Latest / Hiking without a stitch / EP. 21 - Barely Social: A Gateway to Exploring Naturism with James

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EP. 21 - Barely Social: A Gateway to Exploring Naturism with James · Hiking without a stitch

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Who first told you to cover up?
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: What if the truth is, being there in nature isn't changeful at all?
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's healing, it reconnects you to your body and to the natural world.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to Hiking Without a Stitch.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Get naked, be free, and be kind.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'll share my journey into naturism, stories from the trail, and conversations with others who have found freedom in the open air.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: How's it going everyone?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to Hiking Without a Stitch.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm John, your host, and today I'm really excited about this conversation because I'm sitting down with James to talk about his story from kind of a different point of view.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: James is a third generation nudist, currently based out of Austin, Texas.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to talk about him growing up without shame surrounding your body, his experiences, how his relationship with his parents shaped the way that he kind of thinks about communication, bodies, and naturism.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: We're also going to talk about his new non-landed naturist group in Austin, Texas, called Barely Social, and his goal of creating a community where people who are curious about naturism can find a place to belong.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: James, welcome to Hiking Without a Stitch.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really glad you're here.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thanks for having me.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to be here.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: Could you kind of kick us off by telling people a little bit about yourself and how you grew up?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so my name is James.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm originally from the East Coast.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: I grew up uh upstate New York on a pretty sizable family farm.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm a third generation naturist, and I think that means something different to each one of the generations.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: We've kind of made it our own.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and recently relocated down to Austin, Texas, about two years ago.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: So on the hunt to create my own naturist tribe down here.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's awesome.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: When you say that each had a different um version of naturism or nudism, what do you mean by that?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think for each one of us, it means something different, just like it means something different, probably for everybody that's listening here.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh my grandparents are, or my dad's parents, I should say, are originally from Germany.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and later in life, when I asked my dad, you know, how and and why did my grandparents start to embrace kind of this lifestyle and naturism as a whole, the joke was, well, they're German, and that's what Germans do.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um and for them, I think initially it was much more about being in touch with nature, going to the beach, being in the woods.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh when my dad met my mom and they got together, they embraced a lifestyle slightly different where home was clothing optional.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: So never obviously any pressure, but wear as much as you like, as little as you like.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: The only rule was no bathing suits in the pool.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and then, you know, for myself, I may be taking it one step farther that I would say at home, I'm I'm probably naked 90% of the time, uh, spend a lot of time at resorts within the naturist community.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it just it's been really great for me in terms of just body acceptance, getting in touch with nature and really finding finding my community.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's super cool.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: So have you kind of found that community moving to Austin?
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, is it is it a pretty open, I guess, area to public nudity?
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: The motto here in Austin is keep Austin weird.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's awesome.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's definitely different than than the rest of Texas, I think, when it comes to naturism and nudity.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Hippie Hollow is really close by, which is uh a naturist beach on a pretty large lake.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: And depending on how much rain we get, is how much of a beach it really is.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's cool.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then also Star Ranch is a naturist park, about 45 minutes outside of the city as well.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think where we're lacking is really the gateway and an entry point for people to explore naturism in a safe way, especially the next generation of folks.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'm sure we'll talk about this later, but it's part of the reason why I started barely social because I wanted to give people a gateway to explore, feel safe, uh, and really start to build a community and friendship on more than just, hey, I like to be naked, because those relationships generally don't last, right?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: There has to be some more depth to it.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's so interesting.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: I just want to jump back a little bit.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: So you said your house was clothing optional.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: And was that like out in the yard too, or just inside the house?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was out in the yard as well, at the pool.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, like I said, we had a pretty sizable or have a pretty sizable family farm up there that's private and and somewhat secluded.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: That was my next question.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: So ability to be private.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: The house is set back from the main street.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: So as a kid, uh, would run around clothes-free much of the summer, and and even when I'm still up there visiting my folks, uh, pretty, pretty clothes-free.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's so cool.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: When you guys had those, like your parents raised you in a uh clothing optional household.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Was there any rules around like was extended family like down with your guys' nudity?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: Or did was it like, okay, well, if you know these people come over or we have guests, um we we wear clothes?
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: My parents, I think, did a really good job of explaining kind of early on.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Some people choose to wear clothes, and that's okay.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Some people choose not to wear clothes, and that's okay.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's all about comfort level and making sure that whatever you choose, everyone else around you is comfortable.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that was just kind of their ethos in life, right?
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Regardless of outside of just naturism.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: So uh pretty early on, I would say it was probably seven or eight, I can remember my parents kind of having this talk of, again, some people choose to wear clothes, others don't.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Some people don't understand it.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so if you have a question of, is this a naked friend or a naturist friend?
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Come to us and ask and we can talk about it.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think also because I grew up going to nudist and naturist resorts, I had a pretty good little group of friends as a kid.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, so for me, it was very normal.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in terms of extended family, um, obviously I think they know um to some degree, uh, especially on my mom's side that didn't grow up in a naturist environment.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: And they have chosen not to participate.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and generally, if they do come over, we put on clothes.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and it goes back to comfort level, right?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for some folks, it's hard for them to get over the idea of seeing a family member or even a close friend without clothes on.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: No, I I was thinking about this.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um actually earlier this week, I was talking to a coworker about nudity and family members, and like my dad has been going through some like health issues, and I'll I'll go and help with him.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: And it's I was talking about the nudity of seeing my dad naked, and how at one point in my life it seemed odd seeing him naked, but then it was like, well, why am I why do I think that's odd?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I tell people it, I don't know, desensitized is the right word or sense of normalcy about it, where I don't even really think about it.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: I think I stopped thinking about it pretty early on.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: It would be like seeing, you know, your dad without a shirt on at the pool.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's just one less piece of clothing.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's weird how society and the norms that we call normal affect so many people.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it just makes no sense.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: I was gonna also say, I think part of it too, and and I don't think maturity is the right word, but being able to connect with one another in a naked and a non-sexual way is uh an interesting bond and connection that it's hard to replicate, I think, other places.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it's also very hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not even talking about amongst family members, even friends.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: What when you like with your family being nudist, did it ever affect you negatively?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like when you were looking to tell people around you or friends, where you're like, hmm, this person might not be a good person to uh share this with.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm saying growing up, people are teased in school for any number of things.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: And as kids, I think we all pick on one aspect of one person when we're we're younger, and sometimes teasing is a result of that.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I was teased in middle school because I was very confident in the locker room, just getting changed, like it was nothing.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas I can recall people doing this kind of like towel dance where they're like changing under a towel, like moving around, shuffling, doing all this stuff, and I was just confident.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um so people did tease me.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know that it negatively impacted me.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: I I think quite the opposite.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: I felt really empowered that even from a a young age, I was comfortable enough with my body as it was and as it is today, um, to not be ashamed to be naked around other people, regardless if they choose to be or not, I guess.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: You credit a lot of your body confidence to growing up this way.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um did you realize growing up that your experiences that you were experience experiencing were pretty uncommon to like everyday people around you?
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't think so.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: I because because during the summer as a kid, we would spend time at Cypress Cove, um, and in other resorts where there were a lot of people my own age.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: So it felt very normal.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Home was clothing optional, and that meant different things at different times of the year, or what have you.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: So to me, it just felt normal, especially because family members were involved, again, even normalizing it more.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think I started to again realize that it was unique until my parents started to talk to me about it regarding this is how you navigate talking to people about it, or this is maybe you don't want to advertise this to everybody.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that's when I started to realize like, hey, maybe this is more unique, but then also why is it more unique?
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Why aren't more people just comfortable participating, right?
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: Do you do you remember any of the specifics of those conversations your parents had with you around navigation?
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: I was young, so I don't remember a ton of the specifics.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think I was probably like seven, eight or nine.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, when, you know, as I'm getting older, and it's around that time that you actually start to make friends in school.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Not everyone is just best friends with one another.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, friends come over to the house, you go to friends' houses.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that that is when they started to to really talk about this is just different.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Not everyone chooses to participate in this.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: And they talked, they didn't use the word consent.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm putting it into adult language, but alluded to the fact that consent and nudity and and participation is really important.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a good conversation to have.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um with my own kids, we have like conversations around you can be nude in the house.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because our house is very clothing optional too.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever you feel comfortable with, go for it.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: We have a back sitting area, so it's like you guys can be naked out there playing in the sun where you're not visible from the road.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: Because we're in like a cul-de-sac.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, clothing should be worn when we have guests that aren't comfortable with nudity.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: So stuff like that.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: But I was really curious to talk to you about the that consent aspect of, well, you know, nudity is normal here, but there is safety things to keep in mind, you know what I mean?
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um Are you asking more about like in a semi-public place like a beach or a resort?
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like if you guys were at the resort, was there ever like your parents like, hey, if someone comes up to you and says, you know, I have free candy, follow me over here in the woods, like, don't do that.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Or if someone asks you for a picture of your naked body, you know, that's not I know that nudity is normal here, but we don't send pictures to you know, kind of that that kind of conversation.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the those conversations were framed not just in nudity, but as life as a whole.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like you shouldn't go away with strangers, you shouldn't have random people taking pictures of you to the point that you're saying.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and uh part of going to a resort, even to this day for me, is there is some level of psychological safety that you don't get at a beach, for example, right?
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: I I love hippie hollow here, but it is the wilds that's somewhat less tamed in terms of um uh who's watching, who's actually there, what are their intentions, where going to a resort.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if if I had children today, I would feel much safer bringing them to a resort, for example, just because there is a background check at most.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: There are, at least in my experience, I've learned the the great thing about this community is we really do look out for each other.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: So if something doesn't look right or feel right, people definitely aren't afraid to speak up and and say.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: And it's what keeps our community, I think, as a whole, really safe and allows us to continue participating in a safe way.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's awesome.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that's that's really what I was I was getting at.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's just like ongoing conversations um and building a safer community that kind of uh gatekeeps or or watches over everyone else.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Kind of like a tribe.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um Exactly, exactly.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it's one of the things that I'm trying to do here in in Austin where, you know, there's a ton of naturist websites, and what I've learned is, you know, there's three kind of groups of people.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: There's people that have probably feticized this, they're not really into the nonsexual part of this.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: You'll never meet them, and who they're portraying online is probably totally different than who they are in reality.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's those that want to participate, but are scared and will talk about participating endlessly and talk about naturism and nudism till the cows come home, but it is very one note and you don't actually get to know people.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's another third of people that actually want to participate and get to know one another.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: So with barely social here, I'm trying to build a community of friends first.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: So it's going to dinner, it's grabbing coffee, it's getting to know each other, doing things outdoors in nature.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then if it feels right, involving naturism and nudity into the relationship and into the group as a whole.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: So to your point, it is gatekeeping to kind of keep it.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: I even put on our Instagram like, no creeps, because we don't, this isn't a sexual group.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: When you're planning that out, um have you gotten a lot of creeps just starting out?
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's a mixed bag, and I'm sure you've probably experienced this as well.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's a reason why I don't have a photo of myself there now.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um part and it's another reason why I generally have shied away from talking about growing up in a naturist family, because that attracts a certain group of people that again want to fetisize something that never happened and is so far been my experience.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just not interested in that in any capacity.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it's a quick block for me.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, when I started the group, uh, and again, this goes back to like community looking out for each other.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: One of the folks that joined early on um messaged me saying, Hey, this person that just joined the group um is also on this Reddit thread for just really horrible, inappropriate things that I think would probably be illegal involving children.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it was like a quick, let me do take a double double click on this, let me take a look.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it was just a quick block.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: So again, it goes back to the community and the tribe really looking out for each other.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: I love what you're building too, the brand, the idea behind it, and I like that staggered like we're gonna go to dinner first, almost like the nudity is secondary, you know?
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna get to know each other, build a build a relationship, and then if it feels right, then we're gonna go hit the trail or whatever we do.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and there will be the nudity.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: But I I bet you that siphons out a lot of those creeps because they're like, well, I'm not gonna waste my time having dinner with this guy.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly, exactly.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why there's also a pretty lengthy form to fill out because as many gates as we can have.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: And you can open the gate yourself, but it does take time and effort.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're looking for something that we're not offering, the amount of effort it takes to kind of open all these gates is probably not worth whatever else you're looking for.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: Also partnering with Anerb and talking to them, um, we're gonna become a non-landed club.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: But also, what that means is we'll have access to do background checks and people joining as well.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: So that'll be an additional step to start weeding people out.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: That is so cool.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, how did how did your how did Barely Social kind of come about?
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: Where'd that idea come from?
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've been thinking about creating some type of group.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I think naturism in general leads itself to kind of grassroots, like let's just get together.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: For me, it really is about again building community, being out in nature, becoming friends.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and there I just didn't see that here in Austin.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: There are some groups that just lean away that I'm, again, not really interested in exploring.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: And Anner sent out an email recently saying, like, hey, we're looking to really expand our non-landed group um across the country.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you have an idea for it, shoot us a message.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: And for whatever reason, like in that moment, I was like, hey, this is something I've been thinking about.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: What's like a funny name that is totally the opposite of what it is?
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because it is really all about being social.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're not barely social, but we are barely social.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it really just took off from there.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I kind of put what I do for work into action in my professional life and banged up something really quick, sent it over to them or the team at Anner, and they were really excited.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: And the rest is kind of history.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's been, I think, about three or four weeks, and we have not a huge following yet, almost 1,500 followers on Instagram, over 150 people signed up to actually join the group.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: So you can kind of see where the funnel and the gates are keeping people.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's super cool.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's super cool.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what do you like?
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: What kind of events are you guys hoping to do?
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, full gamut, you know, from smaller group, you know, dinners, coffees, um, gang nights to larger, like hiking, camping.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, would love to host events at resorts and and clubs across the country.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: It is anything and everything that just builds community.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: I love the outdoors.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: So it's Much as we can do outdoors as possible.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: And Austin is just a really great place to be able to do that.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: Is there a lot of hiking trails near Austin that that are it's possible to strip off and hike around nude?
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm unsure.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Austin, um, for those unfamiliar, there's a giant lake in the middle of the city.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's 11 miles all around it, and there's really great hiking trails.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: So it's downtown and then hiking trail.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: That leads it leads to a bigger greenway, which is another about 10 miles of hiking.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because Austin is growing, it is crowded.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: I think you would have to leave, and this is why I'll probably lean on your expertise in the future um to to find places where it is it is safe to strip down and hike.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, Texas is a unique state because it's it's got a ton of like private property.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: So it'd be interesting to pull up a map and look at kind of the the land around there, around Austin.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, that's interesting that they that everything's centralized around that like Green Belt and Lake and built out around uh from that.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: And it's one of the things that is I think is gonna make Barely Social really easy because health and wellness is a really big thing here.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Austin is the most sober, curious city I've ever lived in in my life.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's just a really healthy place to live, which I think naturism is like an add-on to that for a lot of people as well.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: Where it's maybe not full lifestyle like what I'm doing, or maybe what you're doing, but a passive, like, this is cool.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm gonna try this and I'll do it maybe once or twice a year.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool too.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's exactly it's that's how I feel with uh Tucson here.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: People may not like subscribe to, oh, I'm a naturist or I'm a nudist, but they definitely are okay, like, oh, I'm gonna go, you know, hit the nude beach and lay in the sun for a few hours, or you know, they would go to an event like yours, no problems.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um but but they wouldn't subscribe to like, oh, I'm I'm this or that.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: They're just like, I enjoy being naked and I like the health benefits that I get from it.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I would I definitely agree with you that we're seeing this new um, not new, but like a resurgence of people being curious with non-sexual nudity for those health benefits.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: Agree.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it's something that I believe Europe has done.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: Some parts of Europe have done really well, whether you're in Germany where you can be naked in a public park and it's no big deal.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think part of it is here, and you can challenge me on this.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think we live in a really over-sexualized world, but also a very prudent world at the same time.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: So there's no problem with seeing and insinuating sexual imagery, um, conversation, music.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: But when it actually comes to just seeing a naked body for some reason, that is almost more taboo than actually just participating in non-sexual nudity for some reason.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it's not like that everywhere else.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: No, I have noticed that too, because we have friends from Germany and like Europe, and they talk about how it's so weird here that Americans make this big of a deal about nudity when you can literally go other places and there's people in the parts sunbathing and laying there, and it's not a it's not a problem.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really interesting to just see that, like you were saying, it's almost like the sexual nature of of nudity is the main point, and then when they see non-sexual nudity, it does something in their brain, like, oh, what is that?
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, why would they why would they be naked and there's nothing sexual going on?
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's weird.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anything that's been like I guess surprised you along the way building this up and and and working with Anner and and kind of showing your brand to the world?
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: I've been surprised at how many people are actually interested in the area, uh, the area of Austin, haven't given it a try yet.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: Part of it, what I'm hearing, again, uh Hippie Hollow is a great place, but it is somewhat an uncontrolled place to be.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: So you're unsure who am I going to run into, what's actually going on there.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so folks are looking for a safe place, which is kind of what I was hypothesizing because it's what I really wanted.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'm surprised at how quickly I've had that reception and how quickly kind of the word is spreading, people volunteering to host things, come up with ideas for events.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: And again, goes back to kind of like the tried mentality of what I'm hoping to create here.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's super cool.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: What um I guess if if I can ask, what's been the most surprising thing, kind of throwing the question back at back at you that you've found?
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's good.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um what surprised me most really is how open and supporting people are, whether they're into this way of life or not.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, specifically like telling my coworkers and my boss, um, because they came across my Instagram kind of accidentally.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I thought it was set to private, and it uh, you know, it sent my boss the hey, you may know this person.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: And so we had this conversation, like, hey, uh, so I saw your uh Instagram.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you like hiking.
• 28:04
  unknown: Yeah.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I like hiking, and this is why I do it, and here's the health benefits.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: And everyone at work was like very understanding and like, oh, that's really cool.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: I I don't know that I could do that, but like, good on you, you know?
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of just like let live.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: And it it shows me that more people are comfortable with this than we kind of think.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I think a lot of people just go with the flow, like, oh, well, this is socially unacceptable, so no, not for me.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: We're we're we're not gonna even examine it.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so yeah, that's been the most surprising thing.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then secondary to that, it would be I didn't expect there to be so many creepy dudes messaging me.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: I guess.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like in on Instagram, they're like, hey man, how you doing?
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and it always goes a certain way with those conversations because it starts out with, Oh, yeah, I like hiking and this and that, and then they're like, Hey, send me a picture.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: Or it's someone that's like, Are you uh are you drinking coffee naked?
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: You should send a picture of you drinking coffee naked.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, dude, just leave me alone.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, kind of two polar opposites.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: The community um was very positive and welcoming, and then there are creepers, and I don't know what you do about the creepers.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's just part of it because people don't know how to act.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think the creeps generally weed themselves out though, because they get bored with you and then go on to the next person to do the same thing, uh, especially when you don't engage or you engage with some kind of funny comeback, or you're just like, my day's really great.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: How's your day?
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's and you just really sanitize it and it just totally ends the conversation.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, great, that's an easy block, moving on to my next, you know, my next interaction.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_01: Speaking of rules and boundaries, what are the rules for your like barely social when you guys meet?
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_01: Have you have laid out rules?
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have rules yet.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's something that Anner is gonna help me build out.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, you do have to be over the age of 18, and that could change or shift.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: As someone who grew up in a nature environment, I see the benefit in involving families or children.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to do it in a safe way.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'm unsure how to navigate that.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: So for now, you do have to be over the age of 18.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: You do have to either grab coffee or lunch or go for a walk with me, and we have to hang out and get my stamp of approval.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, there'll be ambassadors who will also be kind of part of the tribe that will do that uh on barely social's uh behalf.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: And for and for now, those are kind of the ground rules.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: Again, going back to grassroots, I think we're gonna build rules as they need to be.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to over-operationalize anything.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: But right now, it's if a member has an idea for something, like let's chat about it, let's plan it, and let's do it.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's super cool.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_01: Do you uh has the process working with Anner to get this going and and get everything in place?
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: Has that been uh a hard process or pretty pretty straightforward and easy?
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: They've been really supportive.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think it helped.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_00: I went in with a really clear plan.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: I sent them my a full-on PowerPoint, I sent them my business plan, like I sent them a pretty fully baked package of what I was trying to do.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it helped them to kind of conceptualize.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I also believe that they're realizing we have to get the next generation involved.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: And to your point of folks that don't identify as naturist or nudists, I think there's going to be more and more of those people coming into the fold.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, how do we do that?
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: How do we engage with those people?
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I think the future of this looks like.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: And those people could evolve and say, like, yes, I want to put a label on this.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I am.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: No, absolutely.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, like, who is this when you're envisioning, is that kind of the person that you're like, this community is for this person.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: What do you who do you see joining this this group, or who would you like to see most just coming in?
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a a blanket answer, right?
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: But like all are all are invited.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: I see us as the doorway to exploring.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: And we're the safe place for somebody to explore naturism.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: And if someone said to me, like, hey, I don't want to hang out in a big group, can we host like a small, like four or five-person dinner?
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, great, let's do that.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: It is whatever people are comfortable with doing as they explore.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, we want more seasoned people who have either been in a naturist for a while or have been to resorts or been to beaches, whatever, uh, to really act as the guide as well for folks that are just starting to explore.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: I again see it as probably just because Austin is a younger crowd in general, um, that kind of like 20 to 40 range of young prof young professional.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I love that.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_01: What is like one of your biggest goals with this in getting younger people involved in naturism?
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's uh twofold.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think that places like Star Ranch or Hippie Hollow continue to be.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, there's been a trend of clubs moving away from being Anna institutions.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately, it means they've slid into this kind of swingers, sexual gray space where I'm I'm hoping to get more people involved and understanding the importance of joining a non-landed club or a landed club for that matter.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I also want to, again, give people the opportunity to connect on a deeper level.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_00: For me, that's that's the nature where I really feel at home, but really just getting to explore themselves in a way that they probably haven't before and getting to do that with a group of people that are really supportive and really community focused.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: With that community, what would what is your first event that you're kind of planning or hoping to plan?
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've I've been on the the coffee date train the past three, three and a half weeks.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: So meeting a lot of people and it's listening to them.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think as kind of cliche as it is, I might host a game night um at my home here, really low stakes and clothing optional.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: You can wear whatever you want or what you don't want.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: It really is up to you.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um no more than 10 people really just try starting to get to know folks that again can also become ambassadors to the group as well.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then also looking at some larger scale events, um, both at some resorts close by, um, uh, and some other really cool venues.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: There's a mini golf course that has like, hey, naked mini golf and could be really cool indoors and it's that black light and like glow paint and stuff.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that would be dope.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's exactly all everything that you're talking about.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's exactly kind of the way that I think this movement's gonna go.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um because people in that age range they don't have the funds to necessarily drive across the state and go to like a nudist resort, but they might have the funds to go do mini golf or or closing optional game night at someone's house.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_01: And so it kind of lowers that barrier of entry and allows people just to kind of come as they are and enjoy the moment and explore their own nudity and and experiences, which I think is really needed.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: And it might give someone the the zing they need to then say, like, I want to go make the investment to go to a resort for the weekend.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_00: Or I tried it, it's not for me, but I'm glad I did it.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: That was kind of like my wife.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there's Shangri-La Ranch down here in Arizona, and I was like, Oh, we should go visit, and she's like, I think I just need to like go out in nature by myself just to experience it before I go and experience it with like a group of people like that.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_01: One thing you said about shame around nudity is that it's learned, and I love that because it's really true.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_01: My own journey, I have a big part of it, has been unlearning a lot of stuff that I grew up with.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_01: And if someone's listening has always been curious about naturism, but the fear or shame has kept them from exploring it, what would you want them to know and what would you say to them to kind of say, go for it?
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_01: I give you permission.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's so stereotypical to say, but I'm gonna just say it like everybody is included.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't really matter what you look like, it really is the best community that I've experienced.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, I've said it a couple of times.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_00: We really do look out for each other.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, in a true naturist environment, there really is no pressure to get naked.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: So if you just want to explore what it's like to be around somebody else who has no clothes on as you're exploring if you would like to try it or not, that's cool as well.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it's I think grounding all of my friends who I brought along this journey with me who have tried it, are now always the last ones to put their clothes back on if we're at a resort or a beach.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: So once you get over the initial, oh my God, I'm taking my clothes off and people are gonna see me with no clothes on.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: There is this just sense of freedom that comes with it.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it is also cliche to say, but you forget that you don't have clothes on pretty quickly.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_01: So talking about your friends, I just had a quick question.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_01: Do you those conversations with your friends or maybe even like a significant other, how did how do you or how have you shaped that like in your own life growing up as a naturist?
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_01: Because I assume you'd have to tell your the people you're dating, like at some point, hey, um, I'm I like going naked.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: And it is an obvious big piece of my life.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think if it was just me, it would be one thing, but also the fact that family is involved, it's a whole additional moot point.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've folded it in to conversations with both friends and significant others, really nonchalantly, like, oh, I'm going to hippie hollow this week, and it's supposed to be really fun and like the weather's really great.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: So just mentioning places like that.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then if there's follow-up questions, like, oh yeah, it's like a clothing optional place, and making it not a big deal because it's not a big deal, making it not shameful because it's not shameful.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I often feel that if you're just honest with what you're doing, what you enjoy doing, it again takes that sexual aspect out of it.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if I'm saying this the right way, but if it if there is shame or hiding around it, it can often feel like it is something that it's not.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, because the energy coming off of it is almost like you're you're trying to hide it.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like there is something wrong with it or is something to be embarrassed about.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um Exactly.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: The way that you present yourself and the way that you speak about it and that energy you give off definitely it shapes those conversations for sure.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_00: And do I tell everybody I grew up in a naturist environment?
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: No, because again, it does welcome strange questions, even from people who don't intentionally mean to be strange.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I am picky and choosy with who I share that with.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: As I'm telling everyone here today.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um do you you spoke about at the very beginning of the episode your grandfather, your grandparents, was your grandma also a nature, or was that just more the like uh your grandpa?
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: No, it was my dad's parents, so grew up seeing them in different states of dress or or undress.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_00: So um yeah.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: Do you from growing up in a the thir three-generation home of Naturists do you see a kind of a common change between each generation that does this?
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's a new iteration every time the next generation takes that torch.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_01: Have you seen a clear um delineation of from your grandfather to your dad to you, and now you're setting the stage for the next generation?
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or are they do they share similarities, I guess?
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think if we're talking kind of bigger picture, my take on the change is I think in my grandparents' time, there were just fewer places to go.
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um my parents' time, I think, is much more about landed resorts and everything that happens there.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it's very community-driven at the resort.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: I feel my generation, our generation, is much more about events, experiences, maybe not even label put on it uh of what it is, but it is just being naked.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think the common thread is always just connecting back to to nature, connecting back to friends, building community, I think is the overarching theme.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know if you would agree.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I I definitely agree.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely agree.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I specifically think that's why your group is gonna do so well.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_01: Because looking over at like British Naturism, they do a bunch of um get-togethers and festivals where it's like you can be naked or you can choose not to be naked, that's totally cool.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_01: But it invites this younger crowd that's really looking for a community because in this day and age, we are the most connected and the most disconnected we've ever been.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_01: So and I think more and more people are starting to look at out-of-the-box ways to enjoy nature and reap health benefits and build community, because that's something we've really lost.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_00: Agree.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it's one of the reasons why, although barely social is active on social media, there's a vagueness to it because I don't want people to become infatuated with the idea or living vicariously through pictures.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_00: I want them to act.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Participate.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_00: So that's there's not a lot of pictures of people.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: There's not a lot of um pictures of natures out in the wild because I want people to experience that in real life, not through pictures of other people.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm really looking forward to.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_01: I would love to come out to Austin sometime and hang out and come to one of your events when they're up and running.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm very curious about it.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love, we'd love to have you.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have to plan a hike or something.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_01: Dude, yeah, that'd be awesome.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_01: Before we wrap up, is there anything that we didn't cover or that you want to say or speak about that you wanted to say?
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know kind of in some of when we first caught up, we talked about parents that are exploring this uh naturism that either have children or what that could look like for a family.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_00: And when you were talking about your wife just going out in nature on her own, it really reminded me of that conversation.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a great way to frame it.
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_00: First, going out, exploring on your own.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_00: A, is this something I really want to do?
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: Does it bring me joy?
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_00: Do I feel grounded?
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_00: Do I feel connected?
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, followed by having that conversation with your partner, and then opening the the gates and starting to explore uh in a safe and kind of contained way.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_01: And that really it takes a lot of the pressure off by doing that, I think, because it creates stepping stones for people to okay, well, I'm ready to go to the next step.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I I love that.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's gonna be awesome.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I expect we're gonna see a ton of people um trying to join your group and and get together with you.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's super cool.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm glad that you're doing that.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_01: Where can people connect with you and learn more about Barely Social?
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'll have the links in the show notes as well, but if you want to just shout out your page.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so you can find us at Barely Social Austin on Instagram.
• 46:09
  SPEAKER_00: There's also a link there um to fill out uh a one page or just about yourself letting us know what you're interested in participating in.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh website coming down the line, but again, don't want to make this overly digital because I want people to actually go out into the real world.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_01: Are you going to ever have any um merch or stickers or anything like that?
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_00: So for our first for our first event, we ordered some hats, some towels.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um stickers are a great idea.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_00: And the name is vague enough that it's funny to some degree to kind of wear out and and if you know, you know.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly, exactly.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um all right.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you so much for coming on.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_01: I've really enjoyed today's conversation, and I'm sure we will link up again for another episode in the future just to check back in and see how everything's going next year.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and before that, I'm definitely gonna come to Austin.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's so cool.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_00: And and thanks for having me.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_01: All right, James.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, have a great rest of your day.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, you chip.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_01: All right, that's the end of the episode.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_01: James, thank you so much for coming on the podcast and sharing your story.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_01: I really enjoyed this conversation and hearing your perspective on growing up in naturism and kind of what you're building with Barely Social.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really excited to see where that goes and where you take it.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_01: And to everyone listening, thank you so much for joining us for another episode of Hiking Without a Stitch.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_01: I hope you all are having a wonderful week and can get some time out in nature naked.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_01: As always, get naked, be free, and be kind.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_01: See ya.