Ever since my youngest days I had always been painfully shy. However, when I was in my teens I saw a TV documentary called "Let's Go Naked" about nudist who holidayed in the South of France. Whilst being shy in front of my family and friends - I thought that I REALLY wanted to be a nudist: to be able to walk about completely naked with other naked people, do sport naked, eat naked and other social activities all naked. But, in the main, I didn't do anything about it for around 12 years.

At Xmas, when I was 26, the Radio Times Xmas edition had an advert in it for the CCBN (as BN was then called).  I kept the advert for months before plucking up the courage to join the organisation.  I quickly realised that, as I was young, single and male that many UK nudist clubs would be prejudiced against me.  However, BN did have a group called SOC specifically for singles so joined.  The SOC organised (and still does) swims at leisure centre in the Midlands that only took an hour for me to get to.

So, in around June(?) 1997 I went to my first naturist swim/social at the ripe old age of 27.  I booked my place before over the phone.  I took my CCBN and SOC cards with me and explained that it was my first nudist event.  One of the organisors told me to wait and they would show me around.  However, after waiting for 15 mins people were still arriving and needed checking in so the organisor gave me directions to the (un)dressing area and told me to just go enjoy myself.

I walked down to the changing and locker area.  Being a modern facility there were rows of lockers plus changing cubicles.  Some people used the cubicles - others were just undressing at the lockers.  I decided to undress at a locker.  I put my shoes and socks in the bottom, followed by my shirt and jeans and stood just in my boxer shorts.  For some reason I thought that this may be a big joke at my expense - daft thoughts you have when doing something completely new!  So I took a look around me and saw that everyone else was just leaving the lockers naked and walking towards the pool entrance.  So I took a deep breath and took off my boxer shorts, put them in the locker and walked totally naked towards the pool area.   

It was a completely liberating and stunningly enjoyable feeling walking naked with other naked people into a room full of approx 350 other naked people all completely relaxed and enjoying the swimming pools.  🙂

I regret that I had to go alone, and was too shy to talk to anyone else.  But I still enjoyed experience.  In the late 1990's and early 2000's I stopped going to nude swims as I found that I went alone and often realised that I had spent the Saturday evening - enjoying being naked with other people but having not spoken/socialised with anyone.  I have recently (on and off) returned to nude socialising and do make MORE of an effort to talk to other - hey: people DO talk back! ;D I find few things better than having chatted/socialised with other nude people.

Steve