Comments on: Berkeley's "Naked Guy" Dead at 33

Berkeley's "Naked Guy" Dead at 33

freshwater_pr0n — Sun, 21 May 2006 22:06:03 -0800

Berkeley's infamous Naked Guy died of an apparent suicide on Thursday. Before and after his 15 minutes, he was a real person. People loved him. Rest in peace, Andrew Martinez. (NSFW)

By: dhartung

dhartung — Sun, 21 May 2006 22:34:21 -0800

I guess you could say he never really found his towel.

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Sun, 21 May 2006 22:45:31 -0800

Well, that sucks. Viva nudity, I say. Never seen a coherent argument against it... other than staying warm, of course.

By: sacrilicious

sacrilicious — Sun, 21 May 2006 22:57:33 -0800

By: Davenhill

Davenhill — Sun, 21 May 2006 22:59:10 -0800

This is sad... and a little creepy. Something made me think about the 'Naked Guy' in the last couple of weeks. Can't recall what it was - probably saw someone wearing a handkerchief on their head. If I'm not mistaken, Martinez used to wear a handkerchief on his head, then put it down on the chair before sitting. I was in college about the same time he was and I always thought it was pretty cool that the guy was confident and comfortable enough with himself to run around in the buff... and doubly cool that Berkeley was the kind of place where you could more or less get away with public nudity. Also had friends at Cal who say him every now and again. It didn't occur to me that his behavior was possibly the result of mental illness. It undermines the notion that he was doing it out of confidence. Also didn't know he was arrested in Berkeley and eventually kicked out of Cal. Really a shame.

By: Rhomboid

Rhomboid — Sun, 21 May 2006 23:10:09 -0800

By: Parannoyed

Parannoyed — Sun, 21 May 2006 23:13:47 -0800

Rest in peace. I hope they bury him naked. I think his high water mark came when Jeremy Piven said, "Alright! The Naked Guy! Now it's a party!"

By: greycap

greycap — Sun, 21 May 2006 23:18:11 -0800

. This is pretty sad.

By: joeblough

joeblough — Sun, 21 May 2006 23:24:29 -0800

man that sucks. i was just leaving cal when he showed up. never had a class with him but my brother-in-law apparently did. didnt realize he had problems with mental illness. RIP dude.

By: jtron

jtron — Sun, 21 May 2006 23:42:28 -0800

. Speaking as one for whom nudity and the University of California experience are inextricably entwined, this news is very saddening.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Sun, 21 May 2006 23:46:01 -0800

He died from insanity, but it wasn't his. It was the insanity of a society who locks someone up for being nude. The insanity of a sex-obsessed society that insists one man's nudity somehow sexually harasses a woman. Nudity != sex/sexuality

By: fenriq

fenriq — Sun, 21 May 2006 23:51:20 -0800

. He was and is way better than the Naked Cowboy (who's not naked) not only because he was full-on naked but also because he wasn't doing it to make a buck. And how cool would it have been to never have to worry about what to wear?

By: delmoi

delmoi — Sun, 21 May 2006 23:52:15 -0800

Goofyy: while you could certanly argue that our sexual mores are not grounded in sanity, it's a bit hard to argue that he was not also insane. I mean, society didn't put a plastic bag over his head.

By: Parannoyed

Parannoyed — Sun, 21 May 2006 23:55:56 -0800

I'll tell you one thing. If we all went around naked, we'd be a hell of a lot more concerned with our own physical upkeep. No pesky clothing to hide our flab. (And don't give me any bullshit about nudist ideals being the letting go of all physical vanity.)

By: hincandenza

hincandenza — Mon, 22 May 2006 00:05:37 -0800

delmoi: it's a bit hard to argue that he was not also insane. I mean, society didn't put a plastic bag over his head.

Hey wait a sec... suicide != insane grrr... >:(

By: KevinSkomsvold

KevinSkomsvold — Mon, 22 May 2006 00:08:23 -0800

By: Mitrovarr

Mitrovarr — Mon, 22 May 2006 00:57:06 -0800

Goofyy: He died from insanity, but it wasn't his. It was the insanity of a society who locks someone up for being nude. The insanity of a sex-obsessed society that insists one man's nudity somehow sexually harasses a woman. Oh, come on. If something so minor as having to wear clothing was enough to make him kill himself, he was all kinds of crazy. From reading the article, however, it sounds as if he'd had trouble with mental illness all his life. I tend to think society's problem with nudity is overblown, but I don't think it's a good idea for people to go around without clothes. Clothing serves important purposes both hygienic and aesthetic; do you REALLY want to see 90% of people naked? Humans, outside of a small proportion, are really pretty ugly animals. Not to mention that if everyone went around naked, skin cancer rates would go through the roof.

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Mon, 22 May 2006 01:08:32 -0800

Humans, outside of a small proportion, are really pretty ugly animals. Particularly if our sense of aesthetics comes from Playboy and Calvin Klein ads.

By: Mitrovarr

Mitrovarr — Mon, 22 May 2006 01:15:38 -0800

PeterMcDermott: Particularly if our sense of aesthetics comes from Playboy and Calvin Klein ads. But not only then. Sometimes people are lumpy and/or wrinkled, and the lack of fur means that any physical imperfection is glaringly obvious. Not to mention that a lot of people are morbidly obese. Also, some people have skin diseases and hygiene problems. I really REALLY don't want to have to walk around and see all that. The occasional hottie, while awesome, would not be worth it.

By: catchmurray

catchmurray — Mon, 22 May 2006 01:28:50 -0800

Mitrovarr, your comments only serve to show a thoroughly shallow nature. I'd keep them quiet if I were you.

By: chasing

chasing — Mon, 22 May 2006 01:30:47 -0800

Yes, Mitrovarr. Unpopular ideas should never be spoken or written down.

By: Parannoyed

Parannoyed — Mon, 22 May 2006 01:38:05 -0800

It's getting hard to breathe in here with all the snarkiness. Quick! somebody post kitten pictures!!

By: jb

jb — Mon, 22 May 2006 01:53:30 -0800

We only find nude bodies (old, unattractive, unhygenic, whatever) disturbing because it is not our culture to be nude. There are many people in the world who wear little or no clothing, often because it makes the most sense climatically, but also because that is their culture. It's not innately "human" to wear clothes, it's innately Modern Western or Asian or North African... But frankly, I'm actually Victorian, and I faint constantly from the ankles I see every day. It's shocking!

By: nightchrome

nightchrome — Mon, 22 May 2006 01:56:16 -0800

By: jb

jb — Mon, 22 May 2006 01:58:19 -0800

Also, everyone who shares Modern Western taboos against exposing genitalia (including women's breasts) will obviously understand other culture's taboos against exposing women's hair or even face (even if they do not agree with them). Some women in western countries wear the hijab because their families pressure them to, but many do so because not wearing hijab feels to them like going without a shirt feels to many women from Western culture.

By: hoverboards don't work on water

hoverboards don't work on water — Mon, 22 May 2006 02:10:23 -0800

I'm glad to see that people here don't see anything wrong with nudity in principle. So sad that it turns out the difference between believing in a man's right to nudity and actually going outside nude is mental illness. Also, everyone who shares Modern Western taboos against exposing genitalia (including women's breasts) will obviously understand other culture's taboos against exposing women's hair or even face (even if they do not agree with them). jb makes an excellent point.

By: Mitrovarr

Mitrovarr — Mon, 22 May 2006 03:14:05 -0800

catchmurray: Mitrovarr, your comments only serve to show a thoroughly shallow nature. I'd keep them quiet if I were you. Oh yes, I am such a terrible person because I do not want to see unattractive people's bodies. You, on the other hand, have no problem with the morbidly obese walking around naked. Or, far more likely, you just aren't willing to say it. jb: Also, everyone who shares Modern Western taboos against exposing genitalia (including women's breasts) will obviously understand other culture's taboos against exposing women's hair or even face (even if they do not agree with them). It's worth noting that the taboo against exposing genitalia is shared by nearly all of the planet, it's not just us (the breast thing is especially severe for us, but I don't see at least half the world's population violating it wantonly either.) And the face and hair covering taboos are the product of a culture that is extremely repressive to women in other ways. Anyways, I don't mean to reinforce the taboo. Taboos are irrational. I merely want to state that there are, in fact, rational reasons not to walk around naked; hygiene, sun protection, and weather protection are all essential. It's a bigger deal for hygiene than most people think; walking around naked (and barefoot, especially) would quickly spread a lot of minor skin diseases like athlete's foot and some varieties of parasites. The aesthetic issue is of course not rational, but it is important to me, so I added it in as well. nightchrome: Part of the reason why the "imperfections" of the human body bother you so much is because we live in a society which sees the body as inherently "bad", and thus your entire impression of the naked form is biased from the start. Partly, but I think it goes deeper than that. I think it is intrinsic to us to dislike seeing any damaged or unhealthy lifeform; doesn't it depress you to see a dog with mange, or a tree that some vandal hacked up? With animals, it takes a severe weight problem or severe age to cause apparent harm, but with humans, very minor problems show up extremely badly. It's partly because you recognize smaller details in your own species, but it's also the lack of fur. It makes smaller defects more obvious.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Mon, 22 May 2006 03:16:46 -0800

Part of the reason why the "imperfections" of the human body bother you so much is because we live in a society which sees the body as inherently "bad", and thus your entire impression of the naked form is biased from the start Our society sees the body as inherently bad? Sounds a bit too catholic for my liking. Maybe that could be rephrased as "society which sees the non-healthy-and-youthful body as inherently not particularly attractive"...?

By: yoga

yoga — Mon, 22 May 2006 04:32:24 -0800

And how cool would it have been to never have to worry about what to wear? And cheaper!

By: amberglow

amberglow — Mon, 22 May 2006 05:38:59 -0800

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Mon, 22 May 2006 06:02:51 -0800

Why is the 'imperfection' thing even on the table? I saw a picture of this Naked Guy, and, pardon me, he was hot. Athletes foot would disappear if everyone went barefoot. The bare foot is not a good environment for fungus. Not that I think barefeet are practical. (although in my country of residence, it is amazing how many adult men I see at the grocery that way). I never suggested Naked Guy lacked a mental health issue. Certainly he had issues. A sane person would have understood nudity is not an issue one can push very far. But he was in jail when he did himself, and he was there only for being naked. Because the sick society insists that naked = sex = bad. That is, IMO, sick.

By: sluglicker

sluglicker — Mon, 22 May 2006 06:16:38 -0800

Actually, he was in jail for assault. Nonetheless, let's remember him by being a bit kinder to someone we meet or know who has mental problems (I hate that expression). Not just today, but from now on.

By: uncanny hengeman

uncanny hengeman — Mon, 22 May 2006 06:20:32 -0800

I hope they bury him naked. :)

By: jonp72

jonp72 — Mon, 22 May 2006 06:29:39 -0800

As someone who lived in Berkeley for nine years, I can testify that nothing de-eroticizes nudity more than the Berkeley X-Plicit Players. Ex-Hippies + 35 Years of Gravity = The horror, horror...

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Mon, 22 May 2006 06:43:51 -0800

Age != horror...but I can understand why you youngsters might think so. It's not like the TV Internet doesn't tell ya so. Just remember this when the hotties laugh in your face and your wife/partner tells you to stop flirting with kids.

By: dgaicun

dgaicun — Mon, 22 May 2006 06:59:52 -0800

So what's the deal, did he just get boners in public and it didn't embarrass him, or could he "control" it? Really, I don't care at all on aesthetic or "moral" grounds if people, ugly or pretty, go everywhere naked. But for hygienic and psychological reasons, I strongly do not want to sit where naked nuts/asses/cunts have been. Also, it doesn't create many additional problems for me if men and women are naked, but I believe it creates many more opportunities for men to subtly get away with publicly sexually harassing and humiliating women ("accidently" rubbing up against them, etc.). So clothes are generally a pretty good rule for the ass/genital region. Not on television, but for public, yes. If people disagree with such a basic and reasonable rule that bad, that they will damage major parts of their lives to oppose it, more power to them, but talk about choosing your battles poorly.

By: asok

asok — Mon, 22 May 2006 07:01:31 -0800

Mitrovarr, I am wondering what hygiene reasons you are imagining clothes help with? Is it the skin that is shed into the clothes that would other wise be going somewhere else? Alot of the reasons for the hygiene argument are a function of city living and high-density lifestyles. The idea of going through a day naked can be a good mental exercise in showing us what aspects of our quotidian lifestyle are at odds with and separate from nature. Other than the temperature, that is. Clothes may cause skin problems themselves. Having said that, padded cycling shorts are a good thing. And .

By: lilboo

lilboo — Mon, 22 May 2006 08:07:39 -0800

By: moonbiter

moonbiter — Mon, 22 May 2006 08:24:19 -0800

I'll tell you one thing. If we all went around naked, we'd be a hell of a lot more concerned with our own physical upkeep. You're kidding, right? Have you ever actually seen nudists? Personally, I like clothes. They are all kinds of handy. I like pockets, I like protection from the sun and the cold, I like having my peen put away where it won't get easily hurt, and shoes are, frankly, necessity in our concrete and glass world. Plus, they can be decorative. Not that I'm against Nude Dude walking around with his dick swinging, if that's what he wants. Although I'm not sure exactly what his point was. I'm a little confused though. Is it politically correct to shock folks who are uncomfortable with nakedness, or is that too much of a tar baby to get into a discussion about?

By: moonbiter

moonbiter — Mon, 22 May 2006 08:25:46 -0800

Oh, and .

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Mon, 22 May 2006 08:37:12 -0800

By: kittyprecious

kittyprecious — Mon, 22 May 2006 08:55:02 -0800

I gotta say, Mitrovarr is absolutely right. Hygiene is important. I believe it was the great David Sedaris who pointed out that nudist colonies are obsessed with ensuring that people carry around towels for sittin' purposes.

By: squirrel

squirrel — Mon, 22 May 2006 09:02:43 -0800

Humans, outside of a small proportion, are really pretty ugly animals. That's just, like, your opinion, man.

By: grubi

grubi — Mon, 22 May 2006 09:24:54 -0800

No, most humans, myself included, from the neck down are all kinds of ugly. Sorry. "Freedom" just ain't enough of an excuse to wander everywhere nude. But . for the poor fella.

By: JekPorkins

JekPorkins — Mon, 22 May 2006 09:32:59 -0800

How many of the people posting here are nude right now? Yeah, that's what I thought. Don't talk the talk if you won't walk the walk.

By: setanor

setanor — Mon, 22 May 2006 10:05:16 -0800

I hate the restriction of living inside a dwelling. The social opression that compels honest folk to keep their belongings separated from the majesty of nature needs to be challenged.

By: I Foody

I Foody — Mon, 22 May 2006 10:09:12 -0800

One time I saw an old woman and her face was all shriveled up. I don't want to see people's ugly faces. Wear a mask granny! If it was legal to be naked in public I would still wear clothes, he'll I don't even like wearing shorts, but the aesthetic argument against allowing people to dress or not as they like is fucking stupid.

By: ubi

ubi — Mon, 22 May 2006 10:17:29 -0800

I was at Cal, and then teaching ESL nearby at the time, and I remember the hygene issue was one that came up alot in the "official" discussion. Although I never had a class with him, I do remember that seeing him go by was always an occasion for an uncontrollable smile and a silent, "god bless Berkeley." So sad to find he had trouble later, he was a very charismatic guy, and one had high hopes that such an iconoclast could make it in the mean old world. As for "western" ideas about nudity, I just got back from the Canary Islands, and the predominantly German tourists there didn't seem to share much of the naked body issues expressed above. Fatties and hotties, men and women, old and young all out flapping in the breeze - it didn't seem to matter to anyone else what you wore or didn't wear. I couldn't help thinking about another recent trip to Minnesota, where I was upbraided by a teenage lifeguard for letting my 3 year old (toilet trained) be naked at a lake. He said, "You know, sexual predators..." Wha? Is it my problem, or the Germans', or the naked guy's, that people assign some value to nakedness? Live your own life, please.

By: MattD

MattD — Mon, 22 May 2006 10:20:34 -0800

He was a nice guy -- of all the axe-grinding activists I met in five years at Berkeley, he had the least self-righteous attitude about his particular agenda. I always found his cheerful single-mindedness admirable, in a skewed sort of way. Turns out he just had a singularly anodyne way of giving expression to incipient mental illness...

By: elr

elr — Mon, 22 May 2006 10:46:01 -0800

I think that clothing can be a valuable tool. I threw a fancy-dress party the other night and was shocked to find how suave and beautiful some of my scumbag friends could look. I think the problem is that people don't dress to dress well day-to-day. Most of us can't afford it, so we wear what's clean. We wear what's lying around. We dress to conform to temporary fashion trends. If that's what most people are doing (and that's how it looks to me), then I think they might as well be naked, size/shape be damned. Look at this guy (r.i.p.), he's got an attractive body, but he'd just be another shlub in a Raiders jersey and Levis. I don't know how much cheaper it would be to go naked. I'd wager a lot more dough goes into body makeup, jewelry, body jewelry, hair accessories, 6-blade razors, tattoos, tanning products (ick), and assorted other pieces of flair that people need to feel individual/attractive, but it would probably save a fair amount of time in the morning. Full disclosure: I used to be the naked guy at parties, and due to wait loss/gain my shirt is too tight and my pants are too loose. I very much respect the role of shoes, pockets, hats, and jackets.

By: squirrel

squirrel — Mon, 22 May 2006 11:49:29 -0800

Turns out he just had a singularly anodyne way of giving expression to incipient mental illness... Correlation does not equal causation, Matt. Didn't they teach you that at Cal? His mental illness may have been unrelated to his nudist activism. Or perhaps you're saying at all nudism activists are mentally ill? Also, all you bodies-are-ugly folks make me sad. hygiene and practical issues aside, your inherent distaste for all but a tiny fraction of human bodies suggests that you're living in profoundly false consciousness. Your aesthetic rejection of our species boggles my mind, but then I may lack sufficient indoctrination in hegemonic body types. No fat chicks! Am I getting warmer?

By: drstein

drstein — Mon, 22 May 2006 11:52:18 -0800

I saw this guy before. I was driving through Berkeley after a long night of partying. There I was, hung over and tired. And I lean over to get a tape from the floor of my car while stopped at a red light. I sat back up and crossing the road right in front of me was this guy - butt naked except for a pair of shoes and a smile. "Man, it's too early in the morning for this. heh." The light turned green and I drove home. RIP, Naked Guy!

By: spiderskull

spiderskull — Mon, 22 May 2006 12:41:21 -0800

. (on another note, if I have to read the word "bloghorrea" once more, I'm giving up on the Internet)

By: SweetJesus

SweetJesus — Mon, 22 May 2006 14:12:38 -0800

Also, all you bodies-are-ugly folks make me sad. hygiene and practical issues aside, your inherent distaste for all but a tiny fraction of human bodies suggests that you're living in profoundly false consciousness. Your aesthetic rejection of our species boggles my mind, but then I may lack sufficient indoctrination in hegemonic body types. Hahahah! Wait, that was supposed to be sarcastic, right?

By: Sparx

Sparx — Mon, 22 May 2006 14:44:53 -0800

Full disclosure: I used to be the naked guy at parties Haven't we all, at some point, been the naked guy at parties? I know I have.

By: fandango_matt

fandango_matt — Mon, 22 May 2006 16:21:14 -0800

So you're the one who ruined the mashed potatoes last Saturday!

By: brain_drain

brain_drain — Mon, 22 May 2006 16:39:22 -0800

Beneath our clothes we are all naked.

By: squirrel

squirrel — Mon, 22 May 2006 17:30:03 -0800

Et tu, SweetJesus?

By: jalexei

jalexei — Mon, 22 May 2006 18:25:16 -0800

Beneath our clothes we are all naked. Actually I've got another outfit on under there...

By: bananesf

bananesf — Mon, 22 May 2006 21:58:32 -0800

it sounds as if he'd had trouble with mental illness all his life. Andrew wasn't crazy all his life- just near the end. I don't think he was crazy to protest @ Berkeley. Not that I share his views, but I don't think he was crazy when he did it.

By: soiled cowboy

soiled cowboy — Mon, 22 May 2006 22:29:06 -0800

I think it is intrinsic to us to dislike seeing any damaged or unhealthy lifeform; doesn't it depress you to see a dog with mange, or a tree that some vandal hacked up? With animals, it takes a severe weight problem or severe age to cause apparent harm, but with humans, very minor problems show up extremely badly. It's partly because you recognize smaller details in your own species, but it's also the lack of fur. It makes smaller defects more obvious. posted by Mitrovarr at 3:14 AM PST on May 22 I never thought about the subject this way, Mitrovarr. This is a very insightful idea and I agree with you completely: I think there really is something distressing about the sight of an unhealthy lifeform, and our lack of fur makes our flaws obvious.

By: qvantamon

qvantamon — Mon, 22 May 2006 22:30:23 -0800

Since some people seem to have no problem with ugly people naked, should I inline in this thread a photograph of myself naked, just to illustrate the discussion? By the way, I am selling brain scrubs, if anyone needs to scrub off mental images...

By: pax digita

pax digita — Mon, 22 May 2006 22:33:31 -0800

Look at this guy (r.i.p.), he's got an attractive body, but he'd just be another shlub in a Raiders jersey and Levis. It took me a minute to realize why he looked worse in a suit and tie than he did naked...those clothes don't fit him well. I wonder if that was intentional?

By: soiled cowboy

soiled cowboy — Mon, 22 May 2006 22:36:11 -0800

Martinez's run-ins with the law began in the fall of 1992, when he was arrested for indecent exposure while jogging naked near southside dormitories at 11 on a Saturday night. The charges were dropped, but he was arrested again when he showed up at his court date naked. Ballsy move.

By: dgaicun

dgaicun — Tue, 23 May 2006 02:58:31 -0800

The even more ballsy part was he even had kind of a small weenie.

By: Jairus

Jairus — Tue, 23 May 2006 16:24:43 -0800

Ballsy move. Walking into a court naked? You can't say the man wasn't cocky.