In the Southern Hemisphere, a dive into a pool provides many opportunities for viewing countless bare practitioners “south of the Equator” in the bottoms-up position!
Careless bottoms-up in bed: smoking!
It is January and we all know that it is cold outside on these winter mornings. However, there remains no reason to smoke a cigarette in bed! It is very unsafe! Bottoms-up gives you control but you must be alive to exercise it! Act responsible and safely!
Looking down for bottoms-up!
Bottoms-up! with your bountiful buttocks, senor! Look down and stare into our admiration and amazement! Gracias!
A winter’s nap bottoms-up!
The cold weather of January drains away our energy and our stamina. Our man above is recuperating with a winter’s nap and his coat lays beside him on the bed!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry is planned here for tomorrow, February 1, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Black History Month, 2025!”
A satirical and whimsical post today on the useless absurdity of trying to conceal and to cover our nakedness with a towel!
News Dispatch:
There is an extreme crisisthat is rapidly gaining in both popularity and in practice! Without warning, it is now appearing in alarming frequency not only online and social media but in actual reality the world over. So much widespread attention is now being focused on this matter that analysts are engaged until the late-night hours in a frantic attempt to contain the damage!
Beforepresenting a detailed examination of this serious emergency, we’ll pause here at this moment to offer some background on this situation…
Fig-leaf transparency!
Background:
From the earliest possible days, humans for some unknown reason became ashamed and embarrassed over the fact that they were not only born naked (without covering) but also lived their lives completely exposed – their physical bodies visible to everyone.
This blatant public exposure disgusted the masses as they sought escape from this senseless invasion of their privacy: their very own personal anatomy! Not only assaulted with the prying eyes of family and friends, but openly seen by all those they encountered – complete strangers!
So they adopted the fig leaf to ensure their discretion. Suddenly, you had to “stop” before going about and cover yourself with a fig leaf!
Stop and grab a fig-leaf!
Modesty and the Towel:
People responded to the idea of the fig-leaf and to the habit of concealing and covering certain parts of their body. Especially those anatomical parts revealed their gender. After all, they preferred remaining anonymous and their female/male status was viewed as “top secret!” They did not want the entire world to know every aspect about themselves!
The fig was a common food item and the fig tree was prevalent all around. Thus, the fig-leaf was accessible and plentiful – and a perfect natural cover! Soon, everyone had their own choice of fig-leaf: species/type, size, whatever they desired. Gradually, the issues of uniqueness and vanity evolved as it was now apparent that everyone possessed a fig-leaf!
The weaving of natural strands together to create cloth – for covering – developed to erase the monotony of every human attached to a fig-leaf. The approaching Ice Age introduced the additional need of cloth not just to hide one’s gender anatomy but also for comfort (warmth) as the outdoor temperatures dropped from tropical to cold.
Somewhere along the way of the “fig-leaf-to-cloth-weaving-to-cloth-covering-to-clothes” journey the necessity of cleaning and washing of all this increasing amount of cloth and clothing was realized. This reality was followed by the discovery that clean clothes on a dirty body was not compatible and the thought of doing this was absurd. Personal hygiene came into existence as did the birth of the towel!
No clothing, simply a towel!
The Towel Alternative:
The definition of a towel is: ” a piece of absorbent cloth or paper used for wiping and/or drying.” Over a period of time and for convenience, people began to modify this usage towards their personal needs. For many, once they dried after their bath/shower, they simply wrapped a cloth towel around their waist and proceeded with life. Actor Max Konnor demonstrates in the above .gif image. Life goes on!
As bare practitioners, my spouse, Aaron, and I recognize the ridiculous substitution of the towel for clothing. One of the undisputed reasons offered by practically everyone – both naturists/nudists and the textile (clothes wearers) – for the use of clothes is to conceal, cover, disguise or to hide one’s nakedness.
The generally accepted routine of using a towel instead of clothing for protection from being perceived as naked makes no sense. If anything, the casual nature of the towel alone infers our total nudity underneath. Obviously, we’re bare. An accidental/intentional slip of just one finger into the top of the towel and the entire “cover” drops to the floor! Instant body and clothes freedom – and in full view! No imagination necessary or required!
Assorted Dilemmas:
Brave removal!
Our man on the right (above) wants to return to the freedom and independence of nakedness. His identically toweled partner is instead deciding to continue to protect his privacy and keeps his towel covering his waist! Which practice will endure?
The useless towel is apparent to all!
Even among seasoned towel proponents, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the usefulness of this absorbent piece of cloth is nothing more than an illusion. Why bother to waste time wrapping it around your waist when all that’s necessary is hold onto it if you must (out of habit) and deposit it in the laundry while returning to your life? More than likely, serious thought will cause you to discard the towel altogether! Single handedly grasping the towel is no guarantee it will work!
Felipe Ferreira removes Raphael Horst’s towel!
The fearless and loyal bare practitioner, Felipe Ferreira, his towel-wrapped friend, Raphael Horst, to recover his glory and pride in body and clothes freedom! Which of the two will dominate and emerge victorious?
Traditional towel use returns!
Final Triumph:
At long last, common sense, decency and justice prevail! The senseless and shallow experiment of the towel as an absorbent and protective cloth of convenience – however misdirected and misguided – finally is following the ill-fated fig-leaf into obscurity. The demise of deceit is upon us all and bare practitioners are in jubilation over the outcome! The towel itself now resumes the role of a cloth to dry the body!
A growing amount of evidence is now determining that the delightful comfort of nakedness – whether social (communal or group) or solo (alone) – is returning to popular demand!
Towel-less domination!
All hail, bare practitioners! The wicked witch of cover-up, discretion and modesty is dead! Ding-dong the witch is dead!
Ding-dong the witch is dead!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, January 31, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Bottoms-Up! January, 2025!”
One of the complaints/excuses/reasons that many offer for not having pictures of their nudity is they lack experience in posing as a bare practitioner! My normal response to that statement is usually a simple question back to them: “What does a bare practitioner do?” A very basic inquiry that is more often than not answered with either a blank stare, a shrug of the shoulders and/or a combination of both!
Sadly, even if I rephrased my initial question into “What do naked people do?” the reaction would probably be identical. Beyond comprehension! Even if I asked this of seasoned bare practitioners, their reply, more often than not, would be consistent: no idea. Clueless! Apparently, the concept and/or the question is just too difficult for people to understand.
A unipod selfie poser!
Unsure of what to do? Take it easy and slow. Make a selfie! If you’re baffled. just strip off (remove) all your clothes – if you’re even wearing any – and pose for a photograph of yourself an no one else. Suggestion: A full frontal pose (like the above picture) is highly recommended. Regardless of one’s naked experience, most men are awkward posing with their penis visible. It’s best to deal with the most difficult task and then move on! So, go ahead and take your selfie now!
There, in one basic action you have met and satisfied the complete alternate title for this post! You were bold in taking off all your clothes, You were brave by posing front-facing and completely nude and you were your natural person by being solo (alone)!
Congratulations! You have now completed your first assignment! Remember this process! Now, if you’re ever asked: “What do naked people do?” you already have an answer. “We take selfies of our nakedness!” You now have proof: a picture of yourself posing bare!
Regrettably, we all know that the creation of one self-image does not qualify us for identity as an experienced model, but it does – at the very least – present us the notion that posing bare isn’t as foreign as it may seem. Maybe this project is a possibility after all!
A seated pose!
Assignment:
Set aside a specific day and time to shoot additional solo selfies of yourself. Try a variety of poses and some need to be full frontal so your penis doesn’t become “camera-shy!” This gives you the idea of how to appear (look) nude while helping to build camera-comfort and camera-confidence.
A kneeling pose!
Repetition! Repetition! Repetition! The more we repeat an action, the easier it becomes. Changing the location of the camera and/or the position you’re using (seated, kneeling, standing) offers a variety of pictures as a resource and it prevents boredom. This enables your harshest critic (yourself) to decide which pose looks/works best and which to discard or erase.
A standing pose showing modesty!
Perform these solo selfie undertakings on a daily or weekly basis, whichever is convenient for you. Keep in mind that you are the judge of what’s acceptable and what is not. No one else needs to know what you’re doing or why you’re doing it! You decide who views the results and/or makes recommendations! Be you! You pose! You make the image! You decide!
Michael Ealy: reading interest!
Share you:
During your convenient “camera-comfort” and “camera-confident” times, rather than let your mind wander aimlessly, carefully consider any subtle messages to include in your pictures (selfies). Some examples are hobbies, special interests, sports, etc. Anything that conveys to a viewer an aspect that you appreciate about or in your life.
In the photo (above), Hollywood actor Michael Ealy nonchalantly poses bare with a pile of books. He’s suggesting his pleasure in reading during his leisure (free) time time as well as his comfort with his nakedness. A replication of this image by you relays the same. If books and/or reading holds no value for you, consider something that does.
Athletics and sports significant? Grab a basketball or a tennis racquet! Swimming? Put on a pair of goggles and pose in imitation of taking a dive into a pool. Creativity has no limits – after all, we are posing bare! It’s common knowledge that all observations are focused on the nudity of the subject and not the objects featured!
Basketball fan!
Subtle messages:
In concluding this second segment of the “Posing Bare” series here on ReNude Pride, please returnyour attentionto the header (first photograph) offered of the two men pictured with full frontal nudity. Both my spouse, Aaron and I are a proud biracial couple. He’s African-Canadian and I’m Greek. This fact is implied in the selection of this particular photo. We’re both bare practitioners, our skin is simply a different colour.
Also, we’re depicted “arm-in-arm;” not holding hands or embracing. As a profoundly Deaf man since birth, I communicate manually (sign language). Therefore, holding hands is just not convenient or practical for me. Aaron accepts, supports and understands this reality. If we’re walking holding hands, how would we communicate with one another?
Remember the adage: “Every picture tells many stories?” More truth than you can ever imagine!
Notation: The next segment of this series, “Posing Bare: Part 3!” will be published on Monday, 10 February, 2025!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, January 27, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Towel Dilemma!”
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize by His Majesty, King Gustaf VI Adolph of Sweden, in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 14, 1964
Civil Rights Advocate
Nonviolent Protest Activist
Ordained Clergyman
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founder, 1957
Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously by the late President Jimmy Carter, 1977
Husband/Father
A pensive and prayerful Dr King!
I’ve composed full postings on the life of Reverend Doctor King every year on his birthday holiday. For those interested in additional information, go to ReNude Pride’s archives and click onto January for each year. In an effort to avoid appearing redundant and repetitious, this year’s tribute is a brief summation of his extraordinary achievements and accomplishment. The post entry published for his 2023 observance is more extensive and to access please click onto the link available here:
The USA is eternally indebted to the Reverend Dr. Martin L. King, Jr for his bravery, courage, guidance and leadership in the causes of equality for all and justice for everyone. He was a man who directed us all in pursuit of harmony and peace.
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, January 24, 2025, and the proposed topic is; “Posing Bare, Part 2!”
Probably all of us have some semblance of a routine that we follow daily, whether in the morning when we wake up or at the end of the day before we crawl back into bed. This routine can be varied and replaced when necessary, but it does provide us with a sense of familiarity, relaxation, and security. Basically, our very own “comfort zone” that helps us to survive the extraordinary circumstances of our everyday lives.
In the heading (image) above, Sean Xavier, our bare practitioner subject for this portion of today’s post, incorporates time into his awakening routine, regardless of the location or the season, for his cup of cocoa as he prepares to begin his daily business. He contemplates his schedule while enjoying the opportunity to reflect on necessities and priorities. A calm and peaceful launch of another day in his life!
Sean is also very thoughtful during his morning quality time. He uses this opportunity to respond to fans of his films, both online and through the postal service. Sometimes criticized for being too strict in insisting on retaining his body hair, he confesses to shaving himself when he was younger and first entered the SGL porn industry as a male model (bare) and then later as a film actor. He admits to lacking the experience, was intimidated by others and in awe of the film executives who ordered him to shave his chest hair.
Now, he is confident, experienced, mature, wiser and “proud of myself and all of my body hair – armpits, chest and pubic!” Once Sean was recognized as a gay porn icon, his contract with Lucas Entertainment was re-negotiated to allow him determination in retaining his chest hair.
Sean Xavier: hairy and smiling!
Sean Xavier: Vitals
Birthdate: January 16, 1988
Birthname: Kyle Overton
Birthplace: Victorville, California, USA
Height: 6’0″ (183 cm)
Weight: 169 lbs. (77kg)
Head Hair: Natural, close cropped
Body Hair: Natural, moderate (armpits, chest, pubic)
Sexuality: Gay
A relaxing glass of wine!
In the image above, we are now joined on this portion of today’s post entry by Gio Dell, our celebrity escort, model and fellow bare practitioner. He hails from Venezuela, South America, and appears in more photographs without clothing than he does wearing garments. A true model from the very “core” of both our community and culture! One unique aspect of his model career is his reluctance to pose when one of the contract guidelines require the removal of his body hair. His head may be bald but his hirsute nakedness is a source of pride!
Gio has also appeared in more than a few SGL film scenes produced by independent and/or private studios. Evidently, the notoriety of an extremely publicly successful gay porn star doesn’t align with his pleasurable male escort service that also features his half-brother, Armani! His home office is in New York City and both he and Armani are willing to travel wherever they’re needed.
Both Gio and Armani openly acknowledge growing up in a household that accepted nudity as a lifestyle not in conflict with their Catholic faith. Gio, the older of the two, is more enthusiastic about being clothes free. Clothing optional beaches are always popular destinations for them both!
As he welcomes an end of a day in his life, Gio sips some wine and reads a book in order to calm himself before retiring for the night. He takes the time necessary to relax and focus away from his daily routine. This enables him to distance himself – emotionally, mentally and physically – from all and any challenges and/or conflicts he may have endured.
Gio Dell: skinny-dipping in the pool!
Gio Dell: Vitals
Origin: near Caracas, Venezuela, South America
Height: 6’1′ (185 cm)
Weight: 198 lbs. (88 kg)
Eyes: Green
Head Hair: Bald (shaved)
Body Hair: Natural, profuse (armpits, buttocks, chest, pubic)
Sexuality: Gay
*************************
The Comfort Message:
Both of the bare practitioners pictured here today, Sean Xavier and Gio Dell, involve their nakedness into their tranquility strategy. They’re both comfortable bare; this inclusion allows them to eliminate distraction and to use this aspect to process the “change of direction” they are preparing to undergo. A “fresh start” to a new day or a “safe return” to home at the end. Sean and Gio recognize and understand the role comfort and familiarity have in building habit and normalcy into their existence.
As this new year of 2025 progresses, hopefully, the majority of us will return to the pattern of comfort and familiarity – routine – in our daily lives. This restoration encourages a sense of balance between both the known and the unknown. It enables our daily resumption of habit and of hope!
After all, if each day begins and ends by way of custom or habit, then what is in between – the spontaneous – approaches tolerable! It affords us the prime opportunity for a different and exciting new adventure every day!
Following our established pathways towards calm and comfort gives us “permission” to bridge our journey from the “spontaneous” into the routine. It offers each of us a loving and supportive “pat-on-the-back” for what we have accomplished and survived: a job well done!
Notation:
The purpose of this post entry is to reinforce the importance of relaxation and rest in our lives. Even though Sean presented the “start” of the day and Gio the “end,” there is no rule against performing them both on the same day, as often as needed. An extra step towards mental health, peace and success!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, January 20, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr Day!”
For many of us, a frequently forgotten and overlooked benefit of the summer season is the actual “start” of our day. With comfortable outdoor temperatures, our awakening routine is fairly simple: get out of bed, stretch, and if we have to wear clothes, just slip into a pair of shorts. Eureka! We’re ready to go!
Unfortunately, winter is an entirely different season! After getting out of bed, the clothing process is much more involved. Not just the shorts, but also a shirt or two, underwear (regular or thermal), shoes and socks, warm pants and layers upon layers of of outerwear garments and accessories before we even take one step outside into frigid air temperatures! A major undertaking!
Today’s post entry here on ReNude Pride serves a total of three (3) purposes. First is a visual reminder for all of us that our bare practitioner buddies in the Southern Hemisphere are now officially into their summer season and the freedom that entails. Second is the gentle hint of what is now headed toward the rest of us who live in the “winterized” Northern Hemisphere. Third is a glimpse of what “happy days” (summer) delivers to bare practitioners globally!
Catching his breath!
Francois: fun and fitness!
Today’s scenario features our very own fellow bare practitioner, Algerian-French Francois Sagat, model and SGL adult film star, who has no compunction about appearing body and clothes free no matter what the occasion happens to be. He takes pride in both himself and his work and offers no apologies for being exactly what and who he truly is: both gay and naked!
Today, he is finishing an early morning jog alone and bare along the shore of a local beach. No clothing? No problem as he pauses from his healthy excursion when he happens upon a fellow beach enthusiast who feels the need to be somewhat modest while admiring Francois stretching his body! Perhaps he is contemplating a similar routine, minus his garments?
Sometimes, in our excessively fashion-conscious world, nudity needs to be inspired before it is explored. What better inspiration than enjoying nature naturally? As Francois demonstrates in these images, there is no shame in just being himself: free and natural! A true and valid representation of what is essential to all of us bare practitioners!
Surf and sunshine!
A subtle message?
In the above scenario, the celebrity bare practitioner, Francois Sagat, is depicted completing a bare jog along a beach, almost alone. There is one clothed individual sharing the sand, sun and surf with him. The textile (clothes-wearing) man observes and sits watching Sagat’s recovery from his physical endeavour as well as his obvious being bare. Incidental or intentional?
Among us bare practitioners, there are many who enthusiastically label the visuals as incidental. Francois was merely out for a jog on a relative isolated beach. He took advantage of the situation by exercising while clothes free. Expressing himself naturally in nature. Simply being who he really is when he encountered his textile (clothed) spectator sitting along the shore. An accidental and unplanned meeting.
Without any available resource to cover himself, he just finished his fitness routine as best he could: in his nakedness! He had no other alternative course of action. Poor planning? Most definitely! But then, the best way to learn a lesson is from our mistakes!
Then there are those who are less tolerant of public and/or social nudity. They may view the entire episode as a blatant ploy by Sagat in an attempt to seduce the unsuspecting spectator into the world of body and clothing freedom and beyond (a casual and consensual sexual encounter). Once Francois approaches the individual on the beach, he makes no effort to conceal or cover his being naked.
Instead, he merely flaunts his bareness directly in front of his “audience.” They substitute the surprise meeting with the label of exhibitionism, inferring that Francois using suggestive body language as an enticement to encourage his observer to join him!
Conclusion:
There are countless differences of opinion that the above scenario creates for those of us who are avid bare practitioners and those of a more conservative fashion sense and/or those with a strong opinion on same gender love (SGL). This post entry is to remind us all that there are always those persons who believe/think outside of our personal comfort level.
Post Script: The clothes wearing individual in the above scenario never takes his eyes off of bare practitioner, Francois Sagat. Evidently, he enjoyed not only the encounter but also the view!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, January 17, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Comfortable Routine!”
The alternate title offers a brief and concise summary of what the purpose and theme of this particular post entry here on ReNude Pride entails. Inspired by some quotations I have collected and posted by some of my personal favourite same gender loving (SGL) pornography actors, my mind wandered away from their visual images and into an idea for this blog posting!*
*Asterisknotation: proof that mentally I do indeed have the ability to deviate from nudity, even if only upon a few occasions!*
Montgomery:
Montgomery is the professional name of the openly gay, mixed racial heritage performer featured in the double heading (above) and the picture just below the Prologue. He’s obviously stripping (removing) his burdensome clothes without even the slightest hint of discomfort and/or shame. Blatantly confident with his complete state of body and clothes freedom, he has every right to be without issue or any shyness about his naked appearance in the opening .gifs or in the picture directly above.
He is proof that posing in front of a camera, for whatever the reason, is of no concern. We’re all born naked; why should any feeling of uncomfortable be attached to our totally natural being? Be mature and not judgmental! Leave that childish mistake to the politicians everywhere who simply don’t know any better way to behave!
While in front of a camera lens, relax and just be yourself. As Montgomery demonstrates, there is little or no reason to fear a physical attack. Let the picture be taken and then return to whatever you were doing. If others around you are likewise clothes free, you know that all of the attention is being shared by everyone and not just yourself. If you’re the sole bare body present, enjoy your bare body and the liberation it affords you!
Daymin and Jason:
The totally comfortable and content duo above are also both SGL at at ease with their shared sexuality but also proud of their shared nakedness! Daymin Voss is the hairy, tattooed man on the right and Jason Vario (real name: Taylor Duecain) hails from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Both men were on the site of their joint video project: Big Brother. Jason had secured the role for his new friend, Daymin. They had met one another at “Hustlaball” in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, in 2016, They had a great time together and Jason convinced Daymin to audition for his porn studio, TitanMen. They had just concluded their first video scenes and walked outside together naked to pose for pictures to promote their film. Both men proudly and publicly proclaim their enthusiasm for being nude, whether or not they are in front of a camera or simply just “hanging out” together.
Daymin, Haulover Beach, Atlantic coastline, Florida, USA!
Aaron, my spouse, and I both met Daymin, at the gay section of the public Haulover Beach on the Atlantic Ocean, in 2019. He is very affable, friendly and relaxed when meeting others without any body concealment or covering. Aaron was wearing a T-shirt only on doctor’s orders following shoulder surgery. Daymin chided him about the shirt but then apologized when he learned of the cause.
“Posing Bare, Part 2” is under composition and will publish here later this month.
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, January 13, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “The Warm Calm!”
ReNude Pride was initiated back in January, 2017! Nine years ago this week! At times, it seems like an eternity. At other times, similar to yesterday! However long and whatever the mood, the fact remains the same: 9 full years! Happy anniversary to us! Back “in the day” when I began publishing here, it was no more than a spontaneous decision on a snowy Saturday morning. Classes had not yet resumed at my university, Aaron, my spouse, was at work and I sat in front of my laptop screen: bored.
A toast to ReNude Pride!
Even though I was still angry and frustrated with wordpress (no capital letters deserved) for abruptly erasing my first blog here: A Guy Without Boxers; I returned to this site and began creating. Soon, my spirit returned and I temporarily set my anger aside and ReNude Pride was born. Gay and naked all over again; although on my university salary, why bother to try to afford another pair of boxers?
A Guy Without Boxers logo!
Pictured above is my logo (emblem) that I adopted for my original site here. It caught my attention for two very specific reasons. First, of all the underwear styles available for men, boxers had consistently been my personal favourite. Second, based on the title of my initial blog here. A little sharing of my publishing history here. Relax! There will be no examination offered at the conclusion of this posting!
I distinctly remember on that snowy Saturday morning my efforts at trying to resurrect my original blog title here for this creation. The “powers-that-be” denied my efforts. A determined competition followed and my poor mind’s creative juices began pulsating. “ReNude” was substituted for renewed and a new cycle of accomplishment followed. The pace was set and I began to develop a sense of “pride” in what I was attempting!
Lip-read: “Thank you!”
Nine years ago this month, ReNude Pride began. It has given to both Aaron and myself a number of very interesting experiences and some unique challenges. Hopefully, it has brought, at the very least, a few smiles upon your faces!
Before concluding here, please “lip-read” the English words “thank you” on the face above. Aaron and I are sincerely grateful to all of you for both your loyalty and support here! Best wishes and love along with our appreciation!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, January 10, 2025, and the proposed topic is yet to be determined.
A word-play is the use of wording (words) to convey a mixed meaning or unusual idea.
Jay and Roger meet!
Translated Title: Renewed Nude Encounter!
Headline:On this historic date, 3 January, 2009, Jay and Roger first met…
The amicable bonding, camaraderie, companionship, friendship, and trust that was initiated through chance, destiny, fate, spontaneity and “being at the right place at the right time” happened at a gay bar, downtown Washington, D.C., USA, when on this afternoon a SGL nudist oriented social club held a naked cocktail hour social…
Abbreviated version: Today marks the day of the start of our friendship…that began in an atmosphere of excitement and hope! Barack Obama had just been elected as the next president after eight long, boring, dull years of the reign of George II (Bush)! A new year had just arrived and the energetic uplifting of spirits flowed throughout the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area and beyond!
To our knowledge and recollection, Jay and I had never seen one another before this day. This meeting occurred on an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon in January. In a region not noted for unusually warm temperatures during this month. The event was a monthly social nudity “cocktail hour” that rarely attracted the large attendance as it achieved on that particular day. The balmy weather may have impacted the crowd, as the majority arrived wearing T-shirts and shorts before stripping naked!
Naked truth!
When I arrived at the bar, I registered and paid my admission fee. The line waiting to enter the ground floor changing room was long, so I decided to use the changing room on the second floor. After stripping and storing my street clothes, I descended the stairs into the bar area. It was packed with wall-to-wall bare men! I noticed one vacant table-for-two in the far corner and that became my goal!
The crowd was elbow-to-elbow (frequently accidental penis-to buttocks)! The friendliest and largest good-natured crowd I’d ever seen at a “naked cocktail” event. Once I’d finally arrived in the corner area, the table-for-two I’d seen from the stairs was occupied by Jay – solo. I wrote him a note explaining my being Deaf and asked if he was sitting alone. He welcomed me to join him and we exchanged first names.
We passed notes back and forth while becoming acquainted. After about an hour, Jay let me know that he took 3 years of American Sign Language (ASL) at university to satisfy his foreign language requirement but his skills were awkward and underused. I encouraged him to renew his experience and soon we were communicating totally manually. His fluency returned quickly and what he couldn’t recall we employed fingerspelling.
The more than three hours that we spent together revealed to us both a substantial “shared interest” in numerous topics, authors, sports, entertainment, etc. Of particular was our similar adaptation and familiarity with nudity in our lives and awareness of our same gender attraction. Before we even finished our bottles of water, the “naked cocktail” happy hour was ending and clothed patrons were arriving. Before we departed to our changing areas, we exchanged email addresses and messaging contacts and vowed to keep connected.
Bare friendship!
Surprisingly, we both commenced sharing emails that same Saturday evening. Our communication continued several emails per day throughout the following week. We approached the topic of meeting again the next Saturday but were uncertain as to exactly what that day entailed as we each had a previous engagement to attend. Not one that we were comfortable bringing another new friend to include.
The following Saturday arrived with weather the exact opposite – actually, extreme opposite – of the day that we met. It was blustering winds and the outside temperatures hovered at freezing even in the full sun. I ventured to a local bookstore before my early afternoon encounter with friends. While browsing in the aisles of books, several times I passed a man who was vaguely familiar. Each passing we made eye contact but I was unable to identify him. I found a title that interested me and lined up to make my purchase.
In an exchange of emails that evening, one week after we met, Jay mentioned that he was in a bookshop in Arlington and as he was leaving he saw me in line buying a book! All bundled in coats, scarves, gloves and hats, neither of us recognized the other! We’d only interacted together while bare, never while wearing clothes! Now, had we visited the booksellers in our respective nakedness…?
Bare support!
Jay nor I had ever had this “identity-crisis” happen before despite our years of nudity experiences. Nor could we relate to others who shared similar circumstances. Jay remarked that we needed to create and to edit a naked book of world records along the lines of Guinness!
Later, I did inquire how Jay identified me buying a book. He responded that I had removed my knit cap and that he recognized my shaved head! Once we begin to remove our coverings (concealment), familiarity returns! Nude does indeed work as an identification essential!
Naked truth!
The proverbial words of wisdom: “clothes make the man” obviously failed in this instance between Jay and myself. Clothes determined only chaos and confusion! Left to our body and clothes freedom preference, I’m quite certain we would not have suffered any confusion regarding having previously met – although the frigid outdoor temperatures would have caused discomfort!
Both Jay and I agree this incident – which helped build our friendship – offers proof that nude is both better and simpler! As ardent bare practitioners, we know the message above extols both reality and honest truth!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, January 6, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “9!”
ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers! 