What’s your superpower?

If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? I like to think we’ve all got a superpower already, that we can all be superheroes if we just harness our natural abilities. The way I see it, your superpower is that one quality that is especially strong in you. That thing that everyone who knows you would think of when they think of you. It’s part of what makes you uniquely you. It could be that you’re an incredible listener, or a non-stop talker, you could have an imagination that can transport you anywhere, or be able to think of a song for any occasion, maybe you make the best sourdough, or you can crack a joke in any situation. Anyway, you get it, it’s that thing that you do that others remember you for. I think if we figure out what that is and use it for the good of others then we can all be superheros in our own right. My superpower is getting people naked! I’ve always been persuasive, been an instigator, but now I’ve honed in my persuasive nature to what I really want people to do-to get naked.

I gotta say though, so far I have been kinda spoiled. I’m not sure my “superpower” has been truly tested yet. Last summer in New Zealand it didn’t prove too difficult to encourage people to get naked. We were mostly in breathtakingly beautiful places with crystalline water to jump in. And mostly the people joining us were free-spirited young travellers, far from home, seeking adventure. Not hard people to persuade to strip off and jump in. So I wanna see if my persuasions could work on Brits in their home country. It’s time to put my superpower to the test.

First I better give you an update on where I’m at:

The book Newd Zealand is on long term pause. Covid has screwed that up for us. Like so many other people, we had to change plans, thanks a lot covid! 😦 After four years of living in NZ my visa came to an end. With covid troubles screwing up travel, it seemed to be time to return home…. Home?… England?… The country that hasn’t been my home for over four years. The country I chose to leave, but in a crisis is the place I must go back to. Reluctant to head straight back “home”, I decided to take a layover in the US on the way back, a two and a half month layover! I joined Scott on his home turf of Oregon to explore the Pacific Northwest with him. I flew from winter in NZ to summer in the US to continue my skinny dipping life. We buried our heads under waterfalls and hid from the state of the world. We hid in the forest, skinny dipping and exploring as long as we could until the reality of things caught up with us. Oh reality, you always catch up with us in the end. Out of the forest I emerged, time to dry off and put my clothes back on. Time to find a job in the U.K! Aahhh!

But in the time I’ve been away I’ve been working on my superpower, building my strength. So I’m back in the U.K, but I don’t plan on giving up my naked adventuring lifestyle. Oh no, not one bit. Since coming back I have to spend 14 days in quarantine. Enough time to remind me just how important nature is to me. I’m on day 11, and trust me, 11 days of not leaving the house is enough to make me swear to never ever take my freedom for granted ever again! It’s enough time to make me deeply grateful for all the adventures I’ve been lucky enough to have. And more than enough time to inspire me to seek naked adventures in my home country. As I said in my post Social distance dipping. I believe there’s plenty of others in the UK also desperate for adventure right now during all this covid depression. I’m sure there’s people out there who wanna spice up their daily routine a little. So I’m gonna try my powers of persuasion on them. It might be much harder to find beautiful, secluded places here than in NZ. But I’ll try my best. 

Last year I came home for a visit and I got a little practice in trying to persuade Brits to strip off with me. I wasn’t so rehearsed in my nude persuasion tricks back then, but I did manage to get some friends to join me for some nudity. I persuaded my four best friends from my hometown to join me on a cold autumn day at a muddy lake edge. It wasn’t the best thought-out or well planned adventure, there were a lot of wet shoes and cold feet but hey, they came along and had a laugh. On another occasion a small group of us went for a dip in a similarly muddy-edged river. It turned out to be far from the best skinny dip spot, with mud, murky water and two dog walkers happening upon us! But, once again, we had a laugh and I think we made the dog walker’s day. Finding seclusion is not so easy in England. Yes there are naturist beaches, but that’s not really my style. I like to go into the wilderness where there is no-one else. I don’t enjoy the thought of pervy strangers that you so often find at naturist beaches. I like to know that no-one else is going to be there, that’s when I feel free! 

The other big obstacle here is going to be the weather, it has been raining about 80% of the time since I returned, but as always, I am optimistic! In N.Z I swam every day during June for my personal challenge of 30 days of winter dips. And I often had others join me. For the winter solstice we had a group of 12 of us strip off for a swim in lake Wanaka. The air that day was 3 degrees C and the water was 9.6 degrees C. Yet all 12 of us had a wonderful time and some people even returned to dip with me on other days! Another time I managed to persuade strangers to join me naked in the snow atop a mountain, so I’m not the only one mad enough to get naked in the cold. I know there’s others out there in England, I just gotta find them, or use my superpower to persuade them!! 

Look out Britain, I’m coming to get you Naked!!