social nudity – Active Naturists

on being a building block of a city made of humans…

30 September 20161 October 2016 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

I know many of you are eagerly awaiting our report from Burning Man, but I am still working on the photos. However, this reminded me that I’m also overdue with reporting on an ambitious photo/digital art project by Angelo Musco, where I participated as one of the numerous models… but became a focal figure in the final art piece! You can read about this project in the Huffington Post article, or watch the video below to get the idea and the work behind it.

By the way, can you spot me?

I really like Angelo Musco’s works, which create intricate landscapes and shapes made of hundreds of human bodies. I have been following his art for a while, and was happy to finally be able to participate in his work as a model this June.

Looking at his previous works, I was wondering if I’d be even able to spot myself in this immense ‘Sanctuary’…

so I felt very honored when I found out that I got in the spotlight, being a landing spot for the butterfly, which, as mentioned in the video, symbolizes metamorphosis.

I hope that I’ll be able to see the actual printout at an exhibition – whether in New York, or any other city,

as I am sure that will be a much better way to fully appreciate this masterpiece than on a computer screen.

But it’ll be also fun to try to spot myself as a ‘brick’ in a wall or a part of a column of one of those towers…

And just a few words about the photoshoot: Even for a person like me, who is naked whenever possible and has participated in massive events involving social nudity, e.g. Philly Naked Bike Ride and NYC Body-Painting Day, this was a very special experience. The way we, models, had to act and interact with each other was quite unique and intimate – it was a bonding experience for all of us, although we mostly didn’t know each other at all. It was interesting to participate in something together while only guessing what the final product would look like, and feeling like becoming a part of something much, much bigger. And the result is quite amazing indeed!

PS It was also my first time naked in a church. (Yes, the NYC photoshoot took place in a church!)

our Gymnasium project at festivals and beyond

2 July 2016 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.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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.

Fifteen shades of tan… on Sandy Hook beach

25 May 201617 June 2016 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Finally, summer weather has come to New York and it’s time to open beach season here! My favorite beach around is Gunnison on Sandy Hook peninsula in New Jersey. I’ve written about it on multiple occasions already (just make a search on the site for other blogposts), but I have some nice photos to share from last year – in anticipation of yet another great beach time this summer!

The best way to get to Sandy Hook from New York City is by Seastreak ferry.

I used to post the discount coupons for it, but it seems there’s no need for it anymore. According to the ferry website, starting this year, with fist departure of the day, you always get a $30 return ticket to the beach (regular is $45). A sad news is that there is no late departure from the beach anymore – the last ferry to the city is at 5:45pm, while it used to be 7:45pm – no more sunsets on the ferry? However, there is a shuttle to the late ferry departing from the town nearby. Update: the late ferry is back on the schedule!

The ocean water is probably still too cold to swim properly this weekend, but there are plenty of other activities to do on the beach! Volleyball is very popular at Gunnison beach, as expected from a naturist location.

But our favorite pastime last summer was acro-yoga.

It was great to see how engaging it was, as a few strangers joined,

while I was practicing acro-yoga with my friends David, Eddy, Antony and others. (Remember our spontaneous handstand class 3 years ago?)

Acro-yoga creates a great connection between the ‘flyer’ and the ‘base’,

and it’s even greater when done in the nude.

It’s quite an amazing experience,

if you do it in the open air, especially in a place like this beautiful beach

with Manhattan skyline in the background.

But we also experimented with a log as the base –

floating in the air yoga?

Probably the most entertaining acro-yoga pose is ‘the laughing dragon’ (you might remember some more pics of it from last year’s Burning Man post).

Well, the more participants the merrier!

So, Sandy Hook is a perfect place for socializing and getting your all-over tan!

PS Sandy Hook is also good for watching airplanes coming to NYC airports. Who can spot an airplane on one of the photos in this post? Where does it seem to be landing? 😉

PPS If you like to bring a lot of stuff with you to the beach, which can be difficult while walking on sand, you should support this campaign for funding of the extension of the matted walkway!

recap of the BodyPainting Day in NYC

1 August 20154 August 2015 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

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. Well, for now, we need events like this to be able to take a nude photo by the UN building 🙂 I tried to replicate DNA double helix shape with my body; 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!

[interactive] arts rock!

21 January 201521 January 2015 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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!

Tiergarten: perfect park for urban naturism

19 August 201420 September 2014 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists, young naturists

Deutsch

I’m finally updating information on Berlin, the most naturist-friendly city in my opinion, and I’ll start with its main park Tiergarten in the very centre of the city. Given the park’s central location, it is easy to get there from pretty much anywhere around, so you could even come there after work or on a lunch break for some relaxed sunbathing on one of a few known FKK meadows (Freikörperkultur translates as Free Body Culture) south of Straße des 17 Juni. In the first half of the day, you can also refresh in one of those “showers” from sprinklers on the lawns throughout the park,

but one of the meadows has a proper shower installed.

The lawns of Tiergarten are perfect for frisbee, ball games, badminton and its new faster counterpart, speedminton. By the way, speedminton was invented in Berlin, so playing it in the centre of the city a la FKK sounds very authentic 😉

Joe and I used to play speedminton in Tiergarten pretty often, as you can see even rain wouldn’t stop us!

If you want to try something more ancient, how about naked oil wrestling? Tam and I certainly had fun reviving the Ancient Greek tradition.

As I had very little experience in wrestling, it was more of a lesson for me from Tam, but the very slippery aspect of oil wrestling was new to him too.

Given that it was olive oil, this exercise must have served as a nice skin rub too.

Despite the oil, we still managed to grip each other,

and each of us (but mostly me) got thrown on the grass too a few times.

The latter was more difficult staying lower with knees on the ground in our final match.

On another occasion, we wrestled two against one, but we certainly need more practice.

Another activity that proved to be fun in Tiergarten was acro-yoga.

We kicked off with some simple threesome poses.

After my incident with getting a fine for doing acro-yoga naked in San Francisco, it felt very liberating to do the same thing in Berlin with even more people and not being worried of getting caught by police! We had fun, and our nakedness only enhanced it.

Below is a good example of how good positioning that comes with experience lets even a much lighter ‘base’ person hold a heavier ‘flyer’.

However, when the flyer is much lighter, even the arms may be enough to support the flyer.

(Excuse our friend for clothes, but she didn’t feel like undressing at that moment.)

Some of the poses did not only feel relaxing (for the flyer at least),

but also provided opportunity to suntan those hard to reach places 😀

Some poses may seem simple but are fun to maintain,

and the next step is to learn to transition them into a totally different pose.

Such dynamic exercises are much more challenging for the base,

whereas the flyer should follow his directions and enjoy the ride

until he ends up in yet another unusual but stable pose.

This pose below serves as an excellent back and hip stretch for the flyer.

Here are some standing acro-yoga poses, starting from simple

to a more difficult balancing exercise.

Standing on shoulders of another person is probably one of those things that seem scary and challenging primarily for ‘mental’ reasons,

as the weight is the same as when you sit on the shoulders and the height isn’t that dangerous if you decide to jump off. I decided to avoid it though, due to my not fully recovered ankle.

Sean and Tam made it look easy from the first time!

Here is another pose that combines balancing and stretch (and transitioning into it is kind of scary).

Once you’re in the pose, don’t forget to point your toes (if you’re the flyer)!

We ended our session that time with the ultimate balancing exercise – two bodies maintained by one pair of arms!

I hope this blogpost will inspire Berliners and visitors of the German capital to use their main urban park for naturist activities. We can only wish for anything like this in Central Park in New York, Hyde Park in London or pretty much anywhere else in the world!

blue multi-faced humanoids take over New York City

2 August 201420 January 2015 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

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!

Ågesta: idyllic lawn and beach by the lake in Stockholm

17 July 20144 February 2018 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Ågesta is an idyllic place within Stockholm city limits. It’s the top choice among local naturists thanks to the picturesque Magelungen lake, small cozy sandy beach, nice green lawn surrounded by trees; there are also basic amenities such as a shower and picnic tables. Just look around, and you’ll find a nice spot for yourself, either next to other people or in a quiet corner.

The flat lawn is great for sunbathing, of course,

but it would be also perfect for many activities, such as volleyball or football, yoga, martial arts and whatnot. Too bad local naturists didn’t seem to take advantage of that. I taught my local host, whom I got to know thanks to TrueNudists network, some basics of acro-yoga. We can only dream of having something like that in New York City! Well, at least a few people were swimming, and in the end of May the water was warm enough for that already.

I heard that Stockholm, and Sweden in general, used to be even more open to naturism, but the attitude is changing with the influence of prudish American culture and influx of immigrants, who are generally more conservative.

In the city itself, I could only see naked statues in abundance, but strangely enough, my bet is that people would probably not tolerate, if they saw the same thing in flesh…

Nevertheless, I did sunbathe naked for a bit at a secluded spot on Långholmen island with a nice view of the city. There is also a known area for nude sunbathing in the western part of the island but unfortunately without access to the water. Hopefully, naturism will be more accepted in Sweden soon again, and one wouldn’t need to look for hidden spots. Meanwhile, enjoy Ågesta and other official locations available from Scandinavian Naturist Portal.

body art at Times Square

18 August 2013 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

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.

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 😉

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

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

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 😀

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

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.

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

It took him a moment to get an idea,

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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?

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.

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

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.)

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!

Top Posts

Subscribe to αNaturists RSS