Chicago woman goes to nude beach alone to feel ‘free and liberated.’ Then old men there gave a warning: ‘watch out for…’

A woman from Chicago recently shared a story on TikTok about visiting a nude beach alone as a personal challenge, and what happened there turned out to be far more eventful than she had expected. Caroline, who goes by @the_thought_daughter on TikTok, said she made the solo trip to what appears to be Gunnison Beach in New Jersey, the only nude beach in the state, according to Wikipedia. 

Caroline said she went to the beach hoping to push past her comfort zone. “I take my top off, I’m trying to feel like free and liberated, but I’m panicking,” she said. “I’m like, it’s fine. No one’s noticing you. And this is part of exposure therapy and yada, yada.” She said she brought a picnic blanket and a journal and described herself as “panic writing” her “intrusive thoughts” once she settled in.

She said she quickly realized that was not the case. According to Caroline, the beach appeared to have a tight-knit regular community, people who seemed to know each other’s names, family situations, and personal details. She described feeling like “an outsider walking in on something that was clearly established,” adding that she had expected to blend in but instead became a focal point of attention almost immediately.

A solo journaling trip that turned into a group Frisbee game at a New Jersey nude beach

Caroline described a series of interactions with older men at the beach throughout the day. The first, she said, was a man in his late 30s who approached her while she was lying on the sand and “popped a squat” next to her to make conversation, with no clothes on. She said she offered him a spot on her blanket since the sand was hot, but he stayed on the ground.

Shortly after, she said another man she called “Mr. Tea Time” came up to her and began sharing what seemed like gossip about various regulars at the beach. Then a man she referred to as “Frisbee guy” approached her and asked if she wanted to play Frisbee. She declined, but said he told her he would “circle back” later. 

Another man, she said, introduced himself as a chiropractor and offered her a massage, which she turned down. Mr. Tea Time then allegedly told her that the man had lost his chiropractic license due to misconduct – the nature of which Caroline did not specify in the video. In another case, a woman says a Miami beach club denied her entry over her clothes.

Caroline said she noticed a pattern forming throughout the day. Multiple men, she said, approached her, claiming to be friendly while warning her about the others. “I genuinely, you’re all bothering me,” she said she thought at the time. She said she felt that each man was presenting himself as the trustworthy one while pointing fingers at everyone else, adding, “Everyone’s trying to tell me like I’m the nice guy but watch out for these creeps.”

At one point, she said Mr. Tea Time loudly called out Frisbee guy in front of her, saying, according to Caroline, that he was “always making girls feel uncomfortable on this beach.” The two men then began arguing with each other, which she said suggested there was existing tension between them. “I’m just naked and afraid,” she said of how she felt in that moment. “What is happening right now?” A similar dispute involved a man allegedly telling women to move from a San Diego beach.

After the confrontation, Caroline said she was finally left alone for about 20 minutes. She said she used that time to take photos with a shell and go for a swim. When Frisbee guy returned a third time and pushed her to play, she said she gave in. “I felt like a horse gallivanting through the wind,” she said. What started as a two-person toss, she said, eventually grew into a circle of around 13 people. “What you’ll do in survival mode,” she added, “insane.”

Caroline said that after she left, she felt “on a high on life.” She described the overall experience as something she would recommend trying at least once, particularly for anyone in New Jersey. “If you’re in New Jersey you should go to that beach,” she said. “Make it a bucket list thing. You don’t gotta go again. Maybe bring a friend.” She added, “I’m crazy, but I’m free.”