My love of rollercoasters started when I was 10. Dad took me on our local one at Great Yarmouth – it’s one of a few surviving scenic railway wooden rollercoasters, needing someone on board to work the brakes. I loved it. I’m 52 now, but I still think you can’t beat the feeling when you’re pulled to the top of the hill and gravity takes over.

Dad was a great riding partner, but stopped when I was about 13 after we went on our first loop-the-loop rollercoaster. He hated it. “OK, son,” he said. “Now you’re on your own.” I’m fearless, and I’ve now ridden more than 1,200 different rollercoasters.

In 1994, I discovered that there were clubs for people like me. I went to the US with the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain – we did 14 parks in eight states, in two weeks. I’ve also visited parks in Canada, Europe and the far east. It’s difficult to explain the joy of riding with others. It’s fun on your own, but on a train of like-minded people from all walks of life, screaming and cheering with their hands in the air, it takes on a new dimension. It’s like a whole train of big kids.

The naked riding started in 1999, when the European Coaster Club had a trip to Oakwood Theme Park in Wales. There was a story in the club magazine – complete with a censored picture – about how the owners and park management had stripped off to ride the Megafobia wooden rollercoaster naked at the end of its first season. The owners challenged us to do the same, promising to keep the coaster going until midnight if we did. About six of us thought, “What the heck.” I had been to a naturist beach before, so it wasn’t the first time I’d been naked in public. But it was new territory to be flung around in the buff on a rollercoaster. That first ride became a legendary session and we went back the next year and did it again.

Naked rollercoasting isn’t that different from riding clothed. It can feel cold, but the adrenaline kicks in as you focus on the ride and the hilarity of it all. Naked, in a huge group of other naked people, you completely immerse yourself in the buzz, the fun, the laughter and the camaraderie.

The first Guinness World Record attempt was at Thorpe Park in Surrey. Back then, the record was defined by how many people were naked on one train, so it was set at 28 – the capacity – even though 81 people rode in total. I remember we took our clothes off and were given robes. Then we walked to the ride, climbed on naked, and were up and off. My wife came to cheer me on; she likes rollercoasters and we got married on a club trip to Las Vegas, but she has no interest in the naked thing.

I’ve helped break the record for naked rollercoaster-riding five times. In 2010, Guinness World Records changed the rules to make it the number of people taking part in consecutive rides, so you weren’t constrained by the size of the coaster – and the record jumped to 102 people. I’m quite competitive – if there’s a chance of my record being broken, I want to be there.

The latest one, organised at Blackpool Pleasure Beach by British Naturism this year, saw 195 naked people riding, smashing the previous record by 93. They led us through the park to the Grand National, an amazing grade II-listed 1930s racecourse-themed wooden coaster. Bear in mind it was early March. There were people in various stages of undress wherever you looked. All very surreal, but so much fun.

You need to be a thrill-seeker to enjoy naked riding. To think, “Life’s too short. Do something fun, wacky and unusual.” It’s easy to forget you are naked when everyone else is – and that makes it completely untitillating. Naked, everyone’s equal, although the riders are predominantly men, probably because it’s easier to hide male nakedness upside down on a rollercoaster.

Naked riding is done when the parks are closed, but you can still be seen by the public. In 2004, we were at Alton Towers, about 40 of us – nude – having pictures taken. The last customers were leaving on the monorail. Their faces were priceless.

My daughter thinks it’s hilarious. My mum always buys the local paper when we break a record. My dad is no longer alive, but I think he’d find it as funny as I do.

• As told to Camilla Palmer.

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