Since I began walking barefoot again a couple of weeks ago I have been trying to walk barefoot around my neighborhood two or three times per week. I enjoy the cool morning air and I enjoy the feel of the ground on my feet. I find that barefoot walking helps with my proprioception and balance since it forces me to pay attention to the signals my body is sending me.

I try to change my route from time to time and I try to challenge myself a little bit each time. Today I doubled my walking distance by walking further east before turning south again to walk a bigger loop. The bigger challenge though was dealing with some rough ground conditions. Recent monsoonal rains have moved the soil around and in places there are patches of course, sharp, sand on the sidewalks. I almost put on my flip flops at one point but I forced myself to slow down, pick my footfalls more carefully and try to spread my weight out on my feet so I was not putting a lot of pressure on any one spot. It worked. Just the process of staying focused got me through it and I stayed unshod all the way.

Hi, New Zealand has the image of the barefoot dreamlands from all what I have been reading. I've been in Australia in the early 2000s, and yes, there were some barefooters. However whenever I see travel reports or specials on NZ on the telly, I don't see any barefooters. So, dear Kiwis, how prevelant is it really these days in public? Should I make the trip and leave my shoes at home?

I have a thought/question. Walking barefoot is natural and normal for humans. All history before last around 40 thousand years all people were walking only barefoot because shoes did not exist at all. And we know that if you walk barefoot for a long time (for example a little every day for a few years, like people in New Zealand are happy to be able to do) your feet skin will have pretty good durability and such thing as skin irritation (from walking barefoot) will just stop existing for you. Side note: i would like so much it to stop existing for me:) So if human body is capable of making this skin (that does not feel pain or discomfort from walking barefoot) then why couldnt evolution just give humans this skin as a default? I mean evolution is like: "So you like walking barefoot? Dont like it too much lol because after some number of steps your feet will hurt and after each next step it will hurt more, at some point it will force you to stop regardless of how much you enjoy the tactile feelings of sand or dirt under your soles. Sure your soles skin will become more trained slowly and you will be able to enjoy walking barefoot longer but you will still have limit. Ye, sure if you have a rain cheat code you can do it longer but such luck does not happen often.". If having feet skin with good durability it possible then why couldnt evolution write correct sequence of A, G, T, C letters in our DNA so that this skin forms itself, without repetitive stimulation? Evolution could be like: "Walking barefoot is normal so i made your feet skin capable of doing it without pain, enjoy:))) Want to walk 3 hours on asphalt in your first barefoot walk ever? Sure, go do it, no problem. By the way, dont step on glass or nails, even i cant make you skin strong enough for that.". Of course i dont mean human body making strong enough feet skin from the first day of life but by some age. Like maybe by age 5 being able to not have irritation (skin durable enough for 5 year weight), then skin becomes more durable as weight increases. Was it really impossible for evolution to do this? It would be so awesome to not need to limit yourself. Because you know, when walking barefoot around 2 hours and start feeling pain (which is barely noticeable at first but with each next step it eats away bigger and bigger part of pleasure) its really sad:(

reddit kept sending me notifications from this sub despite the fact that i wasn't a member, so i decided to check y'all out. im not a barefooter, i do have a foot fetish but thats not the point of this & im not gonna lurk here to goon, just not this kind of person. im genuinely curious why that's your thing, i mean, walking barefoot? i don't think it's weird, i like this idea from a naturalistic pov and i know you can get used to it, but i personally wouldn't dare to walk barefoot in this climate (gotta love central europe). so tell me guys, what's the story behind it? what drew you in? and should i consider joining you in this, if so, why?

I'm thinking about moving there I'm barefoot full time and wanted to know how that would be accepted it is there

I’m from Wichita Ks and I am always the only person in stores and everywhere else I go that’s barefoot. Am I the only wichitan that goes barefoot in public?

I'm proud to say that I haven't worn shoes for over a week now. I'll tell you everything.

As I mentioned in a previous post, last weekend there was a fantasy convention near where I live. On Friday, after dinner, I decided to lighten my load a bit by putting some things I had with me in the car, including the shoes I was wearing. From that moment on, I didn't wear anything else. I spent the evening barefoot, and the following days (as I mentioned in the other post) I just put the stickers on the soles of my feet. By last Monday, I decided to see how long I could go without shoes. The first few days were easy, I didn't have to do much, as I'd only gone out Monday night to visit a friend.

The real "challenge" was Wednesday afternoon.

There was a barbecue with friends on Saturday, and since there were so many, we needed to reserve the meat. So the host and I took the opportunity to run some errands and go and reserve.The commissions involved taking something from an animal rescue center to an outdoor area in the middle of a forest. Once I got to the woods, I obviously remained without shoes, walking on the earth, branches, etc. in that way. After that it was time to go to the supermarket, which was the thing that made me most anxious. We arrived at the supermarket and I plucked up the courage to walk in without any problems, trying to concentrate on what we had to do and it was really relaxing. At one point, a couple of guys stopped me to ask, "Aren't you going to hurt yourself like this?" And I just said, "Just watch where you're going, I'm more comfortable like this." Once we finished at the supermarket, we went to dinner without any problems and there were no problems there either, except for a few looks, which I ignored, however. On Saturday there was the famous barbecue and I had to go back to that same supermarket a couple of times to get things that were missing and this time too without wearing shoes. The last time I wore shoes was last Friday. And I think I'll be able to continue doing so without any problems at least until Wednesday.

like my feet feel really weird alot like on certain textures or just toching like socks and shoes r really wierd. is this normal to feel weird on some stuff like textures.

im doing barefoot alot now but at mall and park i have tow socks but is there like better stuff to wear.

Well, took me so much courage, but I finally did it the last weekends going fully barefoot from home to town and back in my home town. I was nervous but so glad I did as just getting easier.

Love going barefoot, people think my feet are gross. No matter how hard I scrub in the shower it doesn’t come out . Any helpful info would be appreciate it. Thanks barefeeters

Totally got an unsolicited DM from a redditor that has barefoot in the name. It was a basic "How do you do?" message.

I check the profile and there's literally NOTHING there except posts about barefoot...

I know these people exist but ew its yucky :(

I think it's one of those people who has a secret fetish and asks you questions and gets off to the replies. It's giving very Pedro Pascal vibes.

Back in the 80s I would be barefoot as often as possible. It was looked upon as weird but I didn't care.

I would always drive barefoot and would venture down the highstreet barefoot as well.

I am now a wheelchair user and I miss the feel of walking barefoot but its so good to see so many embracing it.

I honestly go barefoot on public and on the filthy streets of my city when I am going through manic episodes. When I am stable I am very inhibited.

My wife had some vaguely major surgery a while back, which left me spending lots of time both in the waiting and recovery rooms. After four hours in the former, I finally found myself in the latter, comfier chairs, not so many others. Natch I kicked my sandals off.

Went to fill my water bottle, desk nurse sternly indicated, wouldn't want you to slip and fall, so shoes or grippy socks on! Like I'm going to slip and fall in my bare feet? Whatever.

Wound up with grippy socks, although I often only wore one. I'm not certain if they knew what to make of one sock, one bare foot!

Been barefoot for about 5 months now, and one of the first things I noticed was that my feet have become a lot more vascular, which makes sense since going barefoot strengthens your feet and improves how they’re used

The weird thing though… my toes have gotten hairier too 😭 The hairs are noticeably longer than they used to be, and I’ve even started getting more hair on my other toes

I’m not complaining at all. If anything, I just found it funny and was wondering if anyone else has noticed the same thing. My guess is maybe it’s something to do with better circulation?

Curious if anyone else has experienced this 👀

I see a lot of posts that it is more “seemly” for a woman to go barefoot and it really isn’t so for men. I felt this way in my late teens. I hated hot and tight shoes. When I was a kid you couldn’t keep me in shoes.

I realized that I want to go barefoot regardless. It shouldn’t matter if you’re a man. If other men make you feel uncomfortable, then maybe they aren’t worth being around.

Most men are probably afraid of showing off their fungus ridden feet, but the best way to heal that is to go barefoot more frequently. I do take care of my feet and clean them regularly but I have NEVER had foot fungus because I only wear shoes when absolutely necessary.

Free your feet and take care of them. Going barefoot strengthens your feet and gives better stability.

Being barefoot is NOT a feminine thing.

Soo I have been going barefoot for 6 years now and I live in a very thorny area, I have stepped on hundreds of thorns by now and I just easily remove them with fingers or tweezers with no pain at all since my foot has thick callouses and they don't hurt... Until today... There's this tiny little thorn straight on the front side that has imbedded itself in the callous at the and i can't grab it no matter what, it is in such weird position that it actually stings a bit when I take a step and it's super annoying

Does anyone here know some easy way to remove it ?

Today I made my breakthrough. I finally stopped sneaking after dark and went out full bf 100% in hot weekend daylight. Starting by simple morning walk in suburbs, then into the forest when I encountered a storm (luckily I had an umbrella), then to my favourite local Caffe for a lunch, then by metro to city center - to local festival in one of the city gardens and then to the park and back to my flat. 7 hours on various surfaces from wet tickling grass to hard gravel including many puddles. To my astonishment I realised how warm these puddles are! I feel some cosmic energy surging through me! I made my little dream come true! People either didn't noticed or were smiling, perhaps wanting to do the same. And I also met another guy walking barefoot in the forest and we greeted each other like gentlemen. What a beautiful day!

just got back from vacation in a very known place in Florida known for rides and characters, and I wore the wrong shoes, and bought sandals that were ill fitting too. at the end of the day I had to walk around barefoot and it felt so good to just be out of pain and to my surprise the bottom of my feet weren’t dirty at all once I made it back to the hotel

More me should get pedicures. I think men’s feet are often gross and it’s a good hygiene practice. I even think color is worth it since you’re already paying for the service. Life is too short to not get a little color and toes are boring.

I got a thorn stuck in my heel a few days ago and between myself and nurses we've managed to get a bit out but it's still puffed up sore and feels like it's getting infected, what's the best course of action to get it out and make sure it doesn't get any worse. I've currently got antibiotics cream on it and a plaster but any advice would be beneficial.

Update: it's out, thank you for all your help, I'm on antibiotics and healing nicely

I went to the beach leaving my shoes for the first time. It meant a walk over tarmac, grass, sand and pebbles. I ended up walking back a lot on the road. I discovered that some tarmac was sharp but manageable. I noticed I was walking differently, using my knees to cushion my step. Some tarmac was smooth but hot. Grass had some sharp plants in there. Pebbles were a bit uncomfortable but manageable. After that I feel a bit sore as if I was almost about to have blisters but not quite. I will rest it a bit and do more when I can.

So this vid by the 'Mr. Caveman' YT channel looks at how long humans have been potentially using footwear. Longer than I thought.

Looking at the evolution of our feet, specifically the weakening of our toe-bones, footwear has been traced to becoming a habitual tool perhaps 40,000 years ago. Surviving examples are more recent due to decay of natural materials, being dated to 10 and 7,000 years ago.

The vid does wonder what we lost by becoming habitually more shod as a species, given the 'technical' marvel that feet are.

Naturally, footwear became wrapped up in status and so became sought after adornments. Now, as we know, many people wear them all the time regardless of whether the job that mandates them is hazardous enough for their requirement.

Link: https://youtu.be/d8T2ILy_Cps?si=9J7rZ05k2hBdMuFO

The art used is probably AI and doesn't match the commentary all that well, but worth a listen.

I wonder if I'd have as much issue with gravel if I could transplant the feet I might have had at 50,000 BCE?

My wife and I visited a local brewery, along with my 70 lb dog who loves people. We sat outside because, y'know, dog. We were both wearing absolutely minimal sandals which we immediately kicked off because, why TF not?

Missus goes in for round #1 barefoot, then round #2. Round #3, my turn; "You need to wear shoes when you come inside." Oops, my bad, I step out.

Barefoot wife goes in. And she's advertising being barefoot, bells on an anklet, toe rings, the works. No problem.

Towards the end of the evening I was indeed able to get a refill while BF. But they didn't seem happy about it.

Let me say, my wife is 63, not exactly a PYT with slim ankles and tight calves. Yet her being BF was fine. Me? Not so much.

We're doing our best. It's likely not enough.

When I started my barefoot journey, it progressed in a few stages:
- Sneak out at night for quick experiments of what it feels like to be barefoot, with a low chance of anybody spotting me
- Go out wearing shoes, but look for opportunities when it feels comfortable/acceptable to walk barefoot for a while
- Go out barefoot, but bring some shoes as a “safety blanket”
- Go out barefoot without any shoes anywhere near.
- Travel without bringing any shoes.

Do others think about this similarly? What are your “stages”, and how far along are you?