Sing Off: GNI Karaoke Contest

Keith performs at the 2015 Variety Show

Hey all of you singers ... get ready for the first GNI Karaoke Contest! Held on Wednesday evening in the auditorium, sign up to perform live on stage for a $100 credit towards the 2017 Gathering!! You can bring your own song or choose from one of the many we will have available in our music library.

There will be a couple of nights of karaoke scheduled in the right dining hall if you want to warm up the crowds and practice for your performance. On Wednesday night, give it all you've got and wow the audience with your incredible vocal skills.

You'll be able to sign up at camp when you check in or add your name to the karaoke contest sign up sheet found on the information table in front of the main camp office. It's going to be a great time! See (all) of you there!

12 Progressively Bold Things to do Naked

Ask just about any GNI member can attest, many of these suggestions are nearly everyday occurrences. Possibly with the exception of Burning Man, GNI members have lived and discovered these are indeed wonderful ways to participate in life as a nudist.

Check out the Elephant article here.

You Should Get Naked More Often

Explore the health benefits of being naked.

Painting and Nudity Go Together

 Watch the video as Shungaboy describes his passion for being nude and painting.

The Sank Man Cometh (Again)!

The Sank Man Cometh (Again)!

For four years in a row, openly gay comedian Adam Sank had GNI members roaring with his all-nude, mostly lewd, stand-up comedy show. Now, after a two-year break, Sank is back… with a vengeance. Hear all about his latest sexcapades, his encounter with the world’s most boring gay couple, and the real reason why he’s still single, among other hilarious stories. You won’t want to miss Sank's triumphant return to camp.

Bio

Adam Sank is one of the most recognized and accomplished openly gay stand-up comics in the country, having been featured on NBC's Last Comic Standing and The Today Show, FOX's Laughs, Vh1's I Love the 2000s and Best Week Ever, CNN's @ThisHour, CNBC's Street Signs and truTV's World's Dumbest Criminals, along with numerous radio appearances as both a guest and fill-in host on Sirius-XM satellite radio. His debut comedy album, Adam Sank: Live from the Stonewall Inn, was released on Christmas Day, 2015. It immediately shot to No. 1 on both Amazon's list of Comedy Album Downloads and iTunes's New Comedy Releases and was played in its entirety on Sirius-XM Raw Dog.

GNI is on Social Media

Are you looking to connect with fellow nudists? Try looking online. 

In addition to the main GNI website and Memberclicks community, we also have accounts on various social networking sites. Having a presence online allows GNI to not only provide general information on the organization but also connect with fellow nudists and organizations.

How does this help you connect with fellow nudists? When you follow GNI on sites like Twitter or Instagram you'll also notice other users who are nudists that also follow the accounts. In addition, the sites allow you to repost the messages from GNI giving you online exposure with content that is interesting to fellow nudists. How is this done? Most posts contain text called hashtags that other users can search for when looking for others interested in similar content and users. (In addition to hashtags like #nudism and #malenudists, posts related to this year's gathering include #GNI2016.)

If you're interested in more nudist specific content check out GNI's accounts on the "True Nudists" and "Naked Guys Travel" website. In addition to fellow nudists who follow the accounts there are also various groups that we're member of on the sites to connect with fellow nudists on the sites.

So if you're already on one of the sites below or looking to get started and need help connecting with fellow nudists follow the links to our accounts. Follow us. "Like" and repost the messages that like. Follow fellow users. And don't forget to include #GNI2016 for your posts from this year's gathering.

"Life is Great; Live it Nude!"© http://gaynaturists.org

 

Crawford, TX has a new Clothing Optional Retreat for Gay and Bi Men

CLOTHING-OPTIONAL RETREAT FOR GAY & BI MEN OPENS

(Crawford, TX, May 27, 2016) – A clothing-optional members-only retreat exclusively for gay & bi men – The Homestead at 3218 - has opened on a private farm in rural Crawford, Texas, near Waco.  Mark Mattlage and Rob Snowden, a gay couple for 36 years and married for the last two, created this new venue over the past year.  It had its grand opening on May 20^th.

The first phase of the retreat covers about two acres and features a two-story pool house containing five fully-furnished rooms with full kitchens; an 18’ x 36’ swimming pool; onsite parking; and a Rec Center.  The latter is where all new and returning members check-in at the Reception Desk each time they visit.  The building provides members with a video and game lounge; drink vending machine; clothes lockers; personal items lockers; a steam room; large, open shower room and restroom facilities; a bunk room with six beds and lockers; seven hostel-style sleeping cubicles; and an outdoor patio surrounded by a high-fence.  The Rec Center also features a unique retro ‘60s “Summer of Love“-style room with individual dressing rooms painted in a dark purple color with beaded curtains, black lights, a disco ball and neon-color painted original wall graphics.

The retreat’s second phase, scheduled for completion later this summer, will encompass an additional three acres accommodating about fifteen RV/travel trailer pad sites with utility connections and a central waste dump station and approximately ten camp sites.  A third phase will transform an existing farm tool shed into a bar & grill serving three meals daily.  It should open by Summer 2017.

Mattlage and Snowden started planning their retreat after studying gay get-away venues – both clothing-optional and not – across North America.  They decided since nothing quite like their envisioned venue existed in Texas that they’d create it on a portion of the 187-acre farm they own in the Central Texas area near Waco.  Depending on how fast The Homestead at 3218 finds success, this married couple plans to add more member amenities beyond those offered in the first three phases of its development.

ABOUT THE HOMESTEAD AT 3218 CANAAN CHURCH RD., LLC:

The Homestead at 3218 Canaan Church Rd., LLC, is a Texas limited liability company formed in 2015 for the sole purpose of operating The Homestead at 3218, a clothing-optional members-only gay and bi men’s retreat in rural Crawford, Texas.  Its managing members are married gay couple Mark Mattlage and Rob Snowden.

For more information, contact Rob Snowden via phone at (254) 486-0032 or via email at inquiry@thehomesteadat3218.com.

New Print Kiosk at the Gathering 2016

For a number of years now, GNI has been offering a digital schedule at our nude events which has come with tremendous benefits but has dissatisfied some users who don’t want to carry around smartphones to rely on daily activities. For many years, GNI published a printed schedule and passed them out to attendees when they arrived. Our schedules became more of a magazine-like publication including advertisements, but it was also extremely expensive to produce. The downside of a printed schedule is that it had to be submitted to the printing house weeks in advance of The Gathering and any last minute changes or new additions of activities (which there are many) wouldn’t be reflected in the final copy. These omissions were handled by placing signs around camp informing attendees of schedule changes, but as often is the case, attendees wouldn’t be in an area where the posters were placed around camp and would miss out on any changes to affected activities that they might be interested in. Truly, it was an inefficient, expensive, and time-consuming way to inform members of the daily and weekly activities of our busy event. The cost to produce one printed copy of the schedule was roughly $15 per copy and what we found was that when the Gathering was over and the Board/Staff were doing inspections in cabins and public areas, we found dozens of our costly schedule tossed into trash cans or left behind. We were throwing away thousands of dollars in printed materials at the end of the week and it was at that time the Board of Directors opted to move to a digital schedule instead. We simply couldn’t continue to throw money down the proverbial drain.

This move to an electronic schedule solved many of the problems we had with a printed schedule, i.e. it was much less expensive to produce and changes / additions could be made on-the-fly which would update immediately in real time on any mobile device. The downside of a digital schedule was expressed in the following Gathering feedback surveys: 

1. “I don’t want to carry around a smartphone to see what’s going on during my vacation;” 

2. “the schedule updates are made only in the WiFi area of camp or I have to use my data plan to capture any changes;” 

3. “I want a hardcopy to carry with me;” 

4. “for those that don’t have smartphones, iPads, laptops, or technology, we feel like GNI is isolating us;” and 

5. “we would like the schedules to be posted in the cabins so all guests can see what is going on during the day and make plans accordingly.” These are all very valid criticisms and complaints of having a solely digital schedule and after a few years of listening to these complaints, in 2014 the Board committed to resolving these issues once and for all.

This year in August, GNI will be unveiling a print kiosk that will be available 24/7 to all guests where any member may print a hardcopy of the daily schedule to take with him. The nice thing about this setup is that any changes that are made to the schedule (and there are many, frequent changes for a number of reasons) will also be immediately updated in the print kiosk thus providing the most current schedule available at the time of printing. Because of this opportunity, we do NOT recommend printing the whole weeks’ schedule out in advance because most assuredly there will be changes to it. We do recommend visiting the print kiosk daily to print the current day and possibly the next days’ schedule, keeping in mind that changes might occur to the next days’ schedule anytime.

To make things even more efficient, we’ve set the schedule up to allow for three different “views” that attendees will be able to select at the time they print. The first view is an abbreviated schedule showing the day, time, name of the activity, and location. This is enough information to orient guests to the days’ activities. The second view is the same as the first, but we’ve added one more thing to it – you can see the detailed menu for lunch and dinner – something that everyone wants to know in advance. The third view is the same as the first except we’ve added the detailed description to every entry. This view, of course, will require a LOT more paper to print and it’s something that we don’t recommend everyone to print since the first two view options will suffice. We may also limit this third view to viewing only and disable the printing option, but we haven’t decided the final disposition of this option yet. We will continue to offer the digital version as well since a number of guests do like not carrying around a piece of paper but will have their mobile device with them throughout the day.

The print kiosk will be set up on the front porch of the main camp office accessible to everyone anytime. We’ve developed the product and have thoroughly tested it and are happy to say that it works quite well! We think members will be pleased with it and it will solve most of the issues we’ve had with offering a digital (only) schedule. Once again, we want to thank everyone for their input and remind them that the Board does listen to its members and works to resolve issues that arise. See everyone in August.

Naked travels in Florida

Scott D (L) and Mike M (R)

When I met Scott D. at the 2015 GNI Gathering, my first, he invited me to come visit him in Ft. Lauderdale.

The winter here in Nebraska was long, dark and cold; definitely tough times for a naturist. Clothing was not optional!

I booked my flights in September, right after the Gathering, to depart on April 18, 2016. That was the day I knew the income taxes would be finished and relaxation could begin. (It seems no matter how I plan, the returns for my business and my family’s farm always go right down to the wire.)

As the trip came nearer, Scott asked me how I’d like to spend the week in Florida. “I want to be outdoors naked as much as possible, “ was my reply.

My new friend and tour director came through with flying colors!

Our itinerary included:

·       Haulover Beach, Miami’s famous nudist strand

·       The Club Ft. Lauderdale pool and sun deck

·       Vitambi Springs Resort, a gay-owned, clothing-optional campground in central Florida

Haulover was a revelation!!  In my experience, sunbathing naked by an ocean has always meant trekking miles of tough terrain, toting all my gear, food and drink.

In contrast, the clothing optional section of Miami Beach sits at the north end of an ample parking lot. A short walk takes you to a clean, modern bath house with the beach just a few steps beyond.

Swimming naked is one of my favorite things to do. Going buff in the Atlantic Ocean’s just- warm-enough-to-swim waves was Heaven.

The next day, Scott had errands to run. So I spent the afternoon bare-ass sunning, swimming and playing at the Club Ft. Lauderdale baths. The pool and sun deck were first-rate, as was the scenery. 

On Friday, Scott and I headed inland to the gay-owned Vitambi Springs Resort, about 100 miles west of Ft. Lauderdale.

The beautiful, well-appointed and maintained campground hosts clothing-optional gay events about every other weekend during the winter season.

We joined about 75-100 other friendly naturist guys for the “Lumber Jock” weekend. The event included “Survivor” –like obstacle course races as well as tests of memory, trivia and puzzle-solving. 

Here, too, the pool was great as were all the facilities. I would highly recommend attending an event at Vitambi.

All winter I looked forward to my Florida vacation. It was a marvelous trip, thanks to my new friend, Scott, and the many naturist guys we met along the way.

See you at the August!

Nebraska Mike

WNBR Manchester UK planned for Friday, June 10,

World Naked Bike Ride is scheduled for Friday, June 10, this year’s ride will again begin at All Saints on Oxford Road.

A History of Nude Swimming at the YMCA

History of Nude Swimming at the Y - Nude swimming had very real practical and health factors causing the policy to be enacted.

Haulover Beach Ambassador Training

Special outreach to gay naturists for Haulover Beach Ambassador training on Saturday, May 14 in Miami, FL

by Seth P., Newsletter Editor, South Florida Free Beaches

Do you spend a lot of time on Miami's nude beach? If so, here's your chance to give back by volunteering as a Beach Ambassador (BA) to help maintain naturist standards on Haulover Beach and keep it safely nude for all to enjoy. Sign up for and attend this training at Haulover Beach to become part of a wonderful corps of volunteers. Get a cool hat to wear and free parking on duty days!

A key factor in keeping Miami’s naturist beach a safe and pleasant place to visit is the Haulover Beach Ambassador program. BAs serve as beach monitors and greeters, a combination of block watch and welcome wagon. They are extra eyes and ears for Ocean Rescue (lifeguards), park staff, and police, observing and reporting any problems, welcoming "nudecomers" to the beach, providing information on park rules and guidance on naturist etiquette, answering questions about the organizations that sponsor the BA program, and sharing with visitors their knowledge of Haulover Park amenities, local hotels and restaurants, etc.

The north end of the clothing-optional section is the part that’s most popular with the guys, but it doesn't have sufficient BA coverage. South Florida Free Beaches / Florida Naturist Association and B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute are reaching out to gay patrons of Haulover Beach who frequent the north end and have the community knowledge and sensitivity to perform well there as BAs.

The next Beach Ambassador training is scheduled for Haulover Beach in Miami on Saturday, May 14. In case you can't make it to that one, the dates of subsequent training sessions in 2016 are Sunday, August 21 and Saturday, November 12. Seasonal residents are welcome to participate.

Learn more at beachesfoundation.org/ambassadors.html. You'll find there an overview of the training, a link to the training manual, and an entertaining article describing a typical Beach Ambassador shift. If you have any questions or wish to sign up for a BA training session, contact Ken.