TNB - History
The History.
The Nude Blogger was born in 2016…just a few months after I returned home from a life-changing 7 month solo backpacking trip.
That trip changed me, my values and my life. I did a 180 on so many of the principles I had built my life upon. I turned my back on my politics and economics degree that I had worked so hard for. I turned down a job in a political office that was handed to me on a silver platter upon my return to Australia after backpacking. I rejected the mainstream path and even had friends fall by the wayside as I evolved into a different version of myself. I had a full blown spiritual awakening on that trip without even realising it at the time.
When I was backpacking, my adventures and spontaneity constantly had fellow hostel-mates saying ‘why don’t you write a blog about that?’ ‘You should start a blog…I would read it!’ Especially when it came to my more nude-oriented experiences (going to nude beaches etc).
But after going vegan on that trip in 2015, I had initially planned to start a blog about ‘conscious living’ and share about my vegan journey. I wanted to share about my healthy recipes and lifestyle so as to inspire others to adopt a more healthy lifestyle.
And then I met my partner at the beginning of 2016 and this is when the seed for ‘The Nude Blogger’ would be planted…
I actually met him when I was on a girls trip in Byron Bay and was frantically looking for a nude beach in Byron Bay (it was New Years Day, I was hung over and I needed to be naked on a nude beach for a ceremony my girlfriends and I were wanting to do during a very specific window of time that correlated with a cosmic event! So, yes, I was frantic!) He was about to head out for a surf and got my number.
A few days later, I found myself in Noosa and, much to my surprise and delight, discovered a nudist retreat at which I decided to spend a couple of nights. My partner and I decided we wanted to see each other again before I headed back to Victoria. And, so, he drove the 3 hours from the Gold Coast to Noosa to pick me up from this nudist retreat. On the drive back to the Gold Coast, I told him all about it and he was fascinated and intrigued. He said, ‘you should write about this in your blog’…and it was the seed that was planted and grew and grew.
Over the years, the blog has evolved with me…
But one thing has always remained at its core: my passion in sharing about and advocating for the naturist lifestyle. A part of my mission in doing so has always been to help normalise non-sexual social nudity by also de-stigmatising the lifestyle by educating others about it and providing insight, resources and tools learnt and acquired from first-hand and lived experience in the lifestyle. And sharing in a way that is authentic and representative of the lifestyle. And my experience in it as a woman.
2016: Launching The Nude Blogger on Instagram
TNB was launched on Instagram in October 2016…and I initially built it with the aim to have my identity anonymous. And I did so for the first nine months of its life. That’s right…you didn’t see my face anywhere on my grid for the first nine months (you’ll soon find out why I decided to relinquish my anonymity).
As a very multi-faceted, multi-dimensional human, I initially found it difficult to stick to just one topic. I even launched my Instagram with weekly topics like ‘scandalous secrets in 68 word or less’. When I launched TNB, I wanted to not only talk about naturism, but also about conscious lifestyle choices, veganism, taboo topics such as ‘fetish’, ‘BDSM’, ‘sex’, ‘polyamory’ and the likes. And I initially chose to remain anonymous because I wanted to be able to open up serious dialogue about these ‘controversial’ topics without having the focus be on me as an individual. My overall aim was to cultivate more tolerance and open-mindedness by sharing lifestyle choices that went against the ‘norm’.
But with my growing personal involvement and interest in the naturist lifestyle specifically, TNB organically reflected this journey and ultimately became synonymous with the topic of ‘naturism’. Naturally, I came to refine what TNB stood for…
And, so, I spent 2016 diligently building my presence on the platform and more deeply exploring naturism through my personal experiences.
And…well, you could say it has been a turbulent and toxic kind of relationship between Instagram and I ever since…to say the least!
The nude bloggerWe're a team of passionate thinkers and doers, building with purpose and clarity.
2017: The Nude Blogger gets worldwide attention
The Nude Blogger is deactivated on Instagram:
News of TNB spread like wildfire after I kicked up a media storm when Instagram abruptly deactivated my account in 2017. Having amassed over 40K followers at the time, I had worked hard for what I had built. I wasn’t going to just lay down.
Women spreading their legs in little more than a piece of material that only just covered their bits. Women posting very obviously sexually provocative and suggestive content, but it being allowed because they have a bit of string on??? And here I am, posting a picture of me, nude and natural in nature, getting banned. What, because my butt was in it? But hey…if there were a piece of string it would be ok? Nope. I wasn’t falling for it.
What was obvious to me was that it was ok to be sexually suggestive and explicit, so long as you had the most minimal bit of material barely covering you. But what wasn’t ok was a completely natural and non-suggestive photo of me nude in nature (ps…I only ever posted uncensored photos from behind…obviously never full frontal nudity).
And after seeing what the ‘norm’ was on the platform, what was prevalent, I decided I was sick of the double standards and would speak out about it in my attempt to get my account back.
So, drawing upon my experience of having worked in a political office for four years, I drafted up a media release and sent it out to every media outlet I could find; just hoping that someone might pick it up.
Sure enough. My story got picked up. One media outlet, and then another. Suddenly, media outlets all over the world started sharing my story and my plight.
After being approached by a TV news channel, I decided to do my first ever news interview and, in doing so, had to let go of my hopes at remaining anonymous. So, after nine months of anonymity on my Instagram account, my face was revealed on national news when I was interviewed about the incident.
With countless media reports and making headlines all across the globe, my attempts to have my account reinstated were successful. It may have taken 3 weeks, but I was back up…and with the exposure, so was my following.
The Nude Blogger introduces in-person mixed gender naked yoga classes:
After completing my yoga teacher training in 2016, I was so excited to finally offer this to my community as a way of bringing together fellow nudies in a safe and respectful environment whilst also facilitating a transformative body-positive experience. Along the way, I met so many amazing people and formed real friendships and a community built upon unity and camaradarie.
2018: FEMPOWERMENT is born
After introducing mixed gender naked yoga classes to my community in 2017, I began hosting women’s only naked yoga immersions.
These 3.5 hour workshops were devoted to empowering women; guiding them through an alchemical integration of yoga, intuitive movement, embodiment practices, meditation, breath work, mantras and affirmations. The intention behind these workshops was to support women in rediscovering their nudity in a safe, supportive and respectful space where they would be guided through practices and given tools to be able to facilitate the deepening of their connection with their body.
“Be bold in your mission to be truly YOU in a world that is telling you to be something else.”
— Jessa