A great-grandad who has been a naturist all his life says his motto is 'dump the clothes, dump the worries'. Derek Wooldridge, 78, says naturism is 'brilliant' for people's mental health. While he says it can relive stress, he maintains it "is not about sex at all".
Derek, a currently single retired mechanical engineer from Norwich, says he first tried naturism at the age of three while sunbathing. He enjoys skinny dipping and says the only time he has ever worn trucks was when he went to the swimming pool as a child with his school.
The three-time divorcee said he regularly enjoys naturist holidays, and took his ex wives on such trips with him. “None of my wives ever saw it as a problem that I am a naturist, I think it made them like me more, and they embraced it when we went on holiday – they found it relaxing too,” he told the PA news agency.
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Derek said his three sons are also naturists, but that he has never stripped down with his family as adults. He said he felt comfortable being a naturist even from an early age, recalling one particular incident as a child.
“I was playing with one of my pals who lived across the road from me and we went down to his garden," Derek said. “The sun was shining and it was a lovely day.
“We took our clothes off and it felt so nice. His dad came out of the house and saw us with no clothes on, and he went berserk.
“He started chasing us down the road and I couldn’t understand what we did wrong. I’ve been a naturist ever since.”
Derek said the telling off didn't put him off. I wouldn’t call myself a worrier, but I was taught that other people could have their opinions and you can have yours, and sometimes they differ.
“If they do, you must stick to your guns." When the sun comes out Derek says he enjoys to get his kit off in the privacy of his garden or in more public places when no-one else is around.
He said: “I get naked in the sunshine in my garden or somewhere where I can be out of people’s way. I don’t want to cause any trouble.
“I go down the river a lot and swim naked. I feel so relaxed and it’s lovely when I do that.
“The only time I have ever worn a costume is when I went to the swimming baths when I was in school.” Derek says being a naturist has had a positive impact on his mental health.
He said: “It relieves stress to no end. It’s very freeing.” He recalled an incident when he was on holiday with a former wife and their car broke down, while his the spouse was stark naked.
He laughed: “I ran out of fuel and I was waiting for somebody to give us a lift to a garage, and I put clothes on to stand by the car. But my ex-wife didn’t put hers on, and when someone came to help she was completely naked with her seatbelt on.
“I think they both had a bit of a shock.” Derek’s sons and their families are naturists, but they tend not to socialise together in the buff.
He said: “One of my sons is in a little naturist group and they go off in their caravan with other naturists, and they trust their group and feel safe. But, often naturists don’t mix with different generations, and we don’t as a family.
“I took my ex-wife and her daughter to a nudist beach once, though, and we were all on the beach in the buff. We were happy just doing our own thing and we were the only ones there.”
To anyone who is considering trying naturism for the first time, Derek says: “You may think that other people are looking at you, but everyone is just thinking about what they look like, so that’s nothing to worry about.”
Derek thinks there are a lot of misconceptions about being a naturist, especially that it is sexual. He said: “It’s stress relieving but it is not about sex at all. I’ve been on naturist beaches with women, and they sometimes feel uncomfortable if non-naturists keep looking at them, and I’d say they usually feel safer in the naturist camps.
“When you’re in a group of naturists, it’s relaxing because you know the people around you are there for the same reasons as you.” Derek said he would recommend giving naturism a go to anyone.
He said: “My motto is dump the clothes, dump the worries. Naturism is brilliant for everyone’s mental health."
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