For those of you who don’t know him yet, this is Bob Reed, who wants the world to know that he is a nudist, or, if you like, naturist and he believes that all naturists/nudists should do the same. He has nothing to hide.
If you live in Australia, there is a chance that you may have seen or heard Bob.

Perhaps in the newspapers (where they tend to show him from behind), or on the radio, or in those videos that are shown on flights, into Australia, by our own airline, talking about our harbour and its beaches.
Relatives of mine, who know him, were amused, when they recognised him on such a flight, back from overseas, into Sydney. They’re not nudists but they have met him and, like everyone else, find him to be a friendly, affable fellow.
I got to know him after he’d enjoyed many years being the ‘beach inspector’ of Reef Beach, during the time when it was a legal nude beach, visited by huge numbers of nudists, on the hot summer days of Sydney.
In spite of the legality of nude bathing on that beach being recognised in a local court, an act of parliament followed that decision, changing that status and sending the naturists to three other beaches, near Sydney Harbour.
This upheaval had motivated Bob to form the Free Beach Association of New South Wales, which lobbied for legal nude bathing, on ‘suitable’ beaches.
Now, instead of being with people, on Reef Beach, Bob concentrated more on making contact with people, interested in naturism, throughout Australia and one can easily state: the world. Because his people skills were recognised and it was soon suggested that he should represent not just the people who used to enjoy the sun, the sand and the water, at Reef Beach.
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I’ve always loved long beach walks.
Noticed one day, after a great stroll along a beach, south of Nowra, that a couple, in the distance, simply popped off their clothes, and splashed around in the surf.
Had always wanted to do that. Did it. Liked it. Felt free.
Bought the naturist magazine, Sun & Health_,in the local agency. Found out about Bob’s Free Beach Association. Applied for membership and was elected vice-president, the year after I attended its A.G.M..

(_Won a door-prize, at one of the A.G.M’s, I attended.)
During his working life, Bob had travelled up and down the east coast of Australia, basically selling cloth of all kinds, for a very well known store.

I reckon, although retired, Bob’s still a salesman. Cannot help himself. Has that way with people.
Didn’t know him during his years as a travelling salesman but I can imagine that his visits would have been good-natured, friendly, a bit of a laugh and chat, for his regular customers.
After he retired, he had Reef Beach and lots of people to chat with; to introduce to each other; in a way, to manage, using those skills that salespeople need. And then that was suddenly taken away.
It was Bob who went to State Parliament and made himself well-known enough particularly to a number of members of parliament, who, supported by his FBA of NSW and who got nudists, the ‘other’ three legal nude beaches, when Reef Beach was taken away.
He still visits at least one of them very regularly. The others not so often and, of course, they are not his beloved Reef Beach, which he can clearly see, across the bay, from his place, daily, – usually empty.
Bob didn’t need any clothing, except for one item his ( ‘famous’) white hat. It was his inspector’s hat, on Reef Beach (as its band shows).

It has been his ‘cover’ for those photos that have been in newspapers and magazines and where-ever good publicity was needed.
It has travelled with him to other legal nude bathing areas, in Australia and Europe and America.

He has been to Cap d’Agde, the naturist city, in the south of France, possibly more times than he can remember.
Always making friends, using English, or a few basic foreign words, like Bonjour Monsieur!

(Former Minister for the Environment, Pam Allen, joked to on-lookers about being seen on the FBA of NSW website, with us. She was happy to have the photo taken.)
Before I knew it, in about 1994, I was not only the FBA of NSW’s V.P., but also newsletter editor (Bob supplied the content.) and webmaster and was therefore, frequent visitor to the room in Bob’s house which was the FBA of NSW office.
I was most impressed with the way that was set up.
Everything extremely tidy. Everything that he did for the FBAofNSW recorded and accounted for.
He loved getting new members. (I guess it was like a sale!) He took great pride in sending new members a ‘kit’ of information, by return mail. If they were in Sydney, they received it the next day. If they were in the U.S.A., it wasn’t Bob’s fault that they did not receive it the next day.
U.S.A. naturists invited Bob to speak at their annual convention. Bob enjoyed that very much. Took the opportunity to visit the World Trade Centre, on September 10, before flying back to Sydney.
The pilot, of his plane, kept the news (We’d all been following, while he was in the air) from his passengers, until they landed, at Sydney’s International Airport. Bob comforted the American lady who had been sitting beside him.

Being president of the FBA of NSW was like a 24 hour job. People interested in naturism, living elsewhere in the world, or coming from these places, did not always realise that the time difference meant that they were waking him up at 3 in the morning!
It was time to stop. Nobody took over the presidency of the FBA of NSW and it folded. Bob was going to take it easy. No more putting himself out for the cause.
Just sitting back, and enjoying life. (He loves his "Jules Michel":http://members.optushome.com.au/julesmichel/ paintings.)

However, I have just received pictures of Bob being Santa’s Helper, at the naturist retreat. It hasn’t really stopped.
Bob will tell you that all his customers always knew that he was and is a nudist. That it is safe to tell the world. That everyone will respect you for what you say and do. That the clothes part (ironically: textile, as nudists call it) doesn’t make a difference.
I guess. If this was an ideal world and if that whole world would see naturists as people who, in legal locations, prefer not to have textile (wet or dry) bother them, just like they’d prefer not to wear textile in the bath, or under the shower, then this is given.

But the reasons why links are seen, or imagined, between inappropriate behaviour and naturism, require an discussion longer than what’s been written here already, and this was intended to be about Bob, who tells everyone who will listen, that he is a naturist. All right then, nudist!

Footnote:

A lot of people knew that I was (am) a naturist, after they saw me sitting among 22 naked people, in a full-page advertisement, next to the latest Volkswagen, (which, according to the ad., could cope with all shapes and sizes). Bob got me that ‘job’. He had to stand, all day, at the back. I was lucky.
The full-page ad was in Sydney’s SunHerald and in its sister paper, in Victoria. Also in the Qantas magazine and in Men’s Health_.
I guess a few more people, in the world knew, after that!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6qHhtxZTrc
P.S.. The story of losing; winning; losing of Reef Beach takes another couple of pages. We put it on the net, quite a few years ago.