Barefoot shoes as a concept did not really exist two decades ago.
If they did, they were mostly popular among very small cohorts of traditional training enthusiasts.
The Beginning
The barefoot shoe movement started back in 1991 with Robert Fliri, an industrial design student who was passionate about movement. He realized that he was much more stable bare feet.
This small insight motivated him to build a shoe that approached his design to mimic barefoot movement.
It was in the same year, Tim Brennan, a famous tennis player suffered from various injuries and blamed his shoes for it.
The Birth of VIBRAM and VivoBarefoot:
Robert Fliri met with Marco Bramani, the grandson of Vitale Bramani, the founder of the world famous sole manufacturer Vibram.
At the same time, Tim Brennan kept working on his idea - a minimalist shoe with a thin sole.
A shoe that protects the foot without limiting its movement.
In 2004, Robert and Marco applied for their patent for toe shoes. This concept is what eventually led to the famous Vibram FiveFingers.
Tim Brennan collaborated with Galahad Clark and together they found Vivobarefoot in 2004 as well.
Born To Run
In 2009, the book, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall was published. The book talks about the author’s study on a Mexican tribe, the Tarahumara, and in particular their ability to run ultra distances (almost 200 miles) at incredible speeds in sandals cut out of old tires.
McDougall ended up talking about how he got rid of his own running injuries after adopting to practices of the Tarahumara tribe of running barefoot.
Xero Shoes and Shark Tank
Another big boost to the world of barefoot running came when Xero Shoes went on to Shark Tank in 2013 to pitch their idea of minimalist barefoot running sandals.
They did not garner much interest on the show, but the aftermath of the airing of the episode was a rather pleasurable experience for the founders, Steven Sashen and Lena Phoenix.
Shark Tank made a big impact when it comes to inspiring masses to adopt barefoot running.
Barefoot Shoes in India
Since then barefoot and minimalist running is garnering high interest from people around the world.
India has always been a country that embraces being barefoot. From early ages, Indians have known to wear footwear in a very limited capacity. It is deemed as one of the major reasons that Indians have wider feet as well.
The concept of barefoot shoes in India is very new. But with rising education around health and fitness in India, a lot of athletes like Deepika Padukone and Milind Soman have been seen sporting imported barefoot shoes for their training and it is time we make it more accessible with the right product for everyone.
We at Zen Barefoot are bringing this barefoot shoe revolution for the people of India who want to move and train with complete freedom.
With our launch right around the corner, if you are looking to purchase super expensive shoes which will end up giving you more problems than comfort in the long run, it may be wise to wait till you can put your hands on India’s first barefoot shoes.