A NATURISM advocate says young people are “too prude to go nude” in 2016.

Bob Reed, of Fairlight, who was the face of the nudist movement in the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, has spoken out about the decline of nudism across Sydney and the northern beaches.

It follows a recent post on a peninsula Facebook page looking to recruit new members to join nudist meet-ups.

media_camera Bob Reed at Reef Beach, December, 1991.

Mr Reed said bathing nude had simply gone “out of fashion” and people were “too prudish” to bare all.

However, he said it was a very different matter 50 years ago when there were nude bathers on many of the smaller Sydney Harbour beaches.

He said numbers declined rapidly in the 1990s when nudists were banned from many of the harbour beaches, including the popular Reef Beach at Dobroyd Head near Manly.

“You would be hard pressed not to spot nude bathers back in the ’60s and ’70s,” he said. “At that time people were more open to nudity. I’d say 60 per cent of the women on Manly Beach would be topless.”

media_camera Bob Reed at Reef Beach, December, 1991.

Mr Reed, 74, who last bathed nude in France seven years ago, blamed some of the lack of interest in nudism on other forms of entertainment occupying people’s time, including video games and the multitude of sporting activities on offer.

He said the “Slip, Slop, Slap” campaign had also raised concerns about skin cancer.

Mr Reed, who was pictured on the front page of the Daily Telegraph in October 1976, in relation to a story about nude family bathing at Reef Beach, said he first swam naked when he was 14 because he did not own a pair of bathers.

“The freedom you feel when you swim naked is unbelievable,” said Mr Reed, whose partner of 50 years died in 2010.

“Once you’ve done it you will never want to wear a bathing costume again.

“It’s not about (looking good) nude — it doesn’t matter whether you are fat, thin, short or tall — everyone is beautiful.”

media_camera 1976 Daily Telegraph front page featuring Bob Reed. Picture: Troy Snook. media_camera Former nudist Bob Reed with the Daily Telegraph front page on his shirt. Picture: Troy Snook

He said the current trend of sending nude selfies to others on social media was a lot more sexual than sitting on a beach with other naked bathers.

“The selfies are about showing off, while being nude is not sexual, it’s about freedom of expression,” said Mr Reed, who added there was no body shaming in the nudist community.

“Nobody cares what shape you are,” he said.

“When I look back I remember people’s faces and their beautiful smiles.

“I met thousands of people on nudist beaches.

“When they closed Reef Beach it ruined many people’s lives.

“It was a sad, sad thing.”

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