“Any event without clothes is wonderful”: Hundreds skinny dip on Mosman beach for charity.

By JACK KELLY

Hundreds of people in nothing but their birthday suits took a skinny dip at Cobbler’s Beach to raise money for charity on the weekend.

The gathering was organised by The Sydney Skinny, the world’s largest annual nude ocean swim, to raise money for the Charlie Teo Foundation.

Owner of Sydney Skinny Tania Taylor said she was humbled to see such a large turnout, despite the gloomy, cold weather.

“My heart is so full,” she told Mosman Collective. “It is another successful event that raised $50,000 for brain cancer.”

This is the 11th consecutive year Sydney Skinny has hosted the nude swim.

Charlie Teo, Australian neurosurgeon, and founder of the Charlie Teo Foundation was loud and proud on the shore as he finished his sixth swim.

“It’s very simple. It’s a very enjoyable event with good people. It’s a good cause even when it’s not our cause, it’s always been a very good cause.

“There’s nothing better than, you know, than getting naked in front of several 100 other people. It’s very daunting,” he said.

Dr Teo started his foundation to fund game-changing brain cancer research to offer hope for a better future for patients and families.

Participants could swim 300 meters, with confident locals able to tackle a 900m course.

Although this year kicked off with a chilly start there were still up to 100 people in the first wave of swimmers lining the shores of the beach.

Watch: Hundreds of brave swimmers strip down for the 2024 Sydney Skinny.

Bad weather was no deterrant, as people from all walks of life surpassed any excuse to step out of their comfort zone for the cause.

Asher, who was swimming for her second year in a row, dared to do the dip while pregnant.

“I feel rejuvenated… I had flippers, we were warm and had a bit of buoyancy,” she said.

“I guess there’s not a lot of opportunities to kind of swim in the ocean nude, so I wanted to give it a go. And also, it’s for a good cause,” she said.

Cliff Wiltshire, who is a passionate supporter of the Sydney Skinny said he’s 78 years old but feels 48 after the swim.

Richard, who is the New South Wales representative for the Australian Nature Federation said he was happy he was able to finally make the trip from Canberra.

“Sydney Skinny has always been one of those bucket list events… It’s just always been conflicting with another event in Canberra, but this year they put it on the following weekend – so I could do both.

“Any event without clothes is always wonderful.”

One Hundred per cent of the $50,000 raised from the event will go towards the Charlie Teo Foundation, which has already donated over $10 million to brain cancer projects and research.

Dr Teo said he also sees value in the strong sense of community felt by all the participants who swam.

“Every time I do it. And I see the smiles on people’s faces and everyone having fun and laughing in the water. It’s a good feeling. It’s good for the soul,” Dr Teo said.