What happens at The Gathering?

In the world of men who like to get naked, one of the big players is GNI - Gay Naturists International.

While they've got a broad programme of activities, their big ticket event is The Gathering - an annual naked summer camp for men.

Brian Becnel has recently taken over as president of GNI and I caught up with him for a Naked Men Talking conversation about naked camping and his vision for the organisation.

Here's some of the highlights:

What was your relationship with your body like when you were growing up?

My relationship with my body growing up was really full of shame and embarrassment - a lot of that was taught.

My father was very Roman Catholic and very involved in the Roman Catholic Church.

I just remember so many times as a young person - especially coming into puberty - all I was taught was to be embarrassed about my body, embarrassed that I was growing hair in various places, embarrassed that my penis might get big sometimes.

It took a very long time to rid myself of that shame. So, going into this clothing-optional campground was so freeing, to shed that shame and the fear. Nobody cared what my body looked like.

The thing that changed the most and continues to impact me is acceptance. Acceptance of my body and then I learned to accept the other person's body. All the judgement went away. That is a huge part of what GNI does for me and for our members, teach the acceptance of our bodies.

Is that part of GNI's mission?

I believe it is. It is a thread throughout everything that we do at camp - it's very much about loving each other for who we are. From a organisation perspective, it's what we try to promote through throughout all of our work - to just love each other and love ourselves and it's going to have that impact on others around us.

What happens at GNI's Naked Camp?

We call it the Gathering. It's about ninety minutes outside of New York City in Pennsylvania in the Poconos. We take over the entire property. This year, we had four hundred and eighty-two members attend throughout the ten days.

It was just an incredible vibe this year. We have the pools, we have volleyball, we have workshops of all sorts. We have a cocktail social hour every night. We have a dance club - if you've not danced naked on top of a box in front of 300 men, you have not lived!

Is it a sex-positive space?

We are a sex-positive organisation. We respect that we are sexual beings, we are sexual men.

We set up the camp in such a way that the main side of camp is focused on naturism. Then, we have another section of the camp, across the lake, where anything consensual can happen.

Does GNI run any other events or activities besides the Gathering?

The Gathering is our signature event. we just completed our thirty-ninth year, so next year will be our fortieth anniversary.

For the last several years, we've also been creating smaller events. We've done two events in Toronto. We've held events in Zipolite, Colombia, and Australia.

We're focusing on international members because they're not coming to the US at the moment.

What are some of your priorities for GNI?

As well as engaging with our international members, one of my areas of focus is outreach to younger people.

One of the things that made this year so different and so electric is that of the 100 first timers at camp, many of those were in the 30 to 45 age-range - they just brought a new energy which became beautifully contagious.

I want to attract more younger people to naturism, to our group, to camaraderie, to brotherhood.

Gareth Johnson is the host of the podcast, Naked Men Talking - available on all platforms.