Well… that was interesting.

As a child, I had this recurring nightmare. I would be casually walking around in public—often at school—when all of a sudden, I would realise I was completely naked. I would freak out and run for cover, terrified that other people would notice.

So, it’s pretty safe to say that any sort of public nudity would be pushing me pretty far outside of my comfort zone.

When I first created this blog, I asked myself what things would push me out of my comfort zone the most. The absolute five out of fives. Other than skydiving, the single thing I could fathom doing the absolute least, was going to a nude beach.

From a young age, it is drilled into us that public nudity is completely unacceptable and taboo. When I told people I was considering doing this, I got some crazy reactions.

And let me be clear: I did not want to do this. I have no interest in becoming a naturist, and I don’t feel like I’m trapped in a clothes prison when I leave the house. Unlike other weeks, where I’ve had an interest in the things I’ve done for this blog, that was not the case this week.

But I started this blog to get better at pushing myself. To get comfortable being uncomfortable. And sometimes that means staring down something that scares the shit out of me, and just doing it.

That’s why this week: I went to a nude beach.

Alright, where do I even start here? I suppose with where I actually went. I was staying the night in Ballarat, so I searched for nude beaches out West of the city. I found one in Torquay (Point Impossible Beach for anyone who’s crazy enough to go themselves), which is apparently one of only three legal “clothing-optional” beaches in Victoria.

I got to Torquay at around midday and sat down for a quick lunch while trying not to think about what the next hour had in store for me. It was forecast to be hot and sunny, but up until that point of the day it had been nothing but overcast. I told myself I would wait for the sun to come out (who wants to go to the beach with no sun, right?), but I knew I was just putting off the evil moment.

After an hour, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer, and I set off for the beach. To my surprise, the car park was PACKED, and I had to park 100 metres away on the side of the road.

As I walked to the beach, I had a sense of “What on Earth am I doing?”. I knew I still had time to turn around, but I kept walking anyway. As I passed the sign in the carpark declaring the beach a “clothing-optional” space, I passed the point of no return.

I wasn’t exactly prepared for the view I got as I emerged from the shaded path onto the shore of the beach. Despite the full car park, I had an image in my head of a mostly empty beach with a few nude people minding their own business. But no. The beach was teaming with people, most of whom were completely nude. Even though I knew this was coming, it was still kind of a shock to the senses, at least for a minute.

Despite my shock, I played it cool and found a nice spot on the sand as though it was just another day at the beach. I plonked down my things, slopped on some sunscreen, took a deep breath, aaaaaaaaand……. stripped.

(Jeez, writing about this for all my friends and family to read is about as far out of my comfort zone as actually going to the beach was).

That first 10 seconds of standing there completely nude is burned into my brain, and even now when I think back to it, it almost feels like a dream. It was very surreal standing there doing something I had been told was wrong and unnatural my whole life.

To be honest, though, that discomfort wore off pretty quickly as I looked around and realised that almost everyone around me was doing the same thing. Nobody was even paying any attention to me (that I know of); I was just another guy at a beach.

And so, I went and enjoyed myself. There were some great waves, so I body surfed for about 15 minutes before sitting down on my towel and reading for another 15. While I no longer felt overly uncomfortable though, the whole situation didn’t get any less bizarre as it went on.

As I decided it was time to leave, I’ll admit it was a relief to put my clothes back on. I reflected on this thought, and it didn’t quite sit right with me that I should feel more comfortable and at ease fully dressed than in my own skin. Either way, I walked back to the car a proud man, for I had conquered my biggest fear yet.

Did I enjoy it and would I do it again? So, this is the big question. Did I enjoy it, or did I hate every second of it like I expected? I think overall, I did enjoy myself, but probably not enough to do it again. There was certainly something novel about the freedom, and the sensation of swimming in the water completely uninhibited was pretty nice too. However, the experience wasn’t way better than a regular beach day, and considering that the only nude beaches in Victoria are pretty far from me, it’s not something I expect to do again any time soon.

What did I learn? I’m starting to learn that the nervousness before these really scary things I’m doing isn’t going to go away. What I am getting better at though, is pushing myself to jump right in and do the thing, and that’s cool.

Other than that, I learned that a lot more people are into nude beaches than I thought. As I said, the place was packed, and there were families and even friends hanging out together completely nude. I thought it would be a bunch of individuals, and was surprised to learn that anyone would be comfortable seeing their friends and family naked, but hey, that’s just me.