Around 18 months ago I became aware of a product known as Vibram FiveFingers. While reading the fantastic forum over at Mark’s Daily Apple, these VFF’s as they were referred to kept coming up in conversation. At first I figured they were some kind of specialty running shoe, as most conversations centred on using them for running. Eventually, my curiosity in overdrive, I checked them out.
Now, if you’re looking at the photo above or if you just clicked the link, you’ll notice these are unlike any shoes you’ve seen before. They are literally like a glove for your feet. Vibram’s whole premise is to enable you to walk as nature intended – barefoot – with only minimum interference to protect you against sharp objects. Intrigued by all things different yet logical, I got myself a pair and so did Amanda – pictured.
I should also mention that I have flat feet and have had since birth. As such, I’ve spent my entire life not only wrapped up in super-cushioned running shoes, but also wearing custom orthotics to “correct” my foot shape. When I first started wearing the FiveFingers, I immediately regretted the years of coddling my feet had lapped up. Everything ached. My calves got a hell of a workout. My ankles hurt. My arches hurt. My knees hurt. Somehow, though, I knew it wasn’t a bad pain. The only reason it hurt was because my body hadn’t learned how it was supposed to move without artificial aids in place to make things easier. I persisted, and now wear my VFFs just about everywhere.
The reason for my initial hardship? False messages from savvy marketers. Somehow, someone convinced us that our feet “need” three inches of cushioning, gel pads, air-bags and synthetic rubber. We were told we needed artificial ankle stability as well. As far as I can tell, this push didn’t begin until around the 1960’s. Until then, many kids were spending 90% of their lives barefoot. My mother tells a story of a teacher that MADE the kids take their shoes off once they got to school so that they didn’t get soft and weak. I wonder if she realised how ahead of her time she was.
Eventually, however, an industry managed to convince us that hundreds of thousands of years of evolution had created inferior feet. Apparently we had miraculously managed to get through millennia of running on all terrains; chasing, fleeing, migrating and playing; with dodgy wheels. Who would have thought! Thank goodness science was there with a solution… and a nice little cash cow.
For those of you that enjoy challenging the status quo, grab yourself a pair of these babies from your closest retailer. When you get used to them, you’ll never turn back.
Live vibrantly!
Joe
