In 2026, The Big Issue celebrates its 30th birthday – the perfect time to revisit our fave stories from the past three decades. Like this (under)cover story about one of the world’s most misunderstood subcultures, written by then-freelancer (and current Communications and Editorial Manager!) Jen Vuk.
More Than Exposure
Question: Where do nudists go when the weather turns nasty? Answer: Indoors. Jen Vuk gets the skinny on a dedicated and serious subculture.
By Jen Vuk
Cover photo by Darren James
They have been ridiculed ostracised and even banned, but perhaps the biggest hurdle nudists face is getting over winter. With temperatures currently a little too brisk to encourage a quick return to nature, nudists must think laterally when seeking new avenues for exposure.
But lateral thinking certainly goes hand-in-hand with a pastime sprung from such a liberal philosophy. Long regarded as a lifestyle rather than a mere avocation, nudism – or naturism – has consistently called on its members to think outside the square they live in, according to nudism enthusiast, 62-year-old Werner.
“We have a saying that clothes serve two purposes – protection and deception, he says enigmatically. They keep you warm and sheltered from the elements, but they also conceal the fact that underneath we are all the same. What can you hide when you are naked?”
Certainly not your goose bumps.Even those who would having entertained notions of stripping off and bounding along in the company of others with only a smile for cover, would surely think twice about doing it along Australia’s south-west coast at this time of the year.
But it seems being nude is not necessarily the main objective for a nudist. “You know, if the weather is not great,” says Werner, “we don’t have to take our clothes off just because we are nudists. There is no pressure to run around naked, although of course we are all aware that enjoying the feeling of being naked is the reason we first came together.”
So it’s possible to spend the whole of winter with your clothes on?
“Ah, that’s why we have special grounds and facilities where we get together and socialise. In fact there are probably more organised clubs and nights for nudists than there authorised beaches in Australia.”
It stands to reason that while Australia’s coastal landscape seemed like ideal nudist territory, the country’s ruling morality has always been a little less welcoming. And so the need to create a safe environment, where nudists could wander and socialise without the threat from outsiders or authorities, has often meant copying a sense of freedom rather than actualising it.
German-born Werner says that while attitudes are clearly changing in Australia it’s a slow process. “When I initially explored the options here,” he recalls, “I was annoyed that there were not nearly enough nudist areas. In Germany you have beaches that are signposted with the letters FKK, which roughly translates into a free body culture. They are very obvious, so it is hard for people who are not looking for a nudist beach to stumble upon them.
“But there is definitely less resistance now. Pools and other clubs have become more open in holding nudists days and nights.”
But surely swimming naked in a chlorinated suburban indoor pool can’t compare with the sun, sand, surf and skin beach experience?
“Of course not…it’s much better,’ enthuses 31-year-old masseur, Toni, one of the 75 or so regulars who congregate at a Melbourne inner-city leisure centre every second Sunday for ‘confab’, a clothes optional event organised by Down To Earth.
“There are four nudist beaches in Victoria and they’re pretty hard to get to at the best of times,” she explains. “And the only real difference at an indoor pool is that you come home smelling of chlorine rather than salt, but the best part is you don’t get sand in any delicate areas.
“Also I’m not about to drive to a beach at night, but I have no problem jumping in my car and coming here [the centre] in the middle of winter.”
The proximity of such organised venues is certainly one consistent selling point for anyone serious about disrobing in the company of strangers. And it’s not just the clientele who benefit. Some of the clubs and swimming pools that have opened their doors to nudists have also reaped the dividends.
John, 36, has been successfully running ‘clothes optional pool nights’ every second Saturday at a west Sydney swimming complex for the last five years, attracting an average of 40 punters a night.
“Over this last year we have attracted more interest,” he says enthusiastically. “It seems to have become suddenly popular with people who live outside Sydney. We don’t have many nudist beaches in NSW, and so people seem to like coming here, where it’s organised and comfortable.”
Jack, 75, another Melbourne inner-city leisure centre regular, agrees. “I was quite surprised when I first stripped off [at an indoor pool]. I felt so natural and experi enced no feeling of embarrassment.”
While hanging out naked at an inner-city public venue may not sound particularly wholesome, they all deny that there is anything remotely sleazy about the scene. “It’s open to both members and the public,” explains Jack, “and everyone is very respectful of each other.”
“We are very aware of keeping a close eye on new members,” says John emphatically. “The nights I organise in Sydney were set up with this in mind, which means if I get a report that someone is acting strange I will take them aside and tell them to get out and that’s it, they can’t come back. We have to be careful, it’s a family atmosphere we’re trying to encourage.”
And despite being of a sex that, at the leisure centre, is outnumbered something like seven to one, Toni betrays hardly a wink of self-consciousness. “If I had a problem with it,” she says, suddenly serious, “I wouldn’t come here, would I?”
In fact a hasty glance at the list of any official nudist club quickly waters down preconceptions that the pastime attracts mainly a certain type of character. Werner says the group he organises is a veritable lucky dip of surprises. “Oh, we have families, doctors, lawyers, politicians and even clergy… and most of them are not as secretive about their hobby as you would think.”
And, he assures, an open mind is not the only thing that gets exercised especially during the colder months). “We have all sorts of social events,” he says. “Basically think of things you do with your clothes on and then remove them. In a couple of months we’ll be holding a dinner dance and we expect a good-sized crowd to warm things up pretty quickly.”
While obviously not the kind of activity that will attract hordes of participants, a dinner dance in the nuddy certainly puts a new spin on the old concept of having nothing to wear and nowhere to go.
First published Ed#80