No one likes to be rejected. My wife, Kassie, and I were rejected by a nudist club in our area. We were flabbergasted. We were confused and crushed. How could they reject us? We had been perfect nudists, always had been. We abided by all the AANR ethics in a social nudity scenario or situation. We knew how to act. We loved being nude. We loved nudists. Turns out we weren’t the only ones rejected. The other couples were great folks, and fun to be around. Of course, no one gives you a reason for the rejection. You are left wondering and, in the end, you start to self-doubt yourself. Well, the bottom line is, we didn’t do anything wrong at all. Clubs have the right to accept or reject anyone they wish.
A year and a half later, we were browsing through Meetup.com, looking at all the interests’ groups. There was everything from a kayaking interests’ group to wine tasting groups, to single parents without partners. We missed the nude life, even while the wife and I were creating our own nudist friendly backyard. We began to go to resorts in the local Jacksonville area, including, Suwannee Valley Resort. We discovered friends went there too, some from that same club that had passed us by. And, all of them wondered where we had been. They had seen us at club events and then poof, we were gone.
One day, as I was sitting there in the sun, enjoying being nude and enjoying being a nudist, I realized that there must be others out there you have been rejected by clubs, or weren’t even given a chance to join in the first place. We needed a club that was inclusive, whether you are straight or gay or bisexual or lesbian, married, single, or married and solo, without regard to race or religion. Our bottom line should be, are you a nudist who believes in and can abide by the tenants of non-sexual social nudism? If so, there should be a place for you. We created that place. Utilizing the canned approach on Meetup.com, we created the mission, a charter, saying who we are, saying who we welcome, what we are about. First Coast Naturists was born. The First Coast region of Florida, where European settlement first took place in Florida, made the choice for our name quite easy.
The response to our new club was amazing. Immediately, we started getting membership request from all the solo married folks (male and female) who were off handedly rejected by other clubs. Single men, who were never given the time of day by other clubs signed up. Couples, either outright rejected by other groups, or turned off by the cliquish behavior of other clubs flocked to us. In a year we had over 50 members. In two years, we had over 150 members. We began with monthly Meetups at a local sports bar and have progressively run ourselves out of places when it became apparent that most places cannot handle 60 plus members at a time. Mind you, these are TEXTILE meetups, where we regularly bring out 50 to 60 folks at a time. We work hard to make sure new members are welcomed and introduced. We like to think we treat everyone as part of our First Coast Naturists family.
Our club is a work in process. We endeavored early to establish our branding, to give ourselves an identity. Working closely with a graphic artists recommended by Suwannee Valley Resort, we came up with a logo that represents who we are.
Our club logo has elements in it that relate to the First Coast of Florida.
David J. Berry
