In some of the first articles on this website we told you how our first nudist experience and how we accidentally went to a nudist campging. This is pretty much how we rolled into it. At the time we didn’t ask ourselves too many questions about this. It was what it was, we had found an alternative lifestyle, a nude lifestyle, and we enjoyed it. Only later, after talking to several other nudists and after reading about it on the web, it occurred to us that we were actually pretty lucky because we were born in a country where nudism is quite accepted and because we both stepped into it together. We hear so many stories where one partner really had to convince the other to give nudism a try, sometimes resulting in a life long nudist couple but other times the answer would remain a plain “No” and so there was one more closet nudist. Or worse.
Many reasons to become a nudist
In several other articles we’ve tried to give you some reasons to engage into nudism. 7 Reasons to become a nudist is such an example, but also in Undress to destress or Improve your body acceptance by going nude we’ve been talking a lot about the advantages of being a nudist.
All of the philosophies which you can find in above articles are not ours alone of course. But because we strongly believe in them, we’ve brought them to you in our own words.
Sometimes, however, a smart mouth will ask us: “Yeah, yeah, we know about the feeling of freedom and the equality and the lack of tan lines and stuff like that, but tell me, why did YOU decide to be nudists?”
And they don’t want to hear the stories about how we accidentally rolled into it, they want to know why we stuck to it, why we got interested in nudism, to such an extend that we even started blogging about our naked lifestyle.
Our story begins in a small town
We were both born in middle class families in small town Belgium. (no, we’re not going to bore you with all details of our life, this is just an introduction, please sit through it). We had loving parents, went to decent schools, got to study, found good jobs and soon afterwards we met each other and fell in love.
All of our friends and family could easily see how this story would proceed, soon we would buy a house, get married, have children, pay a lot of taxes and live the standard life. But somehow that’s where it went “wrong”…
We like to think that what attracted us to each other was that we didn’t share the same idea of life as the others. We didn’t want the life that everyone else has, we wanted to get something more out of life, or at least die trying.
That’s about the time when we stumbled into nudism, which must have been around 2010. Now the question is whether the reason why we were open to nudism, which is even though we live in Europe still not the most common thing to do (“Hi mom, I didn’t like tennis anymore so I decided to give nudism a try” said no one ever), was because we were looking for something different or did we start thinking about a different lifestyle because we experienced nudism? We don’t know. Both things happened around the same time so it could be either one.
That suffocation comfort zone
In any case, our minds changed, our visions broadened, we felt an unstoppable urge to get out of our comfort zone and nudism seemed to be what satisfied this urge. We were don’t something else which (at least from what we knew) most of our friends didn’t do. We lived a part of our life naked. NAKED. Can you imagine? In this clothed world where people spend amazing amounts of money on clothes, we decided to spend time in the nude.
Because, even though many nudists swear that there’s nothing more normal than the naked body, the first couple of times you go nude among others your blood starts pumping and your brain goes overtime. Your whole life people have been telling you that your body is some kind of sacred temple, only to be seen by your lover and maybe your closest relatives. And there you are, exposing your own body and the one of your partner to complete strangers and meanwhile seeing tens or hundreds (or if you happen to be in Cap d’Agde thousands) of naked bodies yourself. One can’t deny that it does something strange with the mind. Certainly at first.
Learning the values of life
It was about the same time that we started traveling. At first because we read about backpacking and it sounded like a cool thing to do when you’re young and don’t have children. Soon came a second trip and a third one, long story short, at the end of 2012 we left our family, our friends and our homeland behind and got a one way ticket to Argentina. Only to return after a year.
During those trips we met so many great people from all over the world that we started questioning our own beliefs. Back home we were used to value people based on several superficial ideas: which country they’re from, which religion they believe in, the colour of their skin or how much money they earn. Those things are said to build your identity, but only to a certain point. When you think about it, what does “country” even mean? Borders are just the results of a war between two or more power-hungry individuals long time ago. To us, it didn’t mean a thing.
The values of nudism
Nudists basically share the same ideas. Of course they don’t all think the same as we do (boy, that would be boring) but they share an open mind. Yes, there can be real patriots, yes, there can be devout Christians, yes, there can be billion worth CEOs among them, but they won’t value you differently because you are not the same and look through those superficial prejudices. They will share their ideas and be open to yours, which is the source for great conversations.
Why we’re still nudists
If you want to live a life with your eyes open you have to step out of your comfort zone. You have to forget everything that has been narrowing your mind for the last twenty, thirty, forty years and start seeing things with a new perspective. But in our society these ideas often lead to loneliness. Among nudists you won’t be lonely. There are millions of nudists around the world who share the same ideas, who’ll appreciate you for who you are and not for how you look, who enjoy the feeling of the sun on their skin and the grass between their toes, who got out of their comfort zone to live a life more complete.
Picture credit: The photos in this post are coming from Google and Twitter. If you find one of yourself and you don’t want it to be on our blog, let us know and we’ll remove it.
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I have tried to I’ve a nudist life but due to the lack of places to go it’s been very limited. My new wife doesn’t have the same confidence as I do but she doesn’t mind me walking around the house or swimming in our pool naked. She is very understanding. I’m lucky to have the pool and a nearly enclosed block to be a nudist. Good to chat to like minde people.
Thank you both so much for sharing your experiences and your perspectives. Your blog is a fantastic resource for people who are seeking out information on naturism. Keep up the good work!
This is a very well-written article. It sounds like you took to time to think about what it is that drew you to nudism, and why you continue to live that lifestyle.
I think more of us should do some introspective analysis, me include, and decide if our motives for being a nudist/naturist are as pure as we claim they are.
Thank you for getting me started in that process.
Peace
Great post. It was probably travel and exposure to other cultures and ideas that ultimately lead me to naturism and greatly influenced other aspects of my thinking. While in the American Air Force, I was able to travel throughout Western Europe and get a taste of other points of view.
Good post. I agree that being exposed (literally and figuratively I suppose) to other cultures, values, and beliefs definitely expands one’s horizons. As an American, I consider myself very lucky to have been able to immerse myself into multiple Western European cultures. As such, I came to see, among many many other things, a very different view of nudity, very similar to my own. I have no doubt that this experience played a significant role in shaping the naturist I am today.
Hello. Do you have a blog of your own? If so, can you share it please? Many thanks 🙂
[email protected]
I got out of my “comfort” zone 20 years ago and never looked back! Today I’m just as comfortable nude as being shirtless. Thanks for a great article.
British in order to sell their textile told the native African it is sin to go around naked and in exchange for their textile gave them VD.Bertrand Russell.
Shame is one is brought up with. Freedom can be only appreciated living naturally.Call it Naked or nudity. Communities living naked are less likely to be conscious of nudity. Being Nude is beautiful.
Hi,
I have been an inactive nudist most of my life,,,have been to many resorts over the years.
Have never had a wife mor significant other that would join me in my nude life style.
In looking at the comments here I see no females joining in the comments.
Happy Nude Life Style to All!!
Wonderful piece! It’s always great hearing different perspectives on the same discovery. I truly wish more people could experience the simple joys of going without clothes. Society and shame has robbed us of something precious.
I was a member of the Sequoians in the Bay Area, and attended regularly at Mountaindale, near Portland, over the last 16 years or so. I was also a member of the Rogue Suncatchers in Southern Oregon. I want to attend regular locations, but the closest one to me is the Willamettans, which is about a 2 hour drive north of my home. I would love to see a landed resort somewhere down here in Southern Oregon. I love nudity.
Naturism encompasses much more than nudity to me, its not about perfect bodies or freedom but the personality’s are far more diverse in the naturist world, I met an 86 year old lady who had lost a leg and a breast to cancer, yet she was the kindest and most loving person ever. to me naturism is about learning to live past what you can see,and embracing that you can’t.
Hi Nick and Lins
I am a young teen male. I think that the nudist life style is great. I love being nude and being naked helps me feel free. I see that most of your posts are targeted towards young adults. It would be great if you could make a post for teens on how to become nudists. This would be a great help to me and other teens who want to become nudists
Thanks
Henry
Hi Henry, we always thought that our content could be applied to all ages. We don’t think that becoming a naturist is different when you’re 18 or 81