Ugly Naked Guy is the nickname the friends gave the nudist who lives across the street from Monica and Rachel. According to Phoebe, he used to be cute before he became overweight in 1993. Ugly Naked Guy has appeared on screen three times: once while he was suspected of being dead, in The One With The Giant Poking Device, once with his back facing the camera, and once with Ross (who was also nude). His actual name is not known, and never is mentioned. He was a bizarre hermit who obtained his nickname for being morbidly obese and highly unattractive, as well as carrying out household tasks in the nude, with the curtains open. He wasn't always called Ugly Naked Guy, though. In "The One With The Flashback", Phoebe referred to him as Cute Naked Guy, but commented that it was a shame he had been putting on a lot of weight recently. In "The One With The Lesbian Wedding" he is described by Rachel's mother as "an unattractive nude man"
Ugly Naked Guy lived in an apartment directly opposite and slightly below Rachel and Monica's apartment. Anyone in the girls' apartment could look directly into Ugly Naked Guy's apartment. Throughout the early years, the gang would look into Ugly Naked Guy's apartment and comment on his behaviour and actions, such as when he got a Thighmaster or when he squashed his cat by accidentally sitting on it (to which Joey remarked "that poor cat never saw that big butt coming"). At one point the Friends saw him sleeping, and Phoebe thought a curse had killed him, so decided to construct a large poking device out of Joey and Chandler's chopstick collection to ensure he was not dead The One With The Giant Poking Device. He also plays the cello, lights candles, which the gangs comments suggest burnt him, and sleeps in a hammock, right under the window.
In one episode it was announced that Ugly Naked Guy was moving out and subletting the apartment ("Ironically, many of his boxes appeared to be labeled clothes"). This sparked a frenzy of bids, along with bribes. Ross Geller ended up acquiring the apartment by eating mini muffins naked with him in a desperate attempt to bond with the nudist, to the total shock and amusement of the rest of the gang looking from Rachel and Monica's apartment window.
- Joey: Hey, hey, check it out! Check it out! Ugly Naked Guy's got a naked friend!
- Rachel: Oh yeah! ...Oh my God! That's our friend! It's Naked Ross!
Ugly Naked Guy never appeared on screen again, and did not appear in the last episode either.