Naked Camp at the 34th GNI Gathering is Almost Here!

This year’s Naked Camp Gathering, GNI’s 34^th, is just around the corner from August 16^th through August 25th.   If you haven’t yet signed up, there is still time to enjoy the company of over 600 guys from over 11 countries including:

·      Canada

·      United Kingdom

·      Australia

·      New Zealand

·      Germany

·      Belgium

·      France

·      Brazil

·      Honduras

·      Denmark

·      And for the first time, Russia!

This year’s lineup of entertainment continues the outstanding offerings you have come to enjoy:

·      Sunday - Matthew "The Shirtless Violinist" Olshefski

·      Monday - Shawn Ryan, known as “the other Queen of Cabaret”

·      Tuesday - The Stormy Weather Variety Show

·      Wednesday - A Tupperware Party with Dixie Longate

·      Thursday - Mr. GNI Leather & Mr. GNI Contests

·      Friday - Miss Lace Pageant

·      Saturday - The Kinsey Sicks, a dragapella troupe

As usual, we will offer lots of the activities you have come to love and enjoy including:

·      Bingo

·      Body Painting

·      Cards - Bridge and Texas Hold Em and Hearts

·      Contests

• Mr. GNI
•  Mr. GNI Leather
• Mr. Bare Bear
• Miss Lace
• Cabin Decorations Contest

·      Country Line Dancing

·      Crafts Fair

·      Dance Club nightly

·      Friends of Bill W

·      GNI Choir

·      Leather activities including LeatherWerks store

·      Massage workshops, and tantra

·      Men of ALL Colors, Admirers & Spouses (M.O.C.A.S.) Informal Meet-N-Greet

·      Movies

·      NAC auction

·      Oil Wrestling

·      Physical activity offerings including morning walk/run, aerobics, Zumba, Pilates, swimming, tennis, volleyball, zip-lining, Qi Gong, and weight training.

·      Piano Bar

·      Regatta in the lake contest

·      Religious Services

·      Twister

·      Yoga

·      Various workshops and for the first time we are introducing a "sexology" workshop track

·      And many more!

And certainly last, but not least, the famous social hour theme parties:

·      Friday:  Naked Re-Treat

·      Saturday: Pick Your Pixar

·      Sunday: Stonewall Remembered

·      Monday: Un-Dress Code

·      Tuesday: Rhinestone Cowboys

·      Wednesday: “day-glo”

·      Thursday: Leather Masquerade

·      Friday: Blue Hour

·      Saturday: My Favorite Sitcom

If you have registered already, please check out our online schedule at:

https://eventmobi.com/gni2019

If you have not registered yet, there is still time!  Check out more information at

https://gaynaturists.org/the-gathering/

The Impact the Men of Naked Camp Can Have

By: Chris Gonzalez, Mr. Bare Bear 2018

Picture this:

A young 25-year-old is running around the streets of Manhattan with bleach blonde hair and a gay pride scarf tied around his neck, scrambling to find a charter bus near Port Authority in a sea of charter buses, and 14 men he has never met before to check-in, board, and transport them to an undisclosed campground in the middle of the Poconos for a week of naked camaraderie. Little did he know that some of the men on that bus ride would become his distant second family in a matter of a week, after being awarded the title of GNI Bare Bear 2018. 

It’s been surreal. It’s been unbelievable. And it’s been difficult. 

Being a title holder for an event that you TRULY believe in has been the most rewarding experience for me; because of the exposure, I’ve gotten to really challenge people’s standards of what naked camp is and my views on body inclusivity.

In the midst of my title year, I moved from one state to another starting my life over completely at 26. I moved for the wrong reasons, and had to live with my decision for the time being. At my lowest, my mental health and self-worth plummeted. A title holder is supposed to be confident and upstanding. A title holder in my eyes was Brian Becnel, Ralph Bruneau or Jonathan Kharfen, all of whom I looked up to for inspiration to keep pushing forward.

In the past few months, I have hosted Bare Bear’s Summer Solstice at OZ Campground in Unadilla, GA and attended Go Naked Weekend and Atlanta Bear Fest. I taught Bear Yoga (clothing optional, OF COURSE) and worked to raise money for the Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to providing emergency resources and hotlines for LGBTQ+ youth in times of mental health crisis; because within the past month, I used the resource personally.

All of this to say: I love GNI. It was the freest I have felt in my entire life. It saved me. It has saved me, numerous times. The messages from that second family I gained at camp during my times of crisis came at the most necessary points in my time of transition to Atlanta, and that’s why I am pushing forward. If one more person can experience the love that flows through the mountains of the Poconos every August even just once in their life, it could very well save them, as it did me. 

So smile a bit brighter. 

Smile a bit longer.

Send that message to that friend you haven’t talked to in a while…

You never know what good you might be doing for someone else. 

-Mr. Bare Bear 2018, Chris Gonzalez

Instagram: @dancingcub

**Please consider donating to The Trevor Project at www.trevorproject.org

Wisdom from Mr. GNI 2018

by: Rick Bach, Mr. GNI 2018

Hello Gents, Men, Boys, or however you fit.

For anyone who is reading this and hasn't been able to join us for The Gathering yet, do try. It can change your life, big words, but true.

Congrats to the guys who made it to Australia. We were with you in spirit . . . can only imagine.

The Gathering is on the horizon, our time together in a place of celebration and community. Let your Freak Flag Fly guys.

The anticipation of any vacation can be the best part, but The Gathering takes it all, before and after. So, plan your accessories, oil your leather and feed that joy savings account that will pay out soon.

Remember, The Gathering is your place of no judgment, expression in any way you can think of and a place to treat others the way you want to be treated. 

This, of course goes without mentioning the tremendous stature of nature and the numerous offerings of activities.

Feed that soul!

Cheers, Rick

Mr. GNI 2018