After spending miles hiking in shoes that were too narrow in the toe box, stiff, and often heeled, my toe nails were smashed, my feet were cramping and in pain, and my knees and back didn’t feel too great either.
This feeling of being so frustrated with my footwear didn’t really stop, no matter the setting. I also struggled to find comfortable shoes for work, going from heels to flats, which sometimes were just as bad if not worse than the heels.
Even before learning about barefoot shoes, I found myself gravitating to shoes that were flatter and more flexible, and with a roomier toe box.
And then, I found barefoot shoes. It was that “aha moment!”
They were what I had been looking for all along, even though I’d never heard them term. And almost as importantly, I came to understand why I had been looking for them for so long.
I had previously framed all the uncomfortable shoes I tried on and wore as a “me” problem. That I just hadn’t found the right pair for my feet yet.
But I now realized that I was looking in the wrong place. Conventional shoes are not shaped like a human foot. They were always going to be uncomfortable.
Instead of it only being a “me” problem, I realized it was an “everyone” problem.
The Barefoot Shoe Guide was established in 2019 after I discovered barefoot shoes. While barefoot shoes (and the related reviews) have exploded over the last few years, there was relatively little helpful information at that time. Especially when it came to barefoot shoes for hiking and the outdoors, which is what initially piqued my interest in healthier, more natural footwear.
Conventional shoes with narrow, tapered toes, and stiff, overly cushioned, heeled soles aren’t good for anyone. Most of us have become numbed by having to deal with the discomfort for so long. Call it a conspiracy if you will, but it’s ridiculous on the most basic level that shoes don’t reflect the natural shape of the human foot, resulting in most of the population walking around with deformed and less-than-functional shoe-shaped feet.
We all deserve to have comfortable shoes that respect the natural shape of the human foot and do not interfere with natural movement.
On the Barefoot Shoe Guide, learn how you can have happy, pain-free feet too by choosing healthy footwear and strengthening your feet and body. This blog is full of barefoot shoe reviews for men, women, kids and babies (it’s a family affair), plus practical tips on making your transitional to minimal footwear.
Contact Me
If you have any questions, go say hi on Instagram or TikTok, or send me an email at barefootshoeguide@gmail.com.