THE NAKED SWIMMER INTERVIEW
This is a rough draft. This is not the article as submitted to VFM magazine—however it is my original draft with all the extraneous details I normally wouldn't include in a magazine article. However, I felt that I am on to an amazing story here and I want a record of every thought and note taken down during this interview, as I believe it will be worthwhile in the future.
Kelly Sanford
*
As I approached the home of "The Naked Swimmer" I began to see the heart of my story before ever meeting my subject. A small suburban home in small suburbia. This place conjures images of Norman Rockwell, Beaver Cleaver, and what I have always referred to as the American Daydream i.e., a nice place, but not too nice.
Granted I am a big city-girl and I have always been surrounded by people who look down on the suburban lifestyle, but it has always held a warm place in my heart as the kind of area I wish I had growing up and could retreat to now.
These are nice people living nice lives.
All the better for my story, for behind the doors of one of these many similarly styled homes lives a young man who has been exposed to the world—and I mean that literally—he has appeared completely nude in public many times!
Now what's so interesting about a naked man in public you ask? Well, the fact that he is probably the most shy male I have ever met and that he has laid bare his entire body for the simple-yet-complicated love of a girl—that's what makes this story so interesting. I am not talking about a perverted frat boy that likes pulling it out for shock value, but a nice, bashful, good-natured young man, who, in an effort to understand what female objectification is all about, bared his nude body to the world.
Just search "The Naked Swimmer" online and you will find several videos that will explain the whole thing. The swim-meet, the Autism Charity fund raising, helping a local photographer start up her website (by the way, her site has had to undergo several new servers in order to keep up with the internet traffic coming her way once word got out about this man's appearance.)
This is where my story lies. It's not a big deal that a guy has exposed himself in public—as many women know, all too often any guy will be glad to show his manhood and it is usually more of a problem getting guys to keep it in their pants. Where this man is different is in his humility, I believe, and in the chivalrous reasons that he decided to drop trough.
I knocked on his door and his mother answered, yes, ladies, he still lives at home with mom. I should mention that he is only 18 years old and recently graduated high school, he plans to go to college soon—when he can earn enough money, that is, and in this economy it may be awhile before that happens.
As soon as the door opened I met his lovely mother, a woman of grace, courtesy and with a kindness in her eyes. This wonderful woman raised Mark a.k.a. The Naked Swimmer and his older sister (whom I have not met), but I understand she too, has been a strong influence on his life.
Influential women raise strong men. I very much believe that.
Then I met him.
Of course I had watched all the Internet videos of this young man, and looked over all of his nude photos online (for research, of course!) but I was not prepared for what I saw. He is very attractive in the most ordinary way. He is not the cover of a romance novel, but by every means he is the epitome of the kind of boy a bored housewife lusts after while he mows her lawn or cleans her pool.
He is strong and tall, with the same kindness in his eyes as his mother and with the personality of a boy caught in the very middle of becoming a man. He was dressed casually, but nicer than most boys in his age group—I feel like he was dressed for the interview (a custom I wish more of my interviewees would endure).
He asked where I would like to do the interview and I suggested near the pool—it seemed appropriate.
We sat by the pool and made some small talk while I set up. He is a very polite and considerate young man, but I could see the rosy spots on his cheeks and realized he may be doing this interview with great trepidation. I tried to get him to relax as best I could, but soon saw that this was useless so I began:
KELLY: That first time . . . you jump off the diving board and hit the water. Next thing you come out of the water nude pretending, as we later learn, not to realize you're naked. I want to know what happened while you were underwater. What did you feel? What were you thinking?
NS: I felt nervous. I felt like my own skin was going to rip off and run away from me. But it wasn't in that exact moment that I knew what I was going to do. I think I made my decision the night before—without realizing it, of course—but as I was in bed I just kept seeing Jill's face over and over telling me that I didn't understand what it was like to be exposed like she had been and to be seen as an object. And, I guess I just figured, I'd do it too and then we'd both know. It would be something we would both understand and share . . . together.
KELLY: I noticed during that video, which I watched several times from quite a few different angles (he blushes—a lot!) that you became quite excited, was the experience sexual for you?
NS: No, it was humiliating. I don't know how to explain it because whenever someone feels vulnerable they always say they felt exposed or naked, so then how do you describe feeling vulnerable BECAUSE you are exposed and naked!
KELLY: Understood, but the erection?
His eyes dart around for anything to focus on.
NS: I'm a guy. It doesn't take much.
KELLY: But I watched the video extensively and I must say you didn't become hard until about halfway through. It seemed like you, or should I say—IT, reacted to the crowd reacting to your nudity. Is that fair?
NS: I don't . . .
(His face lights up like a Christmas tree.)
KELLY: I suppose one would argue that with the forethought that you were going to stand naked in front of this crowd that there were, at least on some level, a touch of eroticism to this act. Do you enjoy showing your penis?
NS: No. Not at all! I'm not an exhibitionist at all.
KELLY: And yet you're smiling!
(We both laugh.)
KELLY: Okay, I'll let you off the hook, for now. Tell me about your girlfriend.
(His eyes light up brighter than his face this time.)
NS: She is the most fantastic girl I have ever known. I've been in love with her for as long as I can remember. She is smart, funny, nice, interesting . . .
KELLY: Beautiful?
NS: Gorgeous!
KELLY: I notice you didn't say beautiful or sexy first. Most guys begin with how a woman looks not how she is.
(He looks like he got the wrong answer on a game show.)
KELLY: I'm not saying that as criticism, I think that's lovely. I think it speaks to your character that you did that. I get the sense that you respect women.
NS: Sure. More than anything.
KELLY: Why? What do you like about women?
NS: Everything. Women are . . . they are the most spectacular things on the planet. To have the softness and gentleness they have as well as the pure strength—strength of character, I mean . . . there's just nothing better than a woman. Not all of them, of course, some are horrible. But a REAL woman, you know . . . kind, gentle, sweet, innocent, strong, smart, caring, tough, the will they have. I think their soft cuddliness is equaled by their pure strength of will.
KELLY: You like strong women?
NS: Well, I don't want some weight-lifting chick to beat me up or anything, when I say 'strong' I'm talking about character not physical strength and certainly not the "I am woman" crap, but the REAL thing, you know, REAL women.
KELLY: I suppose you have your mom to thank for that?
