BOP Naturists now has over 1000 members from all over the world!

Yep – that is right. Bay of Plenty Naturists has exceeded all expectations and now has over 1000 members! 

When I set up this group 8 years ago, I thought it would be a small local group of naturists and never dreamed that it would extend to over 1000 members from all over the world.

The knockers would say – “yes but they are not all from NZ”. No they are not, but 75% are and anyhow, does that matter? We are all naturists no matter where we live and with good networking using the regular monthly newsletter, members from all over the world can find out more about naturism in NZ and with reports coming in from overseas members, local naturists can learn about overseas venues.

Often overseas members time their trips to NZ to coincide with our events. I can provide them with information about all the naturist clubs in the country, with a detailed itinerary which helps them plan their trip. So the clubs win out as well.

The knockers also said when I started out, that the group would end up being top heavy with single blokes (I call them individuals as some have partners who aren’t interested in naturism). Well so what? Individual guys are shunned by many naturist clubs in NZ and other countries, but they are still naturists with limited options. This is discrimination. Individual guys in the group are some of the nicest blokes I know and add a lot of diversity to the group. And guess what? The percentage of individual men to couples is in similar proportions to a lot of clubs, so the group is not top-heavy with individual blokes as some thought.

The stats for the group as of today are as follows:

Total membership: 1014

% as couples: 75%

% as individuals (male and female): 25%

Overall 41% are female and 59% male.

76% learnt about the group by word of mouth, so thanks everyone for passing on the message.

I get many accolades for the newsletter from members worldwide who anxiously wait for their next newsletter. I get no moans, gripes or grizzles – just positiveness and thanks. It is a pleasure to run this group, so thanks to you all for signing up.

Glenne