Naturism Saved His Life

This is the extraordinary true story of my friend José from Colombia – his surprising nick-of-time introduction to social nudism, his adoption of naturism with his family, and his eventual embrace of naturism through organized groups and social media. An important clarification: José and I check in regularly on WhatsApp, I have his permission to share this part of his story, and he read and approved this post before I published it.

José was a restaurant supplier in Barranquilla, a large city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. When COVID arrived, many restaurants closed and his business took a big hit. He decided to move himself with his wife and two sons to the USA to live with his brother in Tampa, Florida. There, he began to work as a DoorDash driver in an attempt to support his family, even as he was sinking deeper and deeper into a miasma of negative emotions. He was feeling conflict with his brother due to the sudden influx of his family sharing a small apartment with his brother’s family, frustration from not being able to earn more to support his family, guilt over the bullying and discomfort his children were experiencing at school, and the sense that coming to the USA had been a mistake, all of this without the funds to get back to Colombia. The combination of these negative emotions was so pervasive and so deeply rooted that he had begun to have suicidal thoughts.

One day, a routine DoorDash delivery changed everything. Maybe you can see where this story is headed, if you know anything about the Pasco County area… José delivered food to a residence inside the Lake Como Nudist Resort, the man of the house opened the door wearing only a smile, and José was overwhelmed. He felt surge within him the birth of a deep curiosity.

But more than mere curiosity, what José felt seemed to be the confirmation of a dream he had already imagined, or a lifestyle he had yearned for unknowingly. He decided to return to the resort to spend a nude afternoon there. Pushing through the usual first-time jitters and logistics, he disrobed, found a lakeside picnic table and a coffee, and relaxed into a life-changing epiphany. Here is part of the account of that very powerful revelation, in his words (translated from Spanish to English):

With the lake, and the coffee that always relaxes me, and my body exposed to the air and sun, I began to connect with the place and with nature. As my barriers fell one by one, my soul began to speak to me. The frustration of being in the United States, the difficulties of living with my family, and the feeling of being pursued had trapped me so completely that I saw no way out; even my oldest memories came flooding back. But that heavy emotional burden was weighing down my back and my spirit. So, with every step I took——naked——around that beautiful, peaceful place, every emotion and problem crumbled and fell away of its own accord; it was as if my clothes had been holding them against me, and stripped of my garments, they no longer had anything to cling to. At times, tears found their way out——even though I usually wouldn't have allowed it——but this time it was necessary. I walked on and on, and with every sip of coffee, I drew in another breath of life, feeling my spirit and body being mended with every step.
It was............ a............... very very very good............... walk...............
It all started out of pure curiosity, but I never imagined my soul would lead me to this place to learn how to let go of *everything*——to lighten my load, because there was still more to come.

Frankly, I think this is one of the most powerful endorsements of naturism that I have ever read, which is why I wanted to write this post and spread the word about this very compelling case of the healing power of nudity in nature. José attributes to naturism the end of his disparaging thoughts of self-harm, and the beginning of a new, hopeful and communal vitality.

José’s “more to come” at the end of the quote involved an eventual move to California (where he visited Sequoians); a stop through New Cambium naturist retreat in the Dominican Republic on his way back to Colombia, his insistence on living clothes-free with his family, even while sharing an apartment with his in-laws when they returned to Barranquilla; his family’s gradual understanding that his preference for nudity had helped him become a stronger, healthier man both physically and emotionally; and his eventual composition of a photo-essay book about his experience, including many Internet-gleaned insights about the healthiness of nudity and its connection to the original peoples of the Americas, alongside his own observations.

Today, José is active in Colombia’s growing naturist community, especially @ComunidadNOC, attending and helping plan beach getaways at a particular location halfway between Barranquilla and Cartagena along the Caribbean coast. He is also gearing up to start his own coffee production company, Amoreira’s – coming soon! And he has indicated that if anyone wishes to contact him for more details about his story, the best way is through his X account, @naturalmmente. I find José’s naturist story to be one of the most deeply motivating ones I have ever heard, the kind that should be more widely cited when people wonder about the benefits of nudity whether in your own home, in nature, or in a larger social group. I am so thankful that José found naturism, and I am full of gratitude as well to José for reaching out to me in 2024 to begin what has become a wonderful friendship!

A final reflection from José upon reading the draft of this post (translated from Spanish to English):

It doesn’t matter where you go. You can change cities, countries, languages, or landscapes, but what you carry inside will always find a way to travel with you. Because often, the problems we try to escape aren't in the place we leave behind, but in our own minds.

I understood this far away from home.

My inner conflicts followed me to the United States——a country I am deeply grateful to for the two years I spent there. I traveled its roads from coast to coast, discovered incredible places, and spoke with thousands of people of different colors, shapes, styles, sizes, and backgrounds. Every encounter left a mark on me.

But the most important journey wasn't the one I took along those highways.

It was the journey I took inward.

I discovered that to start untangling my life, I didn't need to run any further away. I needed something much harder: to be completely honest with myself.

And in that process... I lost my pants.

I had to strip myself bare——not just of clothes, but also of fears, pretenses, prejudices, excuses, and many of the stories I had told myself for years.

And it was precisely by stripping my body bare that I was able to enter my mind.

And upon entering my mind, I discovered my spirit.

Today, I am back in my home country, Colombia, growing coffee. I returned to the very place I once left, yet I am no longer the same person who departed.

That is why I am grateful for every road, every conversation, every mistake, every person, and every experience that shaped those two years.

The United States allowed me to get to know another country, another culture, and thousands of people.

But above all, it gave me something that turned out to be far more important:

a different way of looking at the world...

and at myself.