THIS IS NOT THE PERSON I INTERVIEWED!!!
It's a random cute-actor photo I got off the Internet to indicate VERY ROUGHLY what my interviewee looked like. The sophomore himself didn't want to be identified.

Naked Mile Interview:

The Sophomore

'm here in the Rendezvous Cafe in Ann Arbor, and it's around 5 o'clock, Tuesday, the day of the Naked Run. I'm here with "Blake," who says he has not run in the race yet, but he's planning on doing it tonight.

First, tell me about yourself.

OK, my name is Blake and I'm a sophomore here at University of Michigan... I'm 19, from Plymouth, Michigan, and I'm majoring in Pharmacy.

ow did you hear about the Naked Mile?

It's just common knowledge once you're here. Everybody talks about it, it's in the paper [the Michigan Daily], and everybody knows about it. It started in the 1980s as a tradition with the men's crew team, that's what I was told. I'm not sure how it was built up over the years but it's a huge deal.

How often have you watched it?

I've only been here once to see it -- last year. I wanted to run in it last year, but I got there too late. The crowd was already too thick, so I couldn't get to the start of the race.

ow late did you get there?

I think it was 11:30, 12:00 midnight -- something like that.

Last year they started running around 10:20 or so and it was all over by midnight. If you got there at 11:30 you would have missed it.

Right.

ave any of your friends run in it?

Yes, they have. One of my friends -- Ruth -- she had a lot of pressure from her parents not to run, and I think that just made her want to run more so she did. I've had other friends who've run it. They said it's kind of dangerous, especially the women (my girlfriends). I don't think I know any guys personally who've run in it. But actually I have acquaintances and they've said it's no big deal.

hat makes YOU want to run?

Because it's a new experience. I like doing new things, and I think it's really exciting. I was in New York City watching the ball drop last [New Year's Eve] -- it's just a cool, once in a lifetime kind of thing. I think I might not do this ever again. I'm only young once, I can get away with it because I have an excuse, you know? I want to do this for the thrill of the new experience.

ave you ever done anything else naked in your life?

Yes. I've been to a nude beach before, in Florida. Hanover Beach?

Haulover?

Yeah, whatever, it's by Miami. Last summer.

What was the occasion?

I was just touring Florida. With my boyfriend.

How'd you hear about it?

I think I saw it in Damron's [Guide], or something. I'm not sure.

Was it your idea or his idea to go?

Both, really. He was very modest. I just went out to the water and it was really no big deal.

o has your boyfriend ever run in the race?

No. Now he's my ex, and he's never run in the race. He's much older than me. He's like like -- well not much -- late 20s or so. He wouldn't run. He would feel ol[d?]... A lot of people who do run are university students who are around 20.

So he would feel uncomfortable in that?

Yeah, I think he would. He's modest, anyway.

That's too bad!

o your parents know that you're planning on running?

Yes, both of them know.

What do they think?

My mom said, "Don't tell me that you're running" and so I said, "OK, I won't tell you!" She just hopes I'm OK, and she knows she can't do anything about it. But my dad's OK with it, he's fairly indifferent, he's OK. I told him today, he's fine with it. I told him jokingly that he should come down here and run with [us], and he's like "No, no, I have to have my foot operated on and I can't run" -- he busted his tendon or something. He just made up some excuse. He's not against me running in it, so I don't have a lot of pressure from people not to run, really.

resumably if parents are concerned, they're concerned that their little boy or girl won't be able to run for President or something if a photo gets out?

Maybe that's the way it is for some other people's parents but I really don't think.... I don't know. My parents just know they can't do anything about what I might ... they're not going to try to dissuade me. Maybe it's like that for other students who are more attached with their parents. I feel a little bit more independent.

ave you done other things here at U of M that your parents got a bit worried about?

I had my picture taken for -- well not that my parents worried about -- I had my picture taken for "Red Shirt Day" during [Gay] Pride Week -- I wore a red shirt and I got my picture taken in front of the Union. It appeared in the [Michigan] Daily, and some people said, watch out, you could be a target. My parents didn't know that I was in that picture. I've never done anything really "out there."

So "Red Shirt Day" was a way to show solidarity with gay people?

Yeah, it was for Visibility Week. Part of it was my idea. I was in the LGBT [Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans] Leaders' Group on campus, and we were setting up Visibility Week, and during last summer at Gay and Lesbian Day at Walt Disney World everyone was supposed to wear a red shirt for visibility. And so I thought, why don't we wear red shirts? It was kind of my idea and we kind of went with it.

So you've been in a photo which suggests that you either support gay people or are gay yourself -- but these days that's not that big a risk.

Yeah, right. At least not in Ann Arbor.

hat makes the Naked Mile unique?

Maybe cause it's -- I'm not really sure about this. [Lots of time spent thinking, umming, and pausing.] I think it's the only naked run in Michigan. I think because it gives culture to this city. I think it's cool. And I don't know, I uh, I just think it's -- I can't explain it. It brings people to Ann Arbor. I don't know.

re you a nudist in other ways -- other than in the race tonight?

No, not really. I'm not a part of nudist groups or anything. If the setting or occasion was nude, I might, but never in a public place -- except for if the atmosphere was right. I don't really seek out those situations because I have a burning desire to be naked. I'm doing this tonight because it's a new experience, not because I want to be naked.

s there a nudist student group at U of M?

I don't know if there's a group at U of M, but I think there's a group in Ann Arbor called Sunshine Partners, but I'm not sure.

[Ed. note: There is a group of gay nudists in Detroit by that name.]

hen you were a kid growing up, were your parents casually nude around the house? I take it they weren't professional nudists.

My parents were not in any way nude around the home. No. My parents were very strict, fundamental Baptists, and they were not nude around the home.

What's the most wonderful thing about the Naked Mile?

I think it's liberating, I think that's fun. The hype and the excitement are just a riot.

What's most disturbing about it?

People get hurt. It's sooooo crowded, especially here on South University [Avenue]. I've heard of people getting groped and assaulted.... that just brings the whole thing down, makes everything bad, and ruins the tradition and it makes legislators try to pass laws. It just makes everything worse; it's not good.

You can't do anything about the crowds unless the police get involved. And if it's legal, the police COULD get involved, and protect us, but they're not going to do that, because that would be condoning it. That's really the shittiest thing about the whole run -- that we can't rely on law enforcement to protect the runners.

o you see any analogy between being gay and being willing to run naked?

I'm not sure, I don't know about that. I guess I would like to say maybe yes, but I don't think so, quite. I think most of the males who are running are probably straight -- probably dared to by other their friends -- and the party atmosphere for this evening will be high. The fraternities get involved and they all dare each other to run, so most of it's probably straight. Gay participation, I think, is pretty much individual. I'm not sure. I don't really know.

hy does the university administration dislike the run? Obviously I have some guesses myself -- but what's your view?

Well, for one thing it's against the law and the University administration tries to maintain this pseudo-professionalism, and the Naked Mile is obviously very against professional behavior. So they don't want anyone to think that their students would be participating in such indecency (!), and really, it's ridiculous that they would think that. It's no big deal. It's an event, not a common practice or behavior. And I think they're afraid for people's safety, concerned about the reputation of this university, and they're concerned about the people it brings here -- a lot of the creepy people with cameras and videotapes and stuff. They're concerned with safety -- but their answer to the problem is to not run -- instead of making it safe.

ell me more about the creepy people with the video cameras.

I think that there's a ... it's hard to describe. I think it's OK, because I know I'm going to be running by a lot of film tonight, and it's just going to be at most 3 seconds on tape, anybody's film, anywhere. I doubt that anyone's going to try to single me out from among the thousands of other people who are going to be running. But if camera people are trying to obstruct the runners or getting too much into the face of other people, that's inappropriate, I think. That's when it's bad. I think the camera people open themselves up to be assaulted by the runners. If they get too close to the runners, then the runners will assault them. I might not even be afraid to do that, if I was being blocked or I was being harassed by a camera person, I might assault someone if I was angered.

o given all the opposition that the run has, why has it survived all these years?

Now that it's gotten so big, it's going to grow and grow each year. It's getting bigger and up till now it's been under maximum capacity but this year I have a feeling it's going to be quite huge, so they really are going to have to do something about it for it to continue in a safe way.

f you were in charge of the race, obviously, you'd tell the police to kind of set up barriers and make thing safer. What else would you do?

For example, I was in NY for watching the ball drop in Times Square, and there are so many people there in Times Square. They have barriers set up, they have cops on horses, they monitor everything, there's a lot of police forces there, they draw from all the surrounding areas. Everything is kept under control. If they could use some of those tactics here and set up certain barriers and have police monitoring everything, I think that would be great. I guess I'd tell the police to allow the event to go on in a safe way.

 lot of people mention the feeling of bonding that comes when you do something that is a little bit dangerous with along with people you like. But you're going to be running alone tonight, right?

No, actually, I have some friends whom I'll be running with.

But yeah, it is a bonding experience. Last year I saw people arm in arm running together, like 3 or 4 people in a group. It definitely is a bonding experience, especially at the end -- at the Cube, where the run ends? -- yeah, it's just a really big bonding experience. Everyone can look back at that and think "Yeah, we ran together." Yeah, I'm looking for that a little tonight, too.

So if you had a boyfriend would you want him to run with you tonight?

It's hard to answer that question. If I did, I guess so, I guess no big deal, yeah, great. I mean I don't want to be in a relationship at this point, so that's overriding even thinking of running with a boyfriend -- I want to run with friends.

ow old were you when you realized you were gay?

When I realized I had same-sex attraction I think I was probably 8, but never did I associate it with the word "gay" until maybe 7th grade and it scared the shit out of me. So I ignored it, thinking, "I'm not one of those people." Then eventually I dealt with it and accepted it, and I finally was comfortable with myself in 11th grade and began to come out in high school.

And when did you tell your parents?

I told them October 11, National Coming Out Day, of 1995.

So you were still in high school then?

Yes. It was kind of a blind courage, knowing that they were both very strict Baptists. It was hard. I was not prepared for the response that I got -- a lot of anger, a lot of hurt, just so much shit -- it was terrible. Things have changed since then. I lived like a monk for the next couple of months -- they wouldn't even let me go to a National Honor Society meeting because they were afraid I was going to go sneak off to some support group! They didn't want me to go to any kind of group that told me that I was OK, you know? They were really, really.... they thought it was just a ph[ase?].... it was pretty bad.

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

One younger sister. She's 17.

onding is, rightly or wrongly, associated with men in our culture. Have you heard anything about the women who run together -- do they bond also?

A lot of my friends are women and they said that they do bond with their girlfriends. I would think that there's more of a female bonding experience than a male.

Why?

I think for women in our culture it's more acceptable to bond. It's more acceptable to be affectionate with each other? Whereas with men, it's kind of not [acceptable] because it's looked on as "gay" -- and a lot of people are very homophobic -- at least men are, I think. So I'd say it's more of a female bonding experience. But maybe the nature of the event allows for the male bonding to go on, or to be more accepted -- I'm not sure. I've never run it.

nything else you want to say about the run?

I hope to have a blast tonight!

So I take it that because you came here for the interview that it's OK for me to put this interview on my website?

Yes.

Is it OK if I take pictures of you tonight?

If you happen to see me tonight, then fine!

If I get a photo of you, is it OK if I say that this is the fellow I interviewed, or should I just leave it anonymous?

I'd prefer you left it anonymous.

I'd be happy to. I was going to ask if I could take a picture of you now, but obviously that would let people connect your face to the words, so I won't. There's also a small chance -- this is just an idea in the back of my head -- that I might turn some of these photos and interviews into a book. In that case, I still would not have a photo which is identifiable as you, so that you would still be anonymous. Is that OK?

Yeah, if the interview is kept anonymous, that's fine. I might change my mind in the future so you can keep my contact information and maybe if you decide to make that book and it looks serious maybe we can work something out.

OK! Thank you very much!

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