Just letting it all hang out (Picture: Dave Anderson for Metro.co.uk)

This week, in the name of journalism, I was sat stark naked in a private room at The Exhibit in Balham. I was there alongside 30 other single men and women, all with their bits, boobs and balls hanging out.

Not my usual Thursday night.

No, this wasn’t the annual meeting for London’s unofficial nudist club, but the UK’s first naked speed dating event, brought to you by the 33-year-old founder of Date In A Dash, Rob Ryall.

10 people reveal the horrors and the joys of speed dating

In our pre-event interview, I ask Ryall, who has a girlfriend, whether this was just a big ploy to get a bunch of women together so that he could ogle our naked bodies.




‘For me, naked speed dating is just a really quirky and fun way to meet people’, says Ryall.

‘The idea came from the popular TV show Naked Attraction. I’ve been doing speed dating for seven years and we’ve had great success with it, but physical attraction is so important. It’s the basis of any relationship.

‘People coming to this event are very similar, in terms of their outlook on life and interests, they’re going to be very confident people. To book a naked speed dating evening, you need to be really proud of your body.

‘The demand for the male tickets was incredible, it was the fastest selling speed dating I’ve ever done. Tickets sold out in a week. Generally it’s the other way around, you struggle to get the guys in.’

But, let’s get to the stuff you really want to know about, shall we? First, we set the scene:

It’s a well-lit room, and Morgan, our female bartender for the evening, has decided to take her shirt off and join the fun.

Meanwhile, guests are arriving in an orderly fashion, with each person handed a blue, polka dot patterned robe, a score card and asked to undress in the respective women’s and men’s areas.

I know what you’re thinking and no, speed dating nights are not a melting pot for unattractive people.

This was your average south London crowd, a mix of men and women aged 23 to 35, with normal jobs and faces.

And so, with a double bourbon in hand and completely naked under my skimpy robe, I started the search for my future husband.

I had my eyes set on Paul, the 32-year-old sexy South African.

At first, I anticipated that most of the women and men would keep their underwear on. But, in the end, only one man and three women kept their underwear on.

It was glorious. Not because this was a willy and vagina free-for-all-fest. Rather, because no one cared.

There we were: skinny, curvy, a little bit round, a little bit square, small boobs, big boobs, small, medium and large penises, cellulites and hairy butt cracks.

It couldn’t have mattered less. There’s a special camaraderie in being naked and vulnerable together, so the pressure was off.

Friends Sam, 26, and Gemma, 27, came to the event together and during the break, told me about their experiences.



‘It’s been really fun,’ says Sam. ‘I thought it was going to be awkward and weird, because you can see everything, but it hasn’t been pervy or gross.

‘You get the initial looks out of the way first, but then it’s just general conversation that you would have on a regular date.’

Gemma agrees: ‘The guys have been really respectful. Everyone is trying to get to know each other. The conversation hasn’t revolved around us being naked, either. It hasn’t been sleazy at all.’

One of the men I spoke to had been dared to come along, while another mentioned that he had gone to regular speed dating, so why not go all the way?

Here I am (Picture: Limongiphotography)

‘It’s a great way to meet people’, says Tomas, 28, a doctor in training. ‘Everyone’s on the same level, and as a doctor, nudity isn’t something that bothers me. Women are also more flirty with their clothes off, there’s no awkwardness. I’d definitely do this again.’

Overall, the people who attended this event were just normal men and women with a good sense of humour, eager to try something new.

Apart from the guy with the metal cock ring, perhaps.

While the majority of the men who sat down across from me avoided staring at my breasts, this man was more than happy to express his thoughts on my body.

As we were chatting, he also informed me that he’d chosen to wear the cock ring, because it restricted his penis from getting hard at the sight of so many beautiful women.


It’s a heavy contraption – I touched it. The ring, that is, not the penis.

Another male guest was no stranger to flashing his naked body. Rob, 33, is on the committee of the World Naked Bike Ride in London.

‘I’ve chosen to come along because of the novelty’, he says.

During round two, the conversation was flowing and the fact that we were all naked was almost forgotten completely.

People were confidently bending over the bar to order drinks with their bums in the air, standing up and jiggling their penises, breasts and bottoms for a laugh.

The orgy that both Ryall and I had expected didn’t happen, though.

‘I’ve seen everything. People having sex in the toilets, people breaking into venues because their boyfriend was there, cat-fights and drunk people fighting. I thought tonight we’d break that.’

As he blew his whistle and told us it was time to get our clothes back on, there were disappointed sighs across the room.

Once we were dressed and back downstairs in the general bar, some people suddenly got shy. Almost as if we hadn’t seen each other’s private parts just a few minutes earlier.

When I’d first arrived, I’d fully intended to keep my knickers on, but I’m glad I went nude.

Whether it was the bourbon, the friendly group of people or the fact that I was welcomed to show off my body without judgement, naked speed dating could revolutionise how we feel about our bodies.


It’s liberating.

The follow up: It’s been just over a week since I stripped down for naked speed dating. I said yes to three men in total and matched with two, one of which I took home that evening. A woman has needs. Since then, I’ve had a sex offer from one — we didn’t actually match but exchanged numbers on the night — which I politely declined, and I’ve been contacted by another, who found me via Twitter. The latter was very sweet and asked me out for dinner, but his Twitter profile didn’t have a photo and I can’t remember his face, so I said no to that one, too. I’ll definitely try naked speed dating again, though. If not for the dating itself, just for the fun of it. But, from the impression I’ve gotten so far, having spoken to another woman who went along, serious dates aren’t the main goal of the activity. Better luck next time, I guess.

Date In A Dash will be hosting more naked speed dating events so keep your eyes peeled.

Listen to our podcast Good Sex Bad Sex If you liked this story you should give our new sex podcast Good Sex Bad Sex a listen – it’s out every Wednesday. The show is available now on iTunes here and on Soundcloud here. Metro bloggers Miranda Kane and Bibi Lynch co-host the show, chatting to a different guest about all things sex and relationships each week. Think good cop bad cop – but with more handcuff action.

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