Christopher Wilkinson

Staff Writer

FSU is full of hidden gems that only the savviest students are keen to.

Whether it be a particular parking area on campus, the best place to quietly study or a club strategically hidden right out in the open, these connections bind us together as explorers of all that FSU has to offer.

One of FSU’s clubs that boasts varying degrees of awareness of is Naturally FSU, a club that practices and celebrates nudism. Due to the somewhat unusual nature of a club that holds monthly skinny-dipping events and the apprehension most feel about being naked with others, it takes a lot of bravery to try but could become one’s newest way to naturally relax.

“To be a nudist is how life was meant to be,” says current club president and FSU grad student Adrienne Yancey. “Many people in the club choose this lifestyle simply because it is the one place that is simply forever at peace. Without the boundaries of clothes, there is no need to compare or compete with one another, simply natural beauty at its finest—free of judgment. Individuals of all shapes and sizes come out, so it truly is an environment where one can feel at ease and free of the normal societal issues. We were born naked and it is simply a freeing and liberating experience.”

Many misconceptions litter the public eye about what a club based around nudism entails, but in actuality the club has the best intentions about enjoying natural beauty.

“As I have commonly experienced over the years in promoting this club and lifestyle, people often think it is some sort of orgy or sexual club,” said Yancey. “It’s actually the furthest from that. It's a place where one can come and just be at one with nature, their surroundings and the very friends they may choose to embark upon this journey with.”

The club’s central mission is to be an inclusive organization for the development of friendship through a shared interest, just like any other club. It just takes a little bit more of a step out of your comfort zone, but according to Yancey, that step forward is well worth it.

“Back in undergrad I routinely enjoyed skinny-dipping with friends and never really was into wearing clothes. When I moved up to Tallahassee for grad school, after conducting some research on clubs to join, Naturally FSU popped up and I immediately became intrigued and wanted to inquire a bit more about the organization,” said Yancey.

"After I learned of this, I immediately told everyone I could about the club and started regularly attending. Here I am two years later, the President of this fine organization, happier than ever that I had made the initial decision to step out on a limb and take a leap of faith.”

Yancey believes his involvement to be one of the greatest decisions he has ever made and is excited for anyone else that decides to embark upon this wonderful journey.

Once you remove the misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding nudism, it becomes possible to see this club in a whole new light. Naturally FSU is one organization that supports the idea of expanding your comfort zone by stepping out of it.