TV: Worn Stories
Dan Whicker, director of sales & marketing at Cypress Cove in Florida, was adamant. “My main criteria was for them to show the resort and the naturist way of life in an honest, respectful and positive way. I wasn’t interested in being a part of a tongue-in-cheek comedy show or subjecting our people to a typical clown-fest.”
TV REVIEW
WORN STORIES Episode 1: Community
NETFLIX 2021
Dan Whicker, director of sales & marketing at Cypress Cove in Florida, was adamant.
“My main criteria was for them to show the resort and the naturist way of life in an honest, respectful and positive way. I wasn’t interested in being a part of a tongue-in-cheek comedy show or subjecting our people to a typical clown-fest: “Hey everyone, look at the funny naked people!” We’ve seen too many of those over the years. The old saying ‘any publicity is good publicity’ is not true for something that you care deeply about. So, it was important to me that any documentary filmed here would ensure a proper representation.
“Worn Stories does that and more,” he believes. “The only criteria from the production side were logistical needs, which were easy for us to accommodate. The crew lodged off-site, but we did invite them to stay and use the resort amenities in the evenings. Unfortunately, the trip for them was all work. But in speaking to many of them, I was convinced the ones who were local will come back for a visit.”
Based on the bestselling book of the same name by Emily Spivack, in which the author weaves words about clothes into tales related to the people who wear them, this Netflix documentary series does the same, with a special focus on the emotional attachments that many of us have toward specific articles of clothing.
It might seem quite unusual therefore that a large part of the opening episode in the series focused on people who don’t wear clothes.
Explains Dan: “The writers wanted to start the series with the antithesis of clothing-lovers. They asked: Do people who shun clothing still have something in their wardrobe that is special to them? It was a good question, and I agreed that it was a brilliant place to begin the documentary.”
And ‘Community’ certainly lives up to its name, as interviewees Diane and Paul, a middle-aged pair of Wisconsin snowbirds - who have kept the shirt he was wearing when they met working in a retail store, and who have now made Cypress Cove their permanent home -don’t think of the people who live around them as neighbours, but family.
For the couple’s segments, the crew followed them around the resort to gather shots illustrating their life in the nude, and whether enjoying dinner, line-dancing or boating on the lake, they help viewers understand the welcoming nature of nudism. Acceptance is a central theme in their time onscreen, and they tell a story of transformation that both nudists and non-nudists can appreciate.
Diane - open, honest and with a mischievous twinkle in her eye - tells viewers she came from a conservative, religious background, and having developed large breasts as a teenager, was very self-conscious about her body: she hated the utility bras she had to wear and felt unsexy for many years until she discovered naturism. Not having to bear the brust of northern winters is another reason the couple love their current life!
In another segment of the opening episode, Niecey, a vivacious 27-year-old yoga teacher and model who is a regular visitor, also expresses the feelings of freedom she found in naturism, noting how she began her journey by wearing see-through mesh tops. Her story is one of liberation from expectation and restriction, and her joyous attitude throughout her time onscreen is infectious.
“I used to love running around the garden as a kid, naked,” she explains, “and was always one of those people who had no problems doing the same in the locker room at the gym. But society sometimes holds people back. I just have the attitude that, a lot of the time, I don’t need clothes. Being naked is my jab back at society.”
Being black meanwhile, she adds that she has a lot of black friends of her own age who are also into naturism but are wary of visiting because they think the resort is going to be full of “old, white folks.”
To an extent, perhaps it is, but as Dan says: “I’m proud of how Diane, Paul, Niecey and everyone else in our segment represented naturism. I couldn’t have scripted it any better. But in fact, there was no script at all. All of them spoke from the heart, and that really comes across in the interviews. These nudists are the real deal. They live it, they love it, and it shows.”
Pitch
How the episode came together is also a masterclass for naturist venues anywhere as to how to pitch to the media.
“I received a call from producer Tallie Johnson when she was still developing the series concept and searching for potential nudist communities for an episode location,” explains Dan. “We discussed many things about naturism and how it related to her series. When she called back, she was convinced that we were the right location for the first episode: the idea of the resort supporting a large community of naturists appealed to her. From there, we had many more conversations about naturist life, the resort, and about my expectations for her crew to portray it all in a respectful and positive light.
“There was a lot of negotiation, and a lot of education. The most important thing to me was ensuring Cypress Cove and the nudist way of life would be portrayed with accuracy and respect. Not only did I have to sell the resort as the right location, I also had to educate the producers about nudists, etiquette, our philosophy - all of it. They were coming in completely uninformed yet dedicated to creating a show that would affirm nudism.
“Someone commented that if we had to pay for the publicity of being on TV like this, it would cost us millions. I was happy that I could do this for Cypress Cove. The forward-thinking and unrestricted environment here has benefitted us all. In fact, soon after the episode aired, we began receiving visitors who told us they found out about the resort from watching Worn Stories.
“I am very proud of how that show turned out. My hope is that fellow naturists will realise the enormity of having naturism portrayed like it is in that first episode. Far from just giving Cypress Cove some great publicity, the episode shows naturist life in an honest and respectful way. That was my main goal in having them film here. By watching our episode, a curious world gets answers to their questions about wholesome social nudity, body acceptance and learning to love themselves. It’s also a tool that nudists can use to explain nudism to others. In that, we all win.”
Equally important is the fact that the show went out on Netflix, rather than one of the network TV channels. It means that it was possible to show full nudity, and the only ‘censorship’ comes in the form of a couple of publicity shots and the black bar stripped in across Diane’s chest on the photo promoting the trailer.
As naturists, we all know that it’s ridiculous to feature a naturist resort if you have to be coy, but it’s something that mainstream media still isn’t comfortable with: a little bit like Diane and her bra…
Paul Rouse
VERDICT ****
