Issaquah nudists join cross-border skinny-dip event

Members of Fraternity Snoqualmie, a family-nudist park near Issaquah, took part in an international effort Saturday to establish a Guinness World Record by doing exactly what they usually do on 80-degree summer days: Go naked.

More than 180 people came to the park to bare all and dive in as part of the American Association for Nude Recreation world-record skinny-dip event.

Visitors to "clothing-optional" parks across North America, including five in Washington, swam in the buff in an attempt to establish a record for the largest number of people simultaneously skinny-dipping.

No skinny-dipping record currently exists.

"We set a record that is there to be broken, and next year, we'll break it," said Steve Lloyd, who has come to the park for six years.

The skinny-dipping was part of the annual nude recreation week, which in Issaquah also includes a wine-and-cheese party, a karaoke night and a 5K run called the Bare Buns Fun Run.

The tan-line-free crowd gathered hours before the scheduled swim to register (first-timers are checked against the state's sex-offender database) and get official wristbands, which organizers used to count participants.

"They're overdressed," joked Michael Gearhart, pointing at a group walking toward the pool wearing nothing but wristbands.

Minutes before the skinny-dip started, organizers asked participants to make their way to the pool or "you'll be disqualified and have to turn in your naked suit."

At noon sharp, all 186 people — ages 6 months to 83 years — jumped into a pool or slid into a hot tub, threw their arms into the air and cheered, knowing people across the U.S. and Canada were doing the same thing at the same time.

"I can say I was there. I was a part of it," said Les Bolter.

The chance to set a world record brought several new nudists to the park. Sharon Steinbis said she was surprised at how much she enjoyed feeling the wind against her entire body.

After the swim, visitors chatted with longtime members about the benefits of a "socially nude" lifestyle.

"Most people don't understand social nudity," said Bolter. "It's self-acceptance. It's also liberating and relaxing — a real freedom thing."

Most skinny-dip participants — and most in the 300-member club — are men. Women at the park blamed pop culture for the divide.

"Society wants us to be beautiful," said Steinbis, "but society doesn't want us to be nude. A lot of it is up to the men's imagination. They use women's bodies to sell."

By shedding their clothes, women at the park said they also shed the size-0 standard that made them feel uncomfortable about their own bodies.

"I believe in being happy in my own skin," said Gearhart. "I'm OK with me right now.

"That's the healthy part of being a nudist."

Lindsay Toler: 206-464-2463 or ltoler@seattletimes.com