With her first soundbite video now published, Naturism debutant, Saoirse, shares more of her story…
It’s been a few weeks now since I went to my first Naturist event – the NKD Youth Festival for 18–35 year olds – and honestly, I’m still processing how much has happened since.
I guess I should start with a bit about me. Hi, I’m Saoirse, I’m in my second year of Biochemistry at the University of Sheffield. I’m not exactly a party animal, you won’t find me in clubs every weekend, but I like a good conversation and I’ve never been shy about sharing my views. I’ve also always felt pretty okay in my own skin, I think, thanks to the way I was raised. I’m often naked at home (in the summer), and things like saunas or changing rooms don’t bother me. But before uni, I didn’t really know what Naturism was, or that some people choose to hang out together without clothes in a deliberate, meaningful way.
That changed at university when I found out one of my lecturers, Mark Bass, is actually the president of British Naturism. He’s really open about it, always wearing shirts with slogans promoting body positivity and mental wellbeing. I actually didn’t notice the shirt slogans at first, the whole “Mark Bass is a nudist” thing only came out after another student saw he had talked about Naturism (whilst naked) on the morning news. But then I came to realise how open he is about the whole thing, and that’s what started the conversation about it.
Because even though I’ve never really struggled with body confidence, I know that a lot of people my age do. People are constantly comparing themselves to what they see online, which often isn’t a good representation of real bodies. You don’t have to scroll far on Instagram or TikTok to see the pressure, or the impact it has. So, when I heard that Naturism could actually help people feel better about their bodies and mental health, I was even more interested.
Last year I even asked Mark for advice about doing the World Naked Bike Ride. It hasn’t happened yet, mostly because it’s gonna be a bit of a bother to lug my bike on a train somewhere to do it. But this year, something clicked when Mark offered me the chance to work at Naturist festivals and, even better, to help with a social media campaign called TheNakedTruth. This involves creating video content and helping share the message that being naked isn’t about shock or exhibitionism – it’s about self-acceptance, body confidence, and being free from judgement.
So I jumped at the chance!
Though I was comfortable with the prospect of being naked in a large group of people, deciding how to tell people I know about it was harder. I definitely wanted to talk about it, but how do you even begin? What would people think?
I started with my mum – she wasn’t that surprised. Then I told a few close uni friends. They generally weren’t shocked actually! I guess they know I’m the type of person to do unexpected things like this, haha!
My friend Alwin, who I work with as well as being on my course, said:
“I wasn’t that surprised Saoirse was doing this, it is very much her personality.”
He went on to say:
“It is such a fresh take on an issue that I don’t think other people I know are addressing.”
Anyways, and then the festival happened and what really stood out was just how normal it was. No one cared what people looked like. Everyone was friendly. There was no judgement, and no pretence, just people being people. As someone who was already comfortable in their body, I still gained so much from the experience. But speaking to others who had started Naturism from a place of low body-confidence, and ended up feeling better than they could’ve imagined, you really see how life-changing it can be for people.
So now I’m asking the question again: how do I talk about this more openly?
Because I’ve seen how powerful it is when people start accepting their bodies, and I know how many people can struggle with this. I don’t want to keep this to myself, partly also because I generally don’t like keeping secrets. But starting those conversations is hard – especially when so many people’s views of an “ideal body” tend to be warped.
Well… I’m now making videos for TheNakedTruth, and Mark’s just given me a bunch of campaign shirts. So, I guess the answer is no – I’m definitely not staying quiet about this. And I don’t think I have to rush, people will learn about this one way or another.
Saoirse
-
76
