The first clothing-free workout session at a Dutch gym went ahead as planned on Sunday — and participants and observers said it met expectations.
Around a dozen middle-aged and elderly men braved the glare of nearly twice that number of journalists at Fitworld gym in the town of Heteren, including reporters, photographers and at least five television crews, to fulfill their dream of exercising naked.
”There are things that you like to do, and for a nudist, it just feels better to do them with your clothes off,” said Ron van der Putten, who drove for more than an hour to take part in the event, dubbed ”Nudifit” or ”Naked Sunday”. ”You feel more free.”
Patrick de Man, owner of Fitworld, said he got the idea in part from two of his regular customers who asked why he had separate dressing rooms for men and women.
”That was the spark,” he said, and he ultimately decided to open the gym on Sundays for nudists. The response was overwhelming — both positive and negative. Some clients were worried about whether it would be sanitary.
”Unbelievable that you guys came up with this idea,” wrote one visitor to the club’s website who said he would be switching gyms.
”Okay that there are people who want to exercise bare naked, but do it at home and not in a public place.”
De Man decided to open the inaugural session to the press after receiving inquiries from as far away as Russia and Australia.
No women nudists attended, though De Man said eight had signed up, out of nearly 100 applicants overall. The cost is $13 per session, sold in blocks of 10.
”It’s always the same — the first ones to shy away are the women. You see that at nudist camps too,” said an elderly man called Henk, who declined to give his last name.
He praised the event as ”ideal”.
”We already had naked swimming … but a gym, that’s unique. It’s spectacular!”
A county councilman came — wearing a suit — to cut a ceremonial ribbon and declare the day formally open.
Frits Witjes said reactions in Heteren, a town 100km east of Amsterdam with a population of 5 100, had been ”nuanced,” even within the town’s religious communities.
”Some people are happier about it than others,” he said, adding that nobody was angry or disgusted enough with the idea to actively protest. He said the county supported the idea because it was promoting fitness and the nudists had a right to ”freedom of expression”.
The gym is located in an industrial area near a highway, on the outskirts of town. Staff and helpers wore aprons with a nude body painted on.
Nude exercisers were required to put towels down on weight machines and to use disposable seat covers while riding bikes. In addition, the machines were to be cleaned three times before they would be used again by the gym’s regular clientele.
A team of sanitisers from the Swisher company was on hand to explain the full procedure.
Nudists were expected to spray machines with a cleanser and wipe them dry, then repeat that procedure with a disinfectant.
The disinfectant was ”strong enough to kill any bug or germ, including Aids,” said Sjaak van Huet.
All the machines and the whole building were to be cleaned again by the sanitisers at the end of the day.
De Man said he expected there would be a bigger turnout next Sunday, especially after all the publicity. One Dutch television reporter participated in the event wearing just sunglasses, boots, and a gag tie that camouflaged his genitals.
”I’ve got other ideas to try out here that will also be unique,” De Man said.
Such as?
”I’m going to keep that to myself for now,” he said. – Sapa-AP