An Addiction to Nudity
I continue to campaign for the title of "The Most Naked Person in the Midwest". Today I really had to stop and think about how I even got to this point. I've been going naked for soooo long that it's tough to remember those early days of stripping. Everyone was born naked. Most everyone has had sex. Most everyone has stripped naked in front of another person. How does one person go from being naked only in the shower or getting dressed to having what I call, "An addiction to Nudity"?
I'll reach back to my earliest exploration of being nude for the sake of being nude. I would probably have to go back to age 14 or around Freshman year in high school. Growing up with many older siblings I did not have much time for privacy. My moment of privacy came while using the bathroom or while taking a shower. I was beyond excited when I found myself alone at home. During this early time in my life it was also time for puberty to hit. I was a normal male in that my hormones were switching on. My moments in the shower were becoming longer and longer due to seeing that my penis was getting longer and longer on a more frequent basis.
If my penis was going to maintain a state or arousal then what came next was just natural: Masturbation. What does masturbation have with being naked you ask? Well, as I said before privacy was at a minimum so masturbation was limited to shower time. Now that I found myself being home alone more and more I found that I had more time to masturbate. The odd thing for me is that I enjoyed it more when fully nude. When alone I could strip and masturbate anywhere in the house my mind could imagine.
In addition to masturbating in the nude when home alone there was also time when the girl next door would come over. Hey, why touch my own dick when there was a chance to "play Doctor". Throughout these years of self exploration as well as the exploration of the female gender I got my early feelings of being nude. It was exciting. It felt freeing. It felt daring at a time when I was a good lil Catholic boy. When many say that they just get naked or want to be nude for the sake of being free or the comfort of it all I say out of the side of my lips, "Bullshit, it still has to do (at times) with a pursuit of the human goal of arousal and orgasms".
Now my early start years in nudity may have come from the goal of releasing puberty's liquids but the seeds of addiction came \in the years to come. I couldn't obviously masturbate 24/7 or every time that I was nude so I found myself going about my daily routine but without clothes on. As most nudists that weren't born into it, sleeping nude is the initial test of how well you can do being nude for a longer period of time.Yes it was still late teens when the nude sleep was occurring so the middle of the night and morning wood was a draw to sleeping naked. I have always enjoyed the late night and early morning erections. It's what makes me never want to sleep in pjs again.
Nudity in my late teens and early 20's was also a time when exhibitionism on a small scale began. The rush and excitement of maybe being caught nude was a factor in continuing my nude exploration. This rush would play a big role as my life went on. I didn't know there was a label to this part of the addiction until many years later.
It wasn't until my late twenties when my life started to slow down a bit that I finally came out of the closet so to speak about my addiction. I say that coming out as a person that goes nude is as big or more than coming out as gay. You don;t know if people will react negatively or say that you have a sex addiction or whatever they may feel. When I began dating my wife she saw that I was nude most the time we were not out dating and going to movies. I never really thought about it until I called her place of work and her coworker would always ask if I was naked. I came to find out that my then girlfriend was telling her friends and coworkers of my addiction. I got positive feedback and loved the Q and A I would get about my lifestyle. It was part of that exhibition rush also that I got from now being out of the closet and having people talk to me about it.
The more I was naked the more people found out I loved to be naked. It became a snowball effect. The more people found out the more they wanted to hear about it or discuss the ins and outs of it. I had never really gotten much attention as a kid or even a teenager so all of this attention brought on by nudity was bringing me out of my shyness. A drawback or at at times plus was that I would be asked why I wasn't naked at the time . At parties or float trips or any event that I could I would strip or be nearly naked. Friends came to get used to this as part of who I was. At times I would be introduced as Naked Dave or "This is Dave. He likes to be naked all the time". A coworker that flirted with me on occasion said that she was going on the float trip finally and she said she knew most on the float trips had already seen me naked. She had stated that one reason that she was going is because she had wanted to see me naked. As any good exhibitionist would do , I made sure I was naked in front of her to check that box for her.
Since my friends knew me as a person that got naked a lot they came to expect or also believed that I was a sex addict as well. I'll admit I'm a major flirt but not every time I'm naked do I think of fucking someone or coming in any way. Some friends saw that any part of my body that was naked was fair game to touch or tease. Two cases come to mind. Another friend of mien that has seen me naked on multiple occasions always asks to slap my penis around. She's playful about it so that has become her thing. Although there are times when asking does not take place. On evening I was the only one naked on a dance floor and all of a sudden a female that I did not know reached over and gripped my penis extremely hard. Within mili seconds she was sexually abusing it so to speak. I had to move quickly to not cause more of a scene. She understood that she had crossed a line. There is a time and place for everything.
Now my early start years in nudity may have come from the goal of releasing puberty's liquids but the seeds of addiction came \in the years to come. I couldn't obviously masturbate 24/7 or every time that I was nude so I found myself going about my daily routine but without clothes on. As most nudists that weren't born into it, sleeping nude is the initial test of how well you can do being nude for a longer period of time.Yes it was still late teens when the nude sleep was occurring so the middle of the night and morning wood was a draw to sleeping naked. I have always enjoyed the late night and early morning erections. It's what makes me never want to sleep in pjs again.
Nudity in my late teens and early 20's was also a time when exhibitionism on a small scale began. The rush and excitement of maybe being caught nude was a factor in continuing my nude exploration. This rush would play a big role as my life went on. I didn't know there was a label to this part of the addiction until many years later.
It wasn't until my late twenties when my life started to slow down a bit that I finally came out of the closet so to speak about my addiction. I say that coming out as a person that goes nude is as big or more than coming out as gay. You don;t know if people will react negatively or say that you have a sex addiction or whatever they may feel. When I began dating my wife she saw that I was nude most the time we were not out dating and going to movies. I never really thought about it until I called her place of work and her coworker would always ask if I was naked. I came to find out that my then girlfriend was telling her friends and coworkers of my addiction. I got positive feedback and loved the Q and A I would get about my lifestyle. It was part of that exhibition rush also that I got from now being out of the closet and having people talk to me about it.
Photos by John Mefford
The more I was naked the more people found out I loved to be naked. It became a snowball effect. The more people found out the more they wanted to hear about it or discuss the ins and outs of it. I had never really gotten much attention as a kid or even a teenager so all of this attention brought on by nudity was bringing me out of my shyness. A drawback or at at times plus was that I would be asked why I wasn't naked at the time . At parties or float trips or any event that I could I would strip or be nearly naked. Friends came to get used to this as part of who I was. At times I would be introduced as Naked Dave or "This is Dave. He likes to be naked all the time". A coworker that flirted with me on occasion said that she was going on the float trip finally and she said she knew most on the float trips had already seen me naked. She had stated that one reason that she was going is because she had wanted to see me naked. As any good exhibitionist would do , I made sure I was naked in front of her to check that box for her.
Since my friends knew me as a person that got naked a lot they came to expect or also believed that I was a sex addict as well. I'll admit I'm a major flirt but not every time I'm naked do I think of fucking someone or coming in any way. Some friends saw that any part of my body that was naked was fair game to touch or tease. Two cases come to mind. Another friend of mien that has seen me naked on multiple occasions always asks to slap my penis around. She's playful about it so that has become her thing. Although there are times when asking does not take place. On evening I was the only one naked on a dance floor and all of a sudden a female that I did not know reached over and gripped my penis extremely hard. Within mili seconds she was sexually abusing it so to speak. I had to move quickly to not cause more of a scene. She understood that she had crossed a line. There is a time and place for everything.
Moving forward from working with the St. Louis World Naked Bike Ride I gained knowledge of what others were doing in the St. Louis area as far as nude socialization. I first heard of Sex Positive and saw that they were gaining steam in the area. However, the sex portion of their name kinda had me leary. I couldn't tell exactly where they were other than a sex group. To this day they still carry a sex under tone. They also seemed choosy as to who was invited or worthy. I have come to not like the leadership of the group. I'm glad I steered clear of that organization.
If Sex Positive wasn't going to be for me then where can I get my outlet for being nude and more frequent? I found a nude sketching group where I could get back into my drawing as well as strip in public. I could model and be seen or just sit there naked with a sketch pad. I had the best of both worlds.I loved being around other nude people that shared my interests or art and to be nude.
Photo by Patrick Brehm
Spawning quickly came the creation of STLBared that opened the flood gates to nude socialization. I met all kinds of nude people that brought their own back story and nude sub groups. It was so freeing to hang out figuratively and literally with all types. While with this group I don;t even think about clothes. I truly appreciate the fact that many of my nude friends have never seen or rarely see me with clothes on. Currently at this stage in my life even many of my clothed friends hardly know me as being dressed. I feel I truly have rounded out my nude addiction.
Don't let me forget my naked Yogi friends that I will not name outwardly for their own privacy. These bunch of naked friends have really shown me the relaxed nude state and have brought being nude back into a fun experience. We may have nude yoga to nude buffets. Every time I go I end up kicking myself for not going more often. Nude yoga seems to be my new addiction. It's quite a nice addiction to have.
Throughout my years on this Earth I have had friends come and go but it seems that my nude friends continue to increase and rarely do they fade away. I think I'll keep this addiction going on and not seek treatment for it. I can proudly say that I love being nude alone or with a group of friends. I wouldn't have it any other way.
