Naturism is a wonderful lifestyle that started in Europe but is now expanding towards the whole world. Most of the time we share our own views on the different aspects of nudism but once in a while we like to pass the mic to hear about how someone else’s experiences.
Our guests for today are David and Cristina from the United States.
Our guests for today are David and Cristina from the United States.
Hello David and Cristina, tell us something about yourself
We are a couple in our mid 30s and have been together for a little over 10 years. We both grew up in the United States – David in the lower 48 and Cristina in the Caribbean. We both went to college and graduated with science/engineering degrees. We met after college, both of us have full time jobs in the engineering and project management fields, and lived in the northern United States for the first few years together but relocated to the southern US a few years ago.
We believe we’d fit the category of a quite normal young professional couple. We love to travel and have been fortunate enough to go to a number of places including New Zealand, Australia, Tahiti, Greece, Brazil, France, and Hong Kong. Eating is a passion of ours and we are lucky to have lived in a couple “foodie” cities over the years. Given the passion for eating, fortunately we also enjoy being active and frequently work out to stay in shape! Both of us are quite outgoing and enjoy spending time with others – whether it’s traveling to other countries with friends or just plopping on their couch for the afternoon, we love to share experiences and laugh with others. Neither of us had any experience as nudists or with nakations before we met, but as we would eventually find out, we both enjoy all of the above with or without clothes!
How and at what age did you become a naturist?
After a few years together we were interested in adding another dimension to our relationship. We were having fun, traveling, and spending time with friends, but we just felt like we needed something else…something new, exciting, interesting. Random searching on the internet brought up the idea of a clothing optional resort, something neither of us even knew existed. David was all for it right away, and after a small bit of hesitation Cristina figured it was worth a shot too! This first place was Desire Resort in Mexico, which we knew catered to a lifestyle crowd, but we knew we weren’t going for that anyway.
No matter how much we mentally prepared, there really isn’t a simple way to describe when we finished check-in and walked to the room, encountering complete strangers in various stages of (un)dress!
Do we look?
Ignore?
Where do we look?
What do we say?
The answers to these questions came pretty quickly as we figured out a couple things – pretty much everyone willing to walk around nude with others is friendly, doesn’t mind being seen (though not gawked at), and is quite welcoming of newbies (who are pretty easy to spot). David stripped off right away and Cristina stayed topless for a while, but eventually her bottoms hit the sand too. We spent our days nude on the beach, went up to the hot tub with 50 or so of our new nude friends, and followed the resort routine through dinner, the night club, and then to the next morning to do it all again. We were hooked and this would be the first of many nakations to come!
Do we look?
Ignore?
Where do we look?
What do we say?
The answers to these questions came pretty quickly as we figured out a couple things – pretty much everyone willing to walk around nude with others is friendly, doesn’t mind being seen (though not gawked at), and is quite welcoming of newbies (who are pretty easy to spot). David stripped off right away and Cristina stayed topless for a while, but eventually her bottoms hit the sand too. We spent our days nude on the beach, went up to the hot tub with 50 or so of our new nude friends, and followed the resort routine through dinner, the night club, and then to the next morning to do it all again. We were hooked and this would be the first of many nakations to come!
Is naturism allowed in your country and what’s the public opinion?
This is quite a tricky question for the United States because legality and popular opinion varies quite a bit from one region to another. Some cities have large world naked bike ride events where public nudity is tolerated, many people participate or observe, and police do not intervene. Yet in other cities public officials and the general population would never go for such an event. Some states, Florida and California for example, have a number of naturist/nudist places that are quite well known amongst the local population. Other states have few and people may view them with suspicion. There are very few legal nude beaches. We don’t know of any cities that have parks where nudity is encouraged or required like you see in many European cities. In general, Europe is far more accepting of nudity than the Unites States, though this does seem to be changing as time goes on.
What do you think is the best and worst thing about naturism?
Simply put, there is just nothing more comfortable and relaxing than being fully nude under the sun or in the water. It’s something we believe everyone should try at least once. The other thing that comes to our minds first is that there are no judgments whatsoever…any of the biases that we have based on how people dress are removed and everyone is immediately on a level playing field. We’re all equals, we all have something in common. It is a wonderful social experience.
Cristina would say the thing she likes least is the first arrival, when you show up and take the first nude walk to your chair on the beach or by the pool. Other folks have met already and you’re new to the group…there’s a bit of social anxiety and it can be compounded by the fact that you’re naked, even though they are too. That being said, this feeling has always passed quite quickly and we have always had a great time!
David would add one more thing to aspects we like least. Over the years we’ve met an overwhelming number of great and interesting people from all walks of life, but we also have encountered a couple gawker/creeper types at a nude beach and during a world naked bike ride event. It was annoying and perhaps a bit discouraging, but we quickly realized that, just like in all aspects of life, it just happens sometimes and you move on. But the massive majority of folks are wonderful and these situations are rare. If you do happen to be unlucky and something like this comes up on your first try, please give it another go…you’ll be happy you did!
Do you find it easy to make naturist friends?
In all honesty, we have found it easier to make friends and acquaintances at naturist resorts than anywhere else. There’s an immediate connection, we already know we have something in common…we are willing to be nude in the company of others. Quick introductions are remarkably easy – who you are, where you are from, how long have you been a naturist and how did you become one, etc. This breaks the ice and leads naturally into all sorts of other topics. In almost every instance we’ve ended up going out to dinner or local sightseeing with people we just met.
When we went to Desert Sun Resort for the first time we started chatting with another young couple. We ended up spending most of the trip together and stayed in touch after we all returned home. We planned a follow-up trip with them to Club Orient in St. Martin, then returned again together to Desert Sun. We stay in touch and have become great friends.
A few of our friends in our textile life know about our naturist and nakation hobby. They’re our “safe” friends…the ones who know where we’re really going when everyone else thinks we’re at the Marriott down the street! They’ve never participated with us and we never push for them to do so. We’re not really sure if they would. Most of our friends and family have no idea about this part of our lives and we really have no idea how they would react. It’s a bit unfortunate but we have found that’s a common experience among naturists. The world can be rather judgmental and people will form opinions and make decisions about something they have never tried.
What’s the best tip you have for beginning naturists?
Do a bit of research then jump right in! I suggest trying out a fairly modern resort like Hidden Beach or Desert Sun first. You’ll find a pretty diverse crowd and a good balance of ages and genders. We’ve been to a couple public nude beaches and find that, depending on the day, men can outnumber women. For women trying this out for the first time, that could be an intimidating start. Once you do decide to give it a try, we suggest the following: the longer you wait to undress the harder it will be. Someone told us that years ago and it rings true.
No one is judgmental when everyone is naked. You’ll see all kinds of body types.
It’s important that you both want to do it and are willing to try it together. Also, once you get to the place, jump right in and take your clothes off.
Research the place before you visit to make sure it’s what you’re looking for. Some places are purely to be naked, which is what we like. Other places are geared towards swingers, and that can definitely be a surprise to your system if you’re not looking for that.
It’s important that you both want to do it and are willing to try it together. Also, once you get to the place, jump right in and take your clothes off.
Research the place before you visit to make sure it’s what you’re looking for. Some places are purely to be naked, which is what we like. Other places are geared towards swingers, and that can definitely be a surprise to your system if you’re not looking for that.
Anything else you’d like to share with our audience?
We cannot encourage you enough to give these experiences a try, especially if you’re young. We all need to continue to grow the number of younger folks participating in naturist activities so the culture remains vibrant and the facilities continue to bring in revenue to invest in their facilities. This site run by Nick and Lins is a great resource, and we would be happy to answer any questions you have as well.
Thank you so much for your participation David and Cristina!
Do you also want to tell your story and experiences in naturism? Please get in touch via the CONTACT page! As long as we have people who like to contribute, we can keep The Naturist Talks running!
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Nice and i would say tipical story but i just cant help not to add … “The world can be rather judgmental and people will form opinions and make decisions about something they have never tried.”
Ppl say this for everything , and then again those same ppl also judge others …
Also i cant help to notice the swinger restorst in the interview ,yet u say u arent ones? No wonder u dont really want anyone to really know about the holidays.
You also as i quoted say that the world can be judgmental but u ur self judged “creeps” ,to some ppl swingers might be creeps, but that doesnt bother you , also you mentioned the crowd at those resorts being diverse but that sometimes males outnumber females, isnt that judgemental ? I mean does it matter for a naturists if there are more male or female nudies, and u also mentioned that spec young ppl need to try it .. why spec young?
To much contradictions to me.
We would like to answer some of your comments…
People judge, that’s kind of human we guess and those who say they don’t, judge others because they judge. If that makes sense. But what David and Christina say is that people judge things they don’t know, with which they don’t say that they don’t judge others, it’s just a fact.
About the swingers resort, we’ve been to the same one. Does that make us swingers? Or them? Now you’re being very judgemental…
Please (re-)read our experience about that resort: https://www.nakedwanderings.com/blog/2018/08/13/can-a-nudist-feel-comfortable-in-a-sensual-resort/
To naturists, swingers are often not considered “creeps”. Those who have sex at places where they’re not allowed are, so are voyeurs, exhibitionists, etc. As long as swingers follow the rules of the place they visit we normally don’t have many problems with them.
The fact that males outnumber females is a very sensitive subject but yet it does happen at certain places and it can make people feel uncomfortable. In this case especially couples and women. We do believe that the other way around would also be an issue, if someone would be the only (or one of the few) males or couples in a resort filled with women.
Somehow, balance seems to be important at naturist places and that has something to do with the social factor. The same thing goes up for young people. We actually started this blog because we noticed that we were sometimes among the youngest at naturist places (we’re kinda the same age of D&C by the way). In some cases the average age was 2 generations higher. Should we care? Well, technically, we shouldn’t… but yet we did.
“People judge, that’s kind of human we guess and those who say they don’t, judge others because they judge.”
Hey i totaly agree.
I know sometimes ,well after i read them, my comments sound ,agressive, or offending or someting similar, but actually when i comment, i always read something from a netrual angle, and when doing so, thats how i try to be as non biast as one can be towards something.
So at the end, when i say something ,or sounds like im on the other side cause of my oppinion aka comment doesnt agree with whatever the topic is , im actually not, im just looking at it from the middle.
So when i say something ,it doesnt really mean im for it or against it ,im just trying to be realistic about it, regardlessly if i like agree with even my own self, thats somehow is trying not to judge i guess..
And as you already always know, im trying to point out those lil things ,that get inbetween, i just cant help not to notice …
We talked about “those” resorts before, but can i help not to notice they mentioned 2 resorts, and both of them being swinger ones? out of all the ones on the planet ,since they like/can to travel?
As far as creeps go ,well i kinda described already ,but that isnt the point at all , but the judging thing..
Thats why i always get off about those overused words as ,freedom ,nonjudgmental,tolerance and similar… they are way overused and well .. tbh,fake and not honest at all…
Before i ever say anything, i always try to put my self in a position, and then think if a sertan thing is cool or not .. its easy to say it towards others, like many ppl like porn and its cool and ..u know … but then i ask ,well what would u say if ur mom was a porn star? or u sister or ur daughter? .. and then they`ll go.. FO!! to me …i mean like isnt it being a hypocrite if u like the first thing but u get triggered off by the second question? .. so .. thats kinda way i look towards things.
And ya i get the old young thing, but , nudies say , any1 can be a nudie and it doesnt matter how old u are, cause when nude, we are all the same and equal, and then one says they are bothered by the sexes and ages of guests…
I mean i really dont go to beaches and stuff,for many reasons but if i would , i totaly wouldnt give 2F if someone next to me baking on the sun is a guy or a girl ,a baby a 10yo a 47yo or someone with one foot in the grave, id be there cause of the beach ,the sun ,the feeling ,id be there cause of me. Any other reason, doesnt have much to do wtih being on a beach/resort ,but with any other reason that can be pretty much done anywhere else.
no worries, we’re not offended by your comments. If that was the case you would not be allowed to post them without our moderation 😉
We’ve also noticed that several young people pick some kind of swingers resort for their first steps into naturism. And most of the cases seem to come from the USA. We noticed that in the US many naturist places are advertised as either “family friendly” or “tranquil and quiet”. Both imply that you should not expect much party after 10pm. Swingers resorts on the other hand are often hidden behind the name “nudist” or “naturist” and do promise great parties until the early hours. And they often have better publicity in general.
Imagine you’re a 20-something couple without kids and you have not really an idea what’s going on at a naturist resort or at a swingers resort. Which one do you pick?
Many who did visit a swingers place moved to more genuine naturist places afterwards, some keep going to swingers places for the party but don’t participate in the other things, some become swingers and unfortunately there are some who are disgusted and turn their back to naturism in general. Which is a pity of course.
About the meaning of words… Are they overused? Probably, but that’s the case for so many things. We wish people a good day lots of times a day while we don’t really care how the rest of their day will evolve. Is it fake? maybe… but it’s also a form of politeness. And in the end we’d prefer them to have a good day over a bad one, whether we care or not.
You could picture these words as a gradient of colour. Let’s say freedom is yellow, then white is completely unfree and bright yellow is completely free. We’ll always end up in some shade of yellow, sometimes brighter, sometimes almost white. These do give us a sense of freedom although we’re obviously not completely free. We’ll probably never be.
We like to think of ourselves as eco-minded. We recycle, we avoid getting plastic bags at the supermarket, we don’t eat meat every day, we don’t take hour long showers, we don’t throw garbage in nature and so on. But then again we travel the world in airplanes and we take the bus to the nude beach instead of walking 10km.
Although we consider ourselves eco-minded, we’re just a shade of it. We’ll never be 100%, few people in this world are.
But that doesn’t mean that we can’t be happy about ourselves if we do walk the 10km or when we do refuse the plastic bag.
And then about the gender mix… we told you it’s difficult and it has to do with so many things. Not everyone is 100% comfortable (yet) being naked among others and an imbalance can provoke discomfort. Add to it that there is often some kind of (albeit often very light) harassment. A women who goes alone to a bar full of men is very likely to be spoken to. A lot. The same thing does happen on some nude beaches. Often not with bad intentions but if you just want to read or sunbathe and guy after guy walks over to have a chat, that’s not fun. We’ve heard some straight men complain about exactly the same thing at beaches with a lot of gays. A balance just seems to work much better.
I can understand the ballance, but lets be real … what is more normal? To aproach (whoever) ,or to pretend constantly like there is no1 around you?
I mean, if u really wanna be in peace nude and relax or read, why are u going to a public nude beach where there are 10.000ppl? Or a camp where there are other guys or kids running around screaming?.. i mean its like having babies, and moving to an appartment next to an airport and then complaining cause of the noise…
You remember maybe from the mails, how i`ve said that its been over like cc 30 years that i have never even tought about nudism or similar subject, never ever came accros my mind at all ever since when i was a kid and saw some nudies on the other side of the shore ,and then i saw a blog (a local one) and i was like oowww i totaly forgot thins even exists .. and then i find you here and the rest is .. hah .. so i can understand that if i suddenly decided to go to one before i learned more about it these past couple years , and then happen to see swingers there or whatever, then i would be in a situation as you described here.
And that is one of those problems i described, many would say its the same thing.. and you saying that you (younger nudies) dont mind swingers ,just ads to it.
And what you mentioned, family friendly, well.. a definition of nudies says that nudism is not age based, so to say its family friendly makes no sence, cause thats a default. Hence ,if that description exists, it makes you think ,if the venue is not family friendly, then is it a nudie place at all? By its own definiton, it isnt, then why is it called like that? Or to ask better, why is it accepted even by nudies to be called like that?
Altho those general family friendly things are.. well ..lets say fake as well haha aka the word freedom … cause, what is family friendly?
Its not, cause ppl may hanky panky around? But why is it family friendly if those same that shouldnt see things they are not “allowed” to see or do, they still get to see their parents be drunk, smoke weed, or just smoke, or even “better” , to be in the same room (inside) where a bunch of ppl smoke.. interesting how no1 categorizes that as adults only place/s (this is a general tought, and a diff subject ,not related to nudism only).
People do categorise that… Also in clothed resorts you often see 18+ these days and even some restaurants are becoming adults only. Is that because the adults want to do things the kids shouldn’t see? Nope, it’s just that the adults don’t want kids around. These are often even adults who have kids themselves.
We’ve said this many times before: decades ago naturism was a specific lifestyle which only suited a certain kind of people. Today there are many more people who enjoy some time in the nude and some of them prefer to do so without having children around. And that does not mean that they’re planning to get wasted or have sex in public.
Here’s an article about such restaurants: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/no-kids-allowed-the-restaurants-that-cater-to-an-adultsonly-crowd/news-story/784509507bb813b1fcebc9f21a8bcea4
If you want complete silence while reading in the nude you shouldn’t go to a beach indeed. But we do think that you can expect that people leave you alone if that’s your choice. It would be a weird world if it was common that people start bothering you whenever you’re in a public place.
Its not about ppl bothering u its about being around 100 1000 10000 ppl and expecting things to always go the way u want.
Such thing/world doesnt exist, never did, and never will ,and thats not a matter of an oppinion, thats a fact.
I know there are places where they only accept adults, for diff reasons, but then also , ive seen an outrage this summer when there was an article about a motel owner that didnt want to have gay guests, cause he had bad exp with them, and they trashed him like crazy cause of that … why? Isnt that being a hypocrite? Or when they trashed that bakery that didnt wanna make a wedding cake for a gay wedding?
What i wanned kinda to say is that, with ur example here know u played me about the 18+ thing.. cause we all know when u say an 18+ resort, 9/10 its cause its a sexual resort, regalrdless if its a nudist one or not, at that point it doesnt even matter..
My point was that that 18+ thing is a real stupid arbitrary law or whatever its called, funny that once ur that age, all of a sudden everything that was a nono yesterday is a yesyes today, cause eventho kids cant drink or smoke ,they still see it everyday, they still inhale the smoke that harms them but thats fine, they get killed by drunk drivers, but thats fine, while the “thing they shouldnt see” is horrible, yet eventho they do it them selfs, i guess they must do it with their eyes shut then cause its something they shouldnt see.
So with all this being said, i honestly dont know what family friendly is even anymore , specially in this age of social media and everything.
I guess its just probably ppl trying to set their concience at ease when they pretend that something is only for adults perhaps.
“18+” really got confused a lot with “x-rated” lately. Probably because of the movie industry. And you’re right, in many cases it actually does mean that there could be sex involved. But not 9/10 cases. Many resorts prefer the term “couples only” these days so they can exclude singles and minors in just two words.
But the 18+ is used for several reasons, in the USA for example there are strict laws about alcohol use for minors. We don’t remember what the law exactly included but we believe it meant that there has to be a bartender around the alcohol at all times and that passports need to be asked when someone buys drinks. If you’re running a small place with just 2 people, it’s too expensive to hire a full time bartender. So it’s much easier to make the place adults only.
Not allowing gays on the other hand is discrimination and they have a strong movement that will prevent this from happening. If only the nudists had a similar movement, we would be allowed to be naked at way more places.
Well thats a totaly nono agree on that one ..
Isnt then the adults only discrimination as well?
Isnt a kids free restaurant a discrimination against kids?
Why that isnt, while not allowing gay guests is?
If its ,just cause thats the way u like it, that aint an explanation ,no its fair.
That guy in Croatia particiulary had a very bad exp with gay guests, they were always loud having parties ,so he decided he dont want that no more cause the other guests were leaving cause of them.
And the other reference with the 18+ is that , why is there such thing?
Why is it that someone whos 17 cant do anything, while someone whos 18 can literally do anything?
Why is it ok for an 18+ to smoke in the same room as someone whos 10 ,and that 10yo cant, but nevermind the inhailed smoke, basicly its the same thing as smoking…and so on so on ..
Just because somebody like it to be that way doesnt make it alright or even moral.
As for USA and their laws, i said it before, aint no more hypocrite nation then USA.. i rather not even mention them tbh.
It’s an interesting question. Can you discriminate kids?
Technically they’re discriminated all the time. They are not allowed to buy this and that. But it’s always for the sake of their own good, not for someone else.
In Belgium you’re allowed in a bar when you’re 16 and in a disco at 18. We don’t really see the difference between those places and a resort or restaurant that refuses kids.
Well ya thats what it is actually, in that sence they are descriminated.
But with all you said, what about those fighters for kids rights?
They fight for them to have more rights and all but at same time as u said, they are discriminated basicly.
Ppl can care for others for their own good, but it will never be explained to me with sence, how come i who smoke use weed and drink, will say to my kid that he cant do that cause its not good for him .. isnt that being a hypocrite?
Also ,well ur about cc 14 when u finish primary school right? So how come ur old and mature enough to decide ur future basicly by deciding what school or whatever u gonna go for after primary , but ur not old enough to decide whatever other or to go to a bar or a resort..or same with acting lets say ,who gets to decide if its ok for a 6yo to be shooting movies for weeks and weeks, or to be on a TV show or to be one of Disney`s kids, and so on, thats a job basicly ,get the point? Its kinda playing double standards and being hypocrite about whats allowed and not and who gets to decide and who or if one has the rights to decide such thing.
Its more like, well , if you wanna be fair, its not about the , hey im fine with that so i dont care .. cause its same with being nude, here its not allowed ,so if im not a nudie, i wont give 2F that its not allowed, its more the, hey ,who gave anyone the right to decide why would something be not allowed ,cause by default, everything is allowed untill its made not to be , and who gives the right to decide whats good for who? Its more that attitude that im talking about.
From todays point, here , all this that i wrote looks odd, but basicly its the truth.
Well written and based on my experiences a good helping hand to interested newbies