If you were looking for a different Daniel Copeland, by the way, there’s a list at the bottom of this page.

My immediate family mostly also live in Dunedin. As well as my parents, I have a twin sister, Anna, and a brother, Patrick, five years younger than me. Both are married; my brother- and sister-in-law are Sam and Polly respectively. Anna and Sam have three children: Isaac (born March 2003), John (“J.B.”, born July 2005), and Maia (born March 2008).

My father, sister, brother, brother-in-law, and I all have LiveJournals — we are, respectively, pelliondance, cannopener, mordecai5, sambarham, and of course nakedcelt.

You can e-mail me, if you like, at nakedcelt@hotmail.com.

I left Otago University in October 2003 after eight years there. The first three were an unsuccessful attempt at a Bachelor of Science in geology; then the next three, a successful bid for a Bachelor of Arts in cultural anthropology; and finally, two consecutive failed goes at a post-graduate diploma. Currently, I am on the sickness benefit, after about a year on the unemployment benefit; I have a very part-time job as a co-editor of Gyro, the Otago Polytechnic Students’ Association magazine. I have been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, which means I find intellectual pursuits easy and ordinary social and practical situations difficult. My mind wanders something chronic; I can lose track of time staring at a clock. I also have slightly enhanced senses, but as my reaction time is slowed rather than quickened, that doesn’t make me a comic-book super-hero, damn it. Because of my Asperger’s-derived social ineptitude, I have spent a great deal of my life isolated from human contact, and as a result I’ve had periodic bouts of depression. A severe episode in 1997–98 was a major factor in the failure of my geology degree.

No matter how liberal or enlightened you may think you are, there’s always a line drawn in your head dividing “people with mental illnesses” from “normal people”. You may not realize this; you may deny it, even to yourself... until you discover that you are on what, all your life, you have thought of as the other side of the line. It is profoundly disturbing.

I’m in a relationship with a lovely, lively woman, who does not want me to put stuff about her on the ’Net, which is why I’m not telling you her name or anything here.

So why, you’re probably wondering, do I call myself the Naked Celt? Well, let’s start with the Celtic part. I am a Scot as well as a New Zealander; my mother’s family came over from the UK in the 1950s. And I share a love of Celtic music with my father. What’s more, I think we should celebrate our cultural heritage far more than we do. Now, don’t get me wrong here. There are racists and white supremacists out there that talk a lot about celebrating our European past. I’m not one of them. In fact, I’m quite the opposite. At high school I was involved in a Pacific Island dance group, and sometimes I felt rather left out because the other members each had their own ethnicity — Māori, Rarotongans, Sāmoans, Tongans — whereas I was just a “pālagi”, a white kid. And then I realized that I did have an ethnicity; the European way of doing things wasn’t just The Way Things Were, it was a unique and distinctive culture in its own right.

To that end, I joined the Otago University Highland & Gaelic Society when I left school. A few years later, as the long-running member with the most spare time, I became its leader. I saw its heyday in 2001 and 2002, and, alas, its subsequent decline. I remain an enthusiast for Celtic history, art, music, language, literature and myth.

And I call myself the Naked Celt because I’m a nudist. I have a webpage, soon to be added to this site, where I explain the underlying philosophy. Even in “textile” society I don’t wear shoes, regardless of the weather, to the bewilderment of many. I’ve also eliminated pyjamas and underwear from my life, and I only swim if I can do so without swimming-togs. And, whenever society and the climate permit me, I forgo clothing altogether.

I was brought up to consider nudity indecent, obscene. I can’t remember ever not wishing it wasn’t. Even as a small child I thought life would be more fun if people could go around with nothing on. I suspect the Asperger’s had something to do with it — my sense of touch, like my hearing and sight, is slightly enhanced, and I never quite stop feeling the clothes I’m wearing. Eventually I began to put my nudist convictions into practice, sneaking home naked from university computer-labs on hot summer holiday nights. When an advertisement showed up in a local newspaper announcing a new Nude Walking Group, I joined immediately and have been walking nude in the bush and on beaches around Dunedin ever since. I have faithfully attended the Orchard Sun Club’s nude swim nights since I first heard of them. I’ve gone nude to corner dairies, pubs, and once even a class at University.

Right. What else?

I was brought up Christian, but I’m not one any more. The reasons why are far too complicated to put on one webpage. I’ve written a whole series of webpages rebutting various arguments for Christianity; it’ll be back up here after a while...

My political position is well over to the left, although beyond that I’m not sure what label I should stick on myself. I support publicly funded health, education, and infrastructure; democracy within the workplace; decentralized government; environmental responsibility; local self-determination; and solving problems without violence. There is a webpage series on this brewing, too.

Other Daniel Copelands

Dan Copeland is an Outstanding Alumnus of North Iowa Area Community College, and the founder of the National Black Lobbyists Group. And he has a Zoomshare page. That could get confusing.
Daniel Copeland is an actor from London.
I’ve no idea what Daniel Copeland does, beyond that it’s some kind of computer science, but it looks pretty impressive to me.
Copeland Construction’s president is a Daniel Copeland. Or was, in 1998, when one of his employees died in an accident.
Dan Copeland runs the Fathers & Sons Adventure Club.
Daniel Copeland is involved in some kind of youth project funding programme in Sacramento, wherever that is.
Daniel and Adelaide Copeland closed up their jewellery business in 2003 and disappeared.
Dan Copeland, NØDT, is involved with something called QCWA. Don’t ask me.
Daniel Copeland does something in the Chemistry Department of Oklahoma University. What, I couldn’t say. The “Info” field is blank.