Naked City Guide

Naked City Guide was created in 2009 by a trio of creatives who couldn’t understand why Gold Coast culture was still a blind spot on the national radar. Following the overwhelming response from the book, they’ve put Naked online.

Naked is a guide to Gold Coast venues that chalk up the fondest memories and the biggest wows. It’s about the people who achieve this through a blend of creativity, originality and community initiative. It’s about recasting the Gold Coast in a light that’s different to the burnt-out reputation of floozies and frippery. Naked tells the story of locals who’ve stuck around and pulled at a thread, revealing the simplistic beauty of this city and a thriving arts culture sweeping through once-forgotten suburbs.

How did it take us this long to realise we live in one of the raddest places on earth? After all our drummed-up controversies, it might just be the coolest thing to live in a city where you can get in your little car and be in the ocean in 20 minutes flat. And drink a coffee in the winter sun without longjohns and a big black coat. A city that’s lived whip-fast until you slip away, Into The Wild-style, to some secret rockpool/inlet/mountain top when it all gets a bit much. Never mind the spiders on steroids, the sand you’ll never vacuum out of your car upholstery and the afternoon storms you can set a watch by in summer. It’s all part of the chaos and vitality of a growing, contemporary city, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.