An Autobiography of the Beginning of a Barefooter

During my time as a "barefooter," I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know others who like to go sans shoes. Through Twitter, Facebook, this blog and other sites I've been able to connect with and get to know lots of people who go barefoot in one way or another. For some it's just going barefoot around the house. For others it's a way to improve their running and decrease injuries. For many it's a lifestyle that crosses real and figurative boundaries.

As I've come to know others there have been some requests for me to tell my story and how I got into barefooting. I thought, as the weather gets colder and many of us take a "break" from barefooting for the autumn and winter months, that this would be a good time to fill you in. Now let me see...

(Cue flashback and harp sounds.)

It was the Spring of 2005. I was living with an old buddy from church and college activities to help him pay the mortgage on his new house. In the summers previously I'd come to embrace wearing sandals and flip flops. Before then I'd mostly worn shoes during the summer. The thought of exposing my feet was undesirable for quite a while, but one day -- like my acceptance of drinking ice tea -- I just decided I'd enjoy life and summers more wearing sandals.

Ever since I started wearing flip flops I drove barefooted. I "knew" at the time that it was "illegal," like so many people are told, but I found that I didn't feel as safe driving with flip flops on. The flops would slide around on my foot causing me to feel unsure about my grip on the pedals or my ability to have enough control over them.

At some point in late May or early June of '05 I put in a Web search: "driving barefoot illegal." Though I can't say for sure, I may have questioned the law or wanted to read it for myself. Lo, and behold, right there near the top of the search results was a link to the Society for Barefoot Living's Web site.

Besides being comforted to discover that driving barefoot is perfectly legal, I was fascinated by this group which I'd just run across. "These people hike barefooted?" "They go in public without shoes?" "Isn't THAT illegal?" So many questions, and all the answers were laid out right there. The site showed that going barefooted is a good thing and can be very safe.

A certain photo album on the SBL's site got my attention. It was of a small group of folks who decided to go barefooted around New York City. I thought to myself, "If they can do that, why couldn't I go barefoot other places besides home?" It was time for me to give barefooting a try.

My nephew's birthday party was on a weekend in early June of 2005. I decided to spend that entire weekend barefooted, and I did! Well, I technically was barefooted all weekend, however I didn't do much. I mostly stayed home, but I did go out in the driveway barefooted to get in the car, drove unshod and attended the kiddo's party sans shoes as well (pictured). I was proud of myself. Despite the questions from family at the party as to why I didn't have shoes on, I had a positive barefooting experience for an entire weekend.

Over the next four years leading up to 2009, I explored barefooting off and on. I never started going barefooted in earnest, but I would go unshod around the house and other "safe" places more often than I previously would have. When I shopped at Target -- I don't know what it was about that store -- I would slip off my flip flops and shop barefooted (all while staying in the more out-of-sight aisles to avoid being spotted). At summer Middle School Camp, where I was staff, I would walk barefooted around our lodge and do other tasks in "safe" places without shoes. Any time I wore flip flops I would drive while they sat unused on the floorboard. All in all, you might say I was a "closeted" barefooter.

Well in early 2009 my feet came out of the closet, so to speak.

It was late February or early March of this year when I somehow rediscovered the SBL's Web site. Knowing that it's comfortable, and after reading up on the health benefits of going barefoot, I decided that I was going to become a tried and true barefooter...as much as possible. I posted to my Facebook status on March 4, "Michael is officially ready to stop wearing shoes ALL the time. Bring on the nice weather 'cause my feet need to breathe!"

It had begun. On March 20 I posted to Facebook, "I'm thinking that with the weather being so nice this weekend, I might go barefoot most of the time. Even out and about in public. Who's with me?" And I generally did. Though it was a rainy weekend, I wore flip flops into wherever we shopped or went and then would slip them off.

Over the course of this Spring I grew in my barefootedness. I began posting to Twitter about going barefoot. I'd kick off my flops at various places and started going into places without shoes on at all.

It was at my son's school carnival on May 2 that I feel like I cemented myself as a "barefooter." Except for the muddy petting zoo at the very beginning, I walked around the whole event barefoot. At the end of the day, two of my wife's co-workers -- she worked in the same district -- began talking to me about why I wasn't wearing shoes. After explaining myself and sharing its benefits, one of them said, "I think it's really great that you're doing that. You're doing what you feel is best for you, no matter what anyone else thinks, and I really admire that." Two days later I changed my Twitter username to "barefootmichael," and the rest is history.

(More harp sounds. End flashback.)

Today, I go barefooted or wear minimalist footwear about 99% of the time. At home or other people's homes I go 100% barefooted, indoors and out. When out and about I go either barefooted or wear my Vibram Fivefinger Sprints. They are usually worn in places that have a policy prohibiting bare feet. Occasionally, if I don't feel like taking the time to put on the Sprints, I'll wear flip flops for very brief trips into stores when I don't feel like or have the time for being hassled. That's the other 1%, because I don't consider flip flops to be minimalist footwear.

There's one hitch in my giddy-up: Unfortunately, I am required by policy to wear shoes and socks at work. That said, I have switched to wearing Terra Plana Vivo Barefoot shoes exclusively there. I hope to transition to Vibram Fivefinger KSO Treks over the coming year or so as finances allow. I work in a hospital where people regularly wear strange footwear (e.g. clogs, Crocs, Z-Coils, MBTs, etc.), so I think I'll be able to get away with them.

I hope that you've enjoyed reading a bit about how I got into going barefoot. I challenge you, even though it's a bit cool outside, to try going barefoot one step more than you're used to. Pick sometime when you'd normally wear socks or shoes and just take them off. See what you think. Rediscover the feet that the good Lord gave you. Reconnect with the sensations of the floors and ground all around you. Give it enough time and you will be positively transformed.

I welcome your questions or comments below.