Gymnos

There is a certain irony in the word gym, those modern day temples to calisthenic eye candy. For while it derives from the Greek word for naked (gymnos), fitness clubs today, like most public places, have strict rules about how much skin you can actually show. In fact, a friend of mine was once scolded by a club employee for wearing shorts without an adequate lining; apparently his genitals flopped around too much for her sensibilities.

But wouldn't it be great to go back to classical times, at least for a little while, and enjoy the kind of nude exercise that gave us this word to begin with?

That's the premise that I, and trusty photographer Andrew Adam Caldwell, decided to put to the test — in a very risky way. While a lot of porn movies are set in gyms or weight rooms, most are performed on a video set dressed up to look like a gym. Those that are filmed in real gyms are almost always shot when the gym is closed to the public and reserved only for the filmmakers.

Every inch
of my naked skin
and bouncing cock were
on display for anyone who
should happen to open the
door, or even peek in
the large windows.

In contrast, I took the personal challenge of stripping naked in an all-night gym (one with no attendant) when any of the regular patrons could have walked in and seen me lifting weights or otherwise exercising in the buff. Every inch of my naked skin and bouncing cock were on display for anyone who should happen to open the door, or even peek in the large windows.

As a kid, I used to find gyms, locker rooms, and public showers — even empty ones — so erotic I would get a boner just exploring them fully clothed, thinking of the communal nudity of the showers or the fit manly bodies that would rub shoulders as they went about their workouts. Now that I took the chance to get naked not just in the lockers, but the main gymnasium, I was so turned on I could barely finish a workout. I knew I had to get off right there in the gym.

Fortunately, no one caught me. Except, that is, on video. Now you can catch the whole thing in Nakedism's Video room. Just head over there and pop into Naked workout cinema. And to get in the spirit, maybe you should get naked, too.

Men of muscle

However common it is to give lip service to the relativistic nature of sex appeal or the diversity of body types to which people are attracted, the fact remains that the mass media (especially but not limited to adult entertainment) is rife with a particular idealized look that purports to be the very definition of seethingly hot sexual beauty.

That look, of course, consists of very low body fat, and for men a V-shaped torso with ripped, defined, muscles — the bigger, better.

Debate rages over the degree to which the media promotes and fetishizes a look or merely represents the zeitgeist of society's sexual desires. Whatever the case, most of us are affected by these images, and many of us strive to emulate them through diet and workout regimens or to attain them in our sexual partners.

In my own life, the daily struggle for a better body is never far from my mind. But despite my own limitations, I have been lucky enough to share intimacies with a few men of this same legendary beauty — impossibly built studs with jaw-dropping physiques and handsome faces. I learned very quickly that a great body is no predictor of great sex, a great personality, or pretty much anything else.

Still, I'm not complaining. In this week's true sex story, I look back on a day in which I was lucky enough to bone two serious muscle studs in one day. Despite the differences in the two men, it was a double helping of hotness any way you look at it. For the full scoop, go to our Stories department and check out the memoir I call Ordering In.

Naked in the city

Risk. There is no question that you are inviting the real possibility of problems when you choose to violate society's rules of covering up. Even just taking off your shirt in the wrong situation can get you anything from angry looks to being thrown out the door.

But to get naked in public — really naked, completely bare-assed — takes the danger to an higher level.

It's a chance I've taken a number of times now, heading out with a photographer or other friend to pose for photos or just act on a dare. Often we choose to minimize the risk by going out after dark or on a holiday when few people are around. But sometimes I've even gotten buck naked (without even shoes) in broad daylight.

One such adventure took place just over a year ago. Talented photographyer JayBee took me to several urban locations, including a strip mall, a Krispy Kremes drive-in, a power substation, and a synagogue. I was standing where any passerby could see my 6-foot 5-inch frame completely bare from head to toe.

The electrical substation was particularly scary, as it lay in the middle of a bend in the road. I could hear traffic in the distance but not see it well enough to judge how close it was getting. It was on a normally busy road and I was fucking nervous. (You can easily tell that from the photos!) But I wanted to push myself to take the risk. And to show in a hopefully artful way, that there is more than one way to generate electricity.

And now it's time to get naked again, figuratively, as we post the results of this photo safari in our photo set for February: Naked in the city. As you look at the photos, ask yourself this question: Would you dare do the same?