Skinbook

Karl Maddocks does not approve of traditional nudists. The 25-year-old from Manchester believes that they have too many rules.

You shouldn't need to fill out application forms and pay fees to clubs, he argues. Just go to the beach and get your kit off.

As a reaction, two years ago Maddocks created Skinbook, a website that claims to be the world's largest nudist social network. Thousands of people have flocked to the site that has many of the same features and functions as Facebook — except everyone on it is naked.

Skinbook sees itself as a safe haven for those intrigued about stripping off in public, but without having to meet the strict regulations of many nudist clubs. It does have some rules though. Blank profiles are not accepted, or overtly sexual chatter. The site claims to have had 150,000 applicants but only 10% make the grade.

The site has quickly gained popularity and is beginning to approach the same size as the country's largest nudist organisation, British Naturism, thought to have about 13,000 members.

Now the site is having its own conference on July 19 in Brighton. Naked spas and beach barbecues will feature along with discussion of the future of the site.

two years ago Karl Maddocks created Skinbook, a website that claimed to be the world's largest nudist social network. Thousands of people have flocked to the site that has many of the same features and functions as Facebook — except everyone on it was naked.

Skinbook saw itself as a safe haven for those intrigued about stripping off in public, but without having to meet the strict regulations of many nudist clubs. It did have some rules though. Blank profiles were not accepted, or overtly sexual chatter. The site claims to have had 150,000 applicants but only 10% made the grade.

But now the Skinbook experiment seems to have come to a bitter end.

As a network set up to be apart from the existing naturist and nudist organizations, Skinbook BY DESIGN was divisive. In a Time Magazine article, which claimed that Skinbook was the only genuine nudist social network, Maddocks is quoted as being repulsed bysingle elderly guys in sandals and socks , clearly drawing some sort of line in the sand between young and old, labeling existing nudist resorts as being cultish and weird .

In addition, Skinbook only accepted 10% of its applicants, certainly rejecting a lot of real nudists. One has to speculate whether or not their membership, which they claimed averaged between 35 and 40 years of age, was deliberately skewed by the administrators.

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