmates and guests alike!

naturist camp Gymnasium 0005 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

It all started with a block of clay.

naturist camp Gymnasium 0006 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and after rolling a few pieces, we moved on to creating vessels using the coiling method.

naturist camp Gymnasium 0008 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Of course, our inspiration came from Ancient Greek vases,

naturist camp Gymnasium 0011 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

more specifically, of black-figure type

naturist camp Gymnasium 0012 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

(but not without some Burning Man twist to it).

naturist camp Gymnasium 0013 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Though only the most determined students remained until that stage of the workshop 😀

In 2016, we pumped up the acrobatics compartment of our Gymnasium by adding a gymnastics wheel, aptly fitting to that year’s theme of Burning Man,

naturist aerial camp Gymnasium 0016 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

but in 2017 one of the campmates brought and entire aerial rig!

naturist aerial camp Gymnasium 0014 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Needless to say, it was a very popular attraction among our guests

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4718/39008816154_2a2955687f_z_d.jpg

and campmates alike.

naturist aerial camp Gymnasium 0003 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Some poses seemed easier

naturist aerial camp Gymnasium 0007 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

than the others,

naturist aerial camp Gymnasium 0006 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

but all of them evoked flying!

naturist aerial camp Gymnasium 0009 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

The gymnastics wheel was busy too,

naturist aerial camp Gymnasium 0001 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

but not everyone needed equipment for their acrobatic tricks!

naturist camp Gymnasium 0036 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Surely, there was also plenty of fun to be had and art to be seen outside our camp,

naturist camp Gymnasium 0014 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and we had a couple of group outings.

naturist camp Gymnasium 0016 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

A great aspect of art at Burning Man is that it is interactive,

naturist camp Gymnasium 0017 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and 2017 was particularly good in this respect.

naturist camp Gymnasium 0019 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Many art pieces were calling to incorporate you, to become their part!

naturist Jesus Gymnasium 0020 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

The Tree of Ténéré was certainly one of the most popular installations day and night (you can see it by night in the video above).

naturist camp Gymnasium 0022 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

This cylinder of LED stripes seemed like a pretty simple construction,

naturist camp Gymnasium 0023 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

but once you got inside and someone spun it, it would turn into an amazing spectacle of color!

naturist camp Gymnasium 0024 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Inside this red circular tunnel, one could feel like on a spaceship mission.

And Incendia was our favorite sound camp to dance [naked] at night –

naturist fire at Incendia 0027 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

their roof was on fire, literally! 2017 was a hot year at Burning Man, but the nights were still quite chilly, so that fire felt nice.

fire at Incendia 0028 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

It was hypnotizing to observe the fire from below, but if that wasn’t enough,

fire at Incendia 0029 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

you could use special viewing glasses that multiplied the visual input.

naturists partying at Incendia 0031 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

We first saw this camp at FreeForm Festival in 2016, but at Burning Man their installation was much bigger. And thanks to that fire, we could dance naked all night long – till sunrise!

sunrise at Incendia 0034 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

I was gifted glasses that transformed any source of light into a heart ❤ shape, so when I tried them with the rising sun, it was amazing!

The DJ who played that night – Seth Schwarz – was really good, my major music discovery of 2017. Along with mixing records, he played an electric violin, and it wasn’t just a gimmick but an essential and natural part of his set.

Seth Schwarz at Incendia 0033 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

… Well, and if you have heard about our camp before, by this time you must be wondering about our famous naked oil wrestling. Of course this was the main feature of Gymnasium again!

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0070 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Unfortunately, there was a mistake in the Burning Man app and  info center that showed our camp in a completely wrong location, which we found out only after a couple of days, but we still had a good attendance of our most popular event.

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We had three wrestling events, with a winner in each, and one was particularly memorable. Despite seemingly having a disadvantage,

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0002 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

he knew what he was doing

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0006 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and sent his opponents out of the ring with ease!

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0004 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

That golden laurel weed wreath was well deserved!

And here is a video with clips from some of the matches, enjoy!

Are you going this year? Let us know and join our events!

Gymnasium schedule at Burning Man 2017

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

In a couple of weeks, our theme camp Gymnasium will come again to the much anticipated Burning Man festival. If you read this and plan to be there, I’m pretty sure you’ll want to visit our camp.  You can read about our theme camp idea on its page and check out our last year’s experience.

 

Below is the list of our events, but keep in mind that we plan to do even more than we have announced – so stop by our camp at 7:30 Plaza and you’ll find something fun to do and learn… all in the buff! For example, we got a gymnastics wheel last year, which turned to be a hugely popular toy, and this year we’ll add an aerial rig to our arsenal! And what is amazing is that even our busy schedule is just a tiny fraction of all the “craziness” that Burning Man is!

  • Butt-Cheeky Run Come get your burn started – with the sun’s soft caresses on your butt cheeks! The Ancient Greeks always trained and competed naked – in fact the ’gym’ comes from the word ‘gymnos’, meaning ‘naked’ in Greek. Come experience the freedom of running together in the altogether! Or at least come and see what a great spectator sport it is:) We’ll do a warm-up at the camp and then run wild in the ‘hood and all the way to the Man!
    • Monday, 28 August, 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
  • Naked Oil Wrestling Wrestling is one of the most fun sports you can ever try. It’s also one of humanity’s oldest and was among the major events of the original Olympics. Long before we were kicking balls around we were rolling around in the dirt, putting each other in headlocks! It doesn’t matter if you’re a complete novice who’s never tried it in your life or an experienced fighter, come along and experience this amazing bonding experience in Gymnasium, Black Rock City’s Ancient Greek wrestling school!
    • Tuesday, 29 August, 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
    • Thursday, 31 August, 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
    • Saturday, 2 September, 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
  • Discus-ish Throw in the dark… and in the buff Discus (well, LED-lit frisbee) throw competition followed by ultimate frisbee game (or regular frisbee, depending on the mood). Bare your body, but wear lights! The Ancient Greeks always trained and competed naked – in fact the ’gym’ comes from the word ‘gymnos’, meaning ‘naked’ in Greek. Come experience the amazing freedom of running and jumping and exercising free of clothing! Or at least come and see what a great spectator sport it is:) This is our only night event, but don’t worry about cold – movement will keep you warm!
    • Wednesday, 30 August, 8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
    • Friday, 1 September, 8 p.m. – 9 p.m. (rain date)
  • Naked Piggy-Back and Wheelbarrow Run Race are with us for this fun athletic event! Bring your friends, but choose wisely, as you’ll have to bear them on your back, bareback… or vice versa. Great bonding experience guaranteed! The Ancient Greeks always trained and competed naked – in fact the ’gym’ comes from the word ‘gymnos’, meaning ‘naked’ in Greek. Come experience the amazing freedom of running and jumping and exercising free of clothing! Or at least come and see what a great spectator sport it is:) PS In ancient Olympics this would have been an equestrian event, but BMORG wouldn’t let us bring horses…
    • Friday, 1 September,  4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
  • Nude Yoga + Wine Nude yoga and acro-yoga – for a better flow and connection 🙂 We’ll end the session with drinking wine in your favorite poses, as Ancient Greeks sometimes drank wine in acrobatic poses at their symposiums. Then you could stay for our philosophical discussions sessions. Free your body, free your mind!
    • Monday, 28 August, 4:45 p.m. – 6 p.m.
    • Wednesday, 30 August, 4:45 p.m. – 6 p.m.
  • Naked Philosophy Nudity has the power to surprise and shock, yet why, on reflection, can something as mundane as the naked body inspire simultaneously so much passion and revulsion? To be naked in 21st century western society demands intense self-examination, the questioning and reappraisal of conventional conventions and morality. In this sense, naturism, as the cultural and political movement of nudism is often known, is an inherently philosophical practice. And what better way to do philosophy than naked? We’re sure your college seminars would have been much more fun nude. Come and join us for lively discussions, debates and story-telling. We’ll be discussing naturism, body image, sharing experiences, debating body modification, if and how laws should be changed – really everything related to the human body.
    • Monday, 28 August, 6 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
    • Wednesday, 30 August, 6 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
    • Friday, 1 September, 6 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
  • Kerameikos (Ancient Greek pottery) Ever wondered how those ancient vases were produced and decorated? Find out at our pottery school at Gymnasium, and you’ll be able to make some ceramics (kerameikos) of your own! It’s a three step process: first, we’ll make the vases of different shapes using coil building techniques; then, we will let the clay dry to apply the slip and carve designs. (You can use the break for lunch or try some of our big toys, such as aerial rig or gymnastics wheel). At the last stage, the pots have to be fired after Burning Man, but we could ship your masterpiece to you, if you’d like! Otherwise, we’ll use it to decorate our camp and use the most appealing ones to award the winners of our athletic events next year.

 

Hope to see many of you there!

our theme camp Gymnasium will be at 7:30 Plaza at Burning Man

by αNaturist, posted in Burning Man

Our participation in Burning Man 2017 has been approved, and our theme camp Gymnasium will be at 7:30 Plaza. Oh well, it’s not the 7:30 Portal where we were in 2015, but 7:30 is apparently the most requested sector of the Black Rock City, and plazas get a lot of traffic – so we are expecting a lot of visitors participants in our events! We will announce the schedule in a month or so, stay tuned!

We are always open to new campmates too, so if you would like to participate, please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

our theme camp Gymnasium gearing up for Burning Man 2017 – new campmates welcome!

by αNaturist, posted in Burning Man

Theme camp Gymnasium has become a big part of Active Naturists project, and we are set to continue at this year’s Burning Man festival. We’ve already scored some tickets for the core crew, and a few of us are applying for Low Income Program, but the rest should get tickets through the Main Sale: registration opens next Wednesday, and the sale itself is in two weeks (info and dates here). We are open for new campmates too, so if you would like to participate, please e-mail us or leave a comment below!

If you read this blog, you must have heard about our theme camp quite a lot, but if you are new here or would like a reminder, here are some key links:

Secret Cove at Lake Tahoe

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

naturist 0003 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

Secret Cove on the Lake Tahoe shore was our “decompression” destination after Burning Man last year, but it surely would have been an amazing place to visit even if we hadn’t spent a week in the dusty desert: crystal clear water and fresh mountain air is a great start, but add to that stunning views and a nice laid-back atmosphere, and you’ll see why this spot is so remarkable.

view 0003 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

You can enjoy the views of snow-peaked mountains while sunbathing and swimming naked – a combination that is hard to find. As our previous post-burn destinations were oceanic beaches of San Francisco – Marshall’s and Baker – where the water is always cold and obviously salty, Lake Tahoe was clearly a better choice for rehydration of the body, as we could swim in its fresh and refreshing waters.

Lake Tahoe is famous for its large smooth boulders,

view 0006 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

and some of the ones at Secret Cove look especially peculiar with their spheric shapes

view 0002 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

– also nice to sit on and relax.

naturist 0006 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

A little farther away, the boulders are used for the same purpose by ducks.

view 0000 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

Another creature that you’re likely to see sunbathing on the rocks but away from the water is the sagebrush lizard.

sagebrush lizard 0002 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

Though it’s quite shy and will hide in the bushes if you approach it.

sagebrush lizard 0000 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

You won’t need to hide your naked self from anyone though, as Secret Cove is an officially recognized clothing-optional location,

view 0004 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

popular with locals and tourists alike. Of course most visitors opt for no clothes. This might be a reason why the atmosphere is so friendly there; e.g., I overheard a conversation between a local couple and tourists from Switzerland who had just met there, and an hour later the former invited the latter for a family dinner 🙂

naturist 0000 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

It gets quite busy in the afternoon, as that’s when the thin mountain air gets finally warm (but beware that high altitude also means stronger sun activity). Given that it’s a relatively small cove surrounded by high banks, it doesn’t get too windy. The mornings, however, can be quite chilly even in August and September, and you are more likely to encounter bird-watchers rather than nude sunbathers during early hours.

As an alternative to driving and hiking, some people arrive by boats

naturist 0001 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

or paddle-boards, for which Lake Tahoe must perfect.

view 0007 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

When we were there, two women did yoga on the paddle board, something I’m eager to try sometime to challenge my balancing skills.

A large portion of Lake Tahoe shore, including the Secret Cove, is covered by coniferous forest. The most notable tree is the sugar pine,

view 0005 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

which is the tallest pine species

sugar pine 0002 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

and boasts the longest cones of any conifers.

sugar pine 0001 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

I’m not sure why it’s got its name, perhaps due to the sap leaking from the cones that may appear like a sweet nectar.

Cones of the Jeffrey pine are quite impressive too,

Jeffrey pine cones 0000 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

but there are animals who clearly appreciate more than just their appearance:

chipmunk 0001 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

chipmunks are quite ubiquitous there.

chipmunk 0002 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

The incense cedars reminded me of the redwoods on California coast, though their size is relatively modest.

naturist 0008 Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

The Secret Coved proved to be a great place to reconnect with nature and friends!

Marshall’s beach in San Francisco

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Marshall’s Beach in San Francisco is a great place for a sunny afternoon within easy reach of downtown;  you can be naked there and enjoy one of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

naturist 0000 Marshall's Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

That’s where Tam and I headed after Burning Man last year; in the wake of spending more than a week in a dusty desert, we were clearly drawn to large bodies of water (and it doesn’t get any larger than the Pacific Ocean).

pelicans 0000 Marshall's Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

We could have been just chilling on the beach, but we thought we’d rather have another session of acro-yoga, as I didn’t get enough of it during the festival, because I was mostly taking pictures of it.

naturist acro-yoga 0000 Marshall's Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

We kicked off with the ‘front bird’,

naturist acro-yoga 0001 Marshall's Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

and then moved on to more complicated poses.

naturist acro-yoga 0002 Marshall's Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

Tam was keen on practicing ‘basing’ with hands,

naturist acro-yoga 0003 Marshall's Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

and it worked out pretty well.

naturist acro-yoga 0004 Marshall's Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

The iconic Golden Gate Bridge surely provided a perfect backdrop for the photos.

naturist acro-yoga 0005 Marshall's Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

To me personally, it was also a bit ironic to do it by the symbol of San Francisco, because the very first time I tried acro-yoga was also naked, in the Golden Gate park of San Francisco, for which we ended up getting fines, even though it was before nudity became outlawed in the city.

naturist acro-yoga 0007 Marshall's Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

Well, this naked acro-yoga session ended just fine, since Marshall’s Beach is officially recognized as a naturist spot, so as the neighboring Baker Beach (where we went after Burning Man in 2012).

view 0001 Marshall's Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

And as pretty much any beach on the West Coast, Marshall’s Beach is poised to have a stunning sunset!

camp Gymnasium at Burning Man 2016

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists, Burning Man

Burning Man festival this year saw the second installation of our theme camp Gymnasium, which refers to the Ancient Greek institution for athletics, philosophy and socializing. You can read more about the concept of our camp on its webpage, but here is our report with some imagery that should help you imagine what it was like (or evoke some good memories, if you participated in our events).

naturist philosophy camp Gymnasium 0000 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Even though our theme camp was first conceived with an idea to revive the ideals of the Ancient Olympics, this year besides the athletics we put more effort into another aspect of the concept of ‘gymnasium’ in its original meaning – philosophical discussions (with wine). For one session, each participant received a quote of a Greek philosopher and lead discussion on its subject, which let us cover all kinds of topics. We also had a session when we talked about our personal attitudes towards nudity as well as our views on the possible role for naturism in the [default] society. The common theme was the feeling of liberation and bonding with others that brings the simple act of social nudity – and the photos here seem to confirm that.

An entirely new idea for this year was the gymnastics wheel (aka German wheel). Several month before the festival, I stumbled upon a photo with German wheel gymnasts from 1920’s and immediately got an impression that it would be a big hit at Burning Man. As you can see below, it provided a perfect link between the theme of our camp and the theme of Burning Man this year  – ‘Da Vinci’s Workshop’.

naturist gymnastics wheel Vitruvian Man camp Gymnasium 0000 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

We of course refer to the drawing of the Vitruvian Man by Da Vinci, and expectedly the Man himself took the iconic shape this year.

Vitruvian Man

We were so happy to see that our idea was immediately understood by other burners – as soon as we rolled the wheel onto the playa, we had people queuing to take a picture,

naturist gymnastics wheel camp Gymnasium 0002 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and it seemed like it was self-explanatory that one was supposed to get naked for a photo à la Vitruvian Man 🙂

naturist gymnastics wheel camp Gymnasium 0001 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

This was a big success in terms of bringing all kinds of people to try a new fun activity in the buff and in public,

naturist gymnastics wheel camp Gymnasium 0004 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and they were creative with poses.

naturist gymnastics wheel camp Gymnasium 0005 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

But we didn’t forget the primary function of the gymnastics wheel,

naturist gymnastics wheel camp Gymnasium 0003 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and  the flat playa surface was perfect to roll it.

We had to be careful to avoid possible injuries, as even one rotation proved to be a lot more difficult than we had anticipated. The gymnastics wheel turned out to be a great magnet for people back at the camp too – dozens of passers by stopped to try it every day; only a few managed though, even with helpers.

naturist gymnastics wheel camp Gymnasium 0075 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

In their defense, I have to note that in the first days we only knew one, difficult way of holding yourself in the wheel during rotation: pushing up with your arms with all power while maintaining them as straight as possible. That was until someone came by and said that there had been a workshop on gymnastics wheel at Hellfire Society camp. (On what subject isn’t there a workshop at Burning Man?) So we went there, and the camp lead gladly arranged another workshop specially for us. It turned out that while our technique wasn’t impossible, the typical and much better way to hold yourself during rotation on the wheel was by hooking your feet.

naturist-gymnastics-wheel-camp-gymnasium-burning-man-black-rock-city-nv-usa-s

After we learned that, the success rate among all the newbies to gymnastics wheel skyrocketed, and we were on the roll 🙂

naturist run camp Gymnasium 0000 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Our first athletic event in the week was the running race.

naturist run camp Gymnasium 0002 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

This year we only had a short race on our street,

naturist run camp Gymnasium 0001 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

but it was a nice way to get attention from our neighbors and passers by.

naturist run camp Gymnasium 0004 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

It was all for fun, but it was a competition nevertheless.

naturist run camp Gymnasium 0005 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

It was no surprise that David won the race, as he was among the top runners at Bouncing Buns trail race two years ago.

naturist run camp Gymnasium 0003 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Our Gymnasium also offered daily fitness exercises, with Matt leading push-up sessions every morning.

naturist camp Gymnasium 0000 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

This year we had a certified yoga/acro-yoga instructor among our campmates,

naturist acro-yoga camp Gymnasium 0002 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

so we had a few sessions at the camp

naturist acro-yoga camp Gymnasium 0003 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and also played a bit on the playa.

naturist acro-yoga camp Gymnasium 0000 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

We probably should have spent a little more time posing with those amazing and massive art pieces,

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5702/30885939485_b68b54a42d_z_d.jpg

but unfortunately some of them were burned much earlier in the week than we had anticipated (e.g. the pyramids on Friday morning).

naturist camp Gymnasium 0001 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Some installations were quite interactive and served as great frames for photos, literally.

naturist camp Gymnasium 0002 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Other installations referred to familiar views of the “default world”, like NYC skyline at the Kostume Kult, making the whole experience only more surreal…

naturist camp Gymnasium 0006 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

(I wish we could sip our morning coffee in Manhattan just like that!)

Unfortunately I enjoyed my nights out in an immediate manner, and recorded neither my own naked dancing on the ashes of the burned Man and at the White Ocean nor the performance by a couple of naked fire-spinners at the Mayan Warrior art car, which was probably my favorite mutant vehicle in terms of the music (and certainly in terms of the lights). But here is a short clip from that night I found online, where you can see those two naked fire-spinners, but resting in the crowd at the time – perhaps a video with their performance will appear at some point too, but I’m just happy to have witnessed it.

As you can see, our camp was primarily focused on providing interactive events rather than art and installations,

naturist camp Gymnasium 0005 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

but we arranged some decorations to highlight our reference to Ancient Greece.

naturist camp Gymnasium 0003 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

This year we added a statue depicting Hercules wrestling Diomedes for his 8th labor. By the way, I haven’t been able to find an explanation behind that ‘penile grip’ – so if there are specialists in history of art among the readers here, please enlighten us in the comments 😎

naturist camp Gymnasium 0007 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Speaking of wrestling, finally getting to our camp’s most famous feature – naked oil wrestling – with more than 600,000 views of our last year’s wrestling video on Vimeo and a mention in the Independent, we can truly say famous!

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0000 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

As you’d expect, our wrestling matches are preceded by oiling up (with a pure Greek olive oil),

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0006 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

which feels great in the arid environment of Black Rock City.

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0008 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Our entertainers led the show,

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0010 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and we had a good turnout of spectators and participants for all three matches that we hosted.

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0043 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Just like last year, we used sumo wrestling rules, as the simplest to adopt at a festival setting.

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0023 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

The wrestlers had to stay within the boundaries of the blue mats,

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0039 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and only their feet were allowed to touch the ground.

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0037 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

There was a great deal of pushing

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0028 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and lifting,

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0030 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

or even carrying the opponent outside the rink.

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0020 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

Though pushing was certainly the favorite technique,

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0024 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and sometimes our puzzle mats did not withstand all that force.

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0018 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

But some matches looked a lot more elegant,

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0040 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

almost like a dance.

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0026 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

And surely it helped to possess a good grip (which the oil made more difficult)

naturist wrestling camp Gymnasium 0003 Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV, USA

and/or ability to escape one (which the oil made easier).

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We had some well matched participants,

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so their matches were intense

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and unpredictable.

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Sometimes we’d need a few judges to decide who stepped outside or touched the ground first, but often enough the victory was clear.

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When the most active participants had wrestled each other a few times, we selected those with most victories for semifinals and finals.

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You could tell the finalists took the competition seriously,

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although all they’d get was a laurel wreath and glory, just like in the authentic Olympic Games 😉

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After the winner was determined for each of our three competitions,

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we awarded them at our ‘temple’.

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And the winners awarded us with their glorious smiles 🙂

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Besides giving the golden laurel wreath,

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we added one more touch of the Ancient Greek ceremony by scraping dust, oil and sweat from the winners with a strigil (bought on eBay, supposedly authentic!)

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And here is a video compilation from the wrestling matches – our only video from Burning Man this year. Enjoy, hopefully it’s a good reward for your long wait for our report!

 

NuDance class promo sale!

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists, NuDance

We’d like to remind that our NuDance class is live and kicking, and as a special promotion this weekend from Black Friday to Cyber Monday you can buy any class in December for just $5 – all 5 classes of December would cost you only $25! Not a bad deal, is it? Surely you can learn quite a lot in a month, so if you are in NYC and around – come and join the NuDance movement 😉

And yes, we are long overdue with our report re Burning Man experience this year, but it’s coming. And here is just another reminder about the nu-dancing video we shot at Burning Man last year with our instructor damoN – still can’t get enough of it!

 

Gymnasium schedule at Burning Man 2016 + 2 tickets available for new campmates

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

In less than a month, our theme camp Gymnasium will come again to the much anticipated Burning Man festival. If you read this and plan to be there, I’m pretty sure you’ll want to visit our camp. And if you wanted to go but couldn’t get tickets, we have good news for you – two tickets and a vehicle pass are available through our camp, please e-mail us or leave a comment here! New members are very welcome!

You can read about our theme camp idea on its page, and check out our last year’s experience, including the famous naked oil wrestling:

This year we shall enjoy our new big fun toy – gymnastics wheel (aka German wheel), which should be a lot of fun to roll on the playa. And given this year’s theme for Burning Man – ‘Da Vinci’s Workshop’, we can use it as a photo booth to take photographs a la Vitruvian Man.

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Below is the schedule of our events, but keep in mind that we plan to do even more than we have announced – so stop by our camp at 8:15 & Donatello and you’ll find something fun to do and learn… all in the buff!  And what is mind-boggling is that it’s all just a tiny fraction of all the “craziness” that Burning Man is!

  • Butt-Cheeky Run Come get your burn started – with the sun’s soft caresses on your butt cheeks! The Ancient Greeks always trained and competed naked – in fact the ’gym’ comes from the word ‘gymnos’, meaning ‘naked’ in Greek. Come experience the amazing freedom of running and jumping and exercising free of clothing! Or at least come and see what a great spectator sport it is:) We’ll do a warm-up at the camp and then run wild in the ‘hood and all the way to the Man!
    • Monday, 29 Aug, 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
  • Naked Oil Wrestling Wrestling is one of the most fun sports you can ever try. It’s also one of humanity’s oldest and was among the major events of the original Olympics. Long before we were kicking balls around we were rolling around in the dirt, putting each other in headlocks! It doesn’t matter if you’re a complete novice who’s never tried it in your life or an experienced fighter, come along and experience this amazing bonding experience in Gymnasium, Black Rock City’s Ancient Greek wrestling school!
    • Tuesday, 30 Aug, 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
    • Thursday, 1 Sep, 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
    • Friday, 2 Sep, 1 p.m – additional match at another camp at 2:15 & G
    • Saturday, 3 Sep, 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
  • Discus-ish Throw in the dark… and in the buff Discus (well, LED-lit frisbee) throw competition followed by ultimate frisbee game (or regular frisbee, depending on the mood). Bare your body, but wear lights! The Ancient Greeks always trained and competed naked – in fact the ’gym’ comes from the word ‘gymnos’, meaning ‘naked’ in Greek. Come experience the amazing freedom of running and jumping and exercising free of clothing! Or at least come and see what a great spectator sport it is:) This is our only night event, but don’t worry about cold – movement will keep you warm!
    • Wednesday, 31 Aug, 8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
    • Friday, 2 Sep, 8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
  • Naked Piggy-Back and Wheelbarrow Run Race Bare with us for this fun athletic event! Bring your friends, but choose wisely, as you’ll have to bear them on your back, bareback… or vice versa. Great bonding experience guaranteed! The Ancient Greeks always trained and competed naked – in fact the ’gym’ comes from the word ‘gymnos’, meaning ‘naked’ in Greek. Come experience the amazing freedom of running and jumping and exercising free of clothing! Or at least come and see what a great spectator sport it is:) PS In ancient Olympics this would have been an equestrian event, but BMORG wouldn’t let us bring horses…
    • Friday, 2 Sep, 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
  • Greek Dance workshop Let’s dance like it’s… Bacchanalia! Well, not only, but you’ll have fun learning ancient and modern folk dances from Greece. You’ll learn the distinction between the calm and lyrical Apollonian dance and the passionate, “orgasmic” Dionysian dance.
    • Saturday, 3 Sep, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
  • Nude Yoga + Wine Nude yoga and acro-yoga – for a better flow and connection 🙂 We’ll end the session with drinking wine in your favorite poses, as Ancient Greeks sometimes drank wine in acrobatic poses at their symposiums. Then you could stay for our philosophical discussions sessions. Free your body, free your mind!
    • Monday, 29 Aug, 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
    • Thursday, 1 Sep, 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
    • Sunday, 4 Sep, 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
  • Naked Philosophy Nudity has the power to surprise and shock, yet why, on reflection, can something as mundane as the naked body inspire simultaneously so much passion and revulsion? To be naked in 21st century western society demands intense self-examination, the questioning and reappraisal of conventional conventions and morality. In this sense, naturism, as the cultural and political movement of nudism is often known, is an inherently philosophical practice. And what better way to do philosophy than naked? We’re sure your college seminars would have been much more fun nude. Come and join us for lively discussions, debates and story-telling. We’ll be discussing naturism, body image, sharing experiences, debating body modification, if and how laws should be changed – really everything related to the human body.
    • Monday, 29 Aug, 5:30 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
    • Thursday, 1 Sep, 5:30 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
    • Sunday, 4 Sep, 5:30 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.

 

Hope to see many of you there!

our Gymnasium project at festivals and beyond

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

The preparations for our second time at Burning Man with our theme camp Gymnasium are in full swing. If you’re new to this blog, you can read about the idea behind our project on its webpage, and make sure to check out the blogpost about our amazing first experience last year! Our schedule for 2016 will be available soon, and we already know our new location: 8:15 & D.

We also went as Gymnasium camp to FreeForm Festival a month ago, but unfortunately we had to cancel our famous naked oil wrestling – big success last year – due to terrible weather. A chilly drizzle lasted almost the whole last day of the festival… We still had lots of fun the day and night before though.

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But we’ll go on with this project beyond the festivals, and on this coming Monday, the US Independence Day, we are hosting a wrestling session at our favorite beach in NYC area – Gunnison on Sandy Hook peninsula. We shall have a workshop on different wrestling styles and then a fun match in the afternoon. Look for us on the right side of the beach, with an orange banner that says ΓΥΜΝΆΣΙΟΝ (Gymnasium). The workshop starts at 3pm.

naturist gymnasium 0005 Burning Man 2015, Black Rock City, Nevada, USA