I'm watching this partially because I'm interested in the concept, but mostly because man, you really killed the youtube ad format. This was the first ad I heard in years that actually made me go, "wait, ok, I'm listening". Zero wasted time, it's refreshing. Damn.
Congratulations. This is the first time in my life I've ever willingly watched an ad more than 15 seconds in length, much less 5+ minutes. You have some serious sales pitch talent. EDIT: So one year later I discover that I've gotten 350 likes. Personal record. Nice, and thanks. So about the sales pitch talent, it's not that he is great at pitching a product, it's that the ad oozes with his sincere belief and passion about the product and what it represents. It's a good ad because it's both sincere and well done.
It wasn't the sales pitch, it was him... he made me laugh a few times... his passing out drunk joke... his little kid story... his f*cking hair!!! Ha ha ha... funny shit... not sure I am gonna buy some of his shoes though... they don't look like my style... I have grown to like steel toes... not only for defense, but it is also a good offensive contingency... so I like work and military boot-like sh*t... I even have a pair of steel toe skate-style shoes... but the hiking/tennis shoe and mix of both style was never my style... they look silly to me... almost like clown shoes or something... ha ha... anyways, don't know why I went on so much about shoes, its just that, in the spirit of the comerical we both thought the same of, I guess I left a message that prattles on, but should be somehow entertaining... maybe??? IDK... stay cool man... 🖕😎👍
@Bubba Hubba nice... why not try something new?!?!? It couldn't be any worse than made in China, major corporation, only worried about the bottom line shoes made as cheaply as Safeway sliders crap... we have a tendency to think name brand is better because it cost a lot... this is beyond stupidity at this point... 👍😎👍
I got into minimalist shoes a few years ago and my feet thanked me. I haven't tried Xero shoes enclosed styles but I love their DIY huaraches. Live in them whenever I'm not at work
Seriously? wow. I got some Ocean front property in Kansas that I'm selling cheap. And I own a bridge in Brooklyn that I'm practically giving away. Was it the don't wear comfortable shoes part or his dad falling (aparently from comfortable shoes, never mind he was 80") that got you?
@@xeroshoes I had no problem with the sound at all. This looks (and sounds) ) like a good shoe A couple of people in my family have flat feet and I wonder if it would be good for them as well. I just hold the phone in front so I can see. I can hear the sound perfectly.👣
The point is not to be uncomfortable, it's that research shows that what "Big Shoe" has been telling you is comfortable -- padding, cushioning, motion control, stiff shoes with elevated heels, e.g. -- is less effective than letting your body do what's natural. If you come home at the end of the day, or at the end of a run, and would feel better taking off your "normal" shoes, or if you need orthotics, then Big Shoe's "comfort solution" is not working. Footwear that lets your feet bend, move, flex, and feel, and using your muscles, ligaments, and tendons, produces more genuine, long-lasting comfort. Check out the 25,000+ 5-star reviews at xeroshoes.com and you'll hear people describe this, over and over. If you remember being a kid on a warm summer day, when you'd go outside, kick off your shoes, feel the grass between your toes or the sand under your feet... if your current shoes don't let you feel that freedom and comfort, you're wearing the wrong shoes.
This made me smile because I recently sold my purple mattress and bought a 5 inch thick cotton Japanese mattress (shikibuton) after researching floor sleeping (which prob stemmed from researching barefoot shoes) 😂
What I'm ACTUALLY saying is that true-long-lasting comfort and health comes from using your feet naturally -- letting your toes spread, letting your feet bend and flex, letting your soles safely feel the ground and send information to your brain that it needs for efficient and enjoyable motion -- and that "normal" shoes don't let you have natural movement and Xero Shoes do. Check out the 25,000+ 5-star reviews on our website and you'll hear from people who talk about how the natural experience you get in Xero Shoes is "addictively comfortable."
I don't know about anyone else, but I think xero shoes are pretty comfortable. I've had my pair of clouds for going on three years now and I still love wearing them.
This guy is an idiot His father dying from a broken hip in his 80s has no correlation to shoe comfort. That is an illogical scare tactic. There is no scientific studies or any proof provided that padded shoes cause any of the problems he listed and this is because there is none. He has good pitching technique but he is throwing a ball of literal garbage.
It's definitely hard to explain what minimalist shoes do. I've been wearing them for over a decade and never looked back. That first year really made me realize how weak my feet were.
i have barefeet shoes, and cushy sneakers. depends where you use em', i mean walking on a concrete with barefeet shoes, you're just going to break your back and legs. Nature is all different story.
@@jezze1532 I personally felt foot pain for my first year or so due to my feet strengthening, but other than that I have been wearing only barefoot shoes since 2012. I never experience back or leg pain. I think walking on concrete is bad for your body in general, but mostly running. I actually tried switching back to cushy sneakers for a half a year and it was hell on my body. Who knows, though. I'm only 36 (I guess I DID look back lol)
@@jezze1532 There are very useful instructional videos on youtube that tell you how to position your body/stride so you sort of naturally fall on the ball of your foot. The one I found most helpful was the "how to run down hill", which I was doing mostly due to living in a hilly area and walking up incline/running down a trail. It's definitely the most tricky part to get right, but I found myself naturally doing it correctly after practicing for years.
@@paulguseman6004 I made the switch to minimalist zero drop altras 5 months ago after having worn “normal” shoes for over a decade straight, literally never took my old shoes off till I went to bed every night. Now im paying for it. My transition into being barefoot and using altras so far has been rough, my feet have been sore and ache almost everyday, and have been pretty sensitive for the last 4 or so months. How long did it take for all that to go away for you?
Same and now I'm buying a pair. Since I started working from home I'm either barefoot or in flip flops and now shoes feel weird. Gonna give these a shot.
Imma wear comfortable shoes. You can say whatever you like about how much good it’ll do for me to not wear comfortable shoes but I’ve seen enough evidence to show that no matter what you do, there will always be a guy who has done a lot worse to his body and is actually doing better then you physically
I'm not exactly sure what you mean. But let's dive in: All the "comfortable" performance shoes made by Big Shoe companies have pointy toe boxes. Your foot isn't that shape. In the same way that you spread your fingers to do pushups rather than squeezing them together, your toes aren't supposed to be squeezed together and research shows that doing so limits blood flow and motion. Similarly, elevating the heel has been shown to put pressure on knees and back because of the offset of balance. Also, cushioning has been shown to NOT reduce impact forces (no matter what type or how much). Flared soles also change the moment arm (for you physics geeks) of your foot when it first contacts the ground, leading to excessive and unnatural forces that, according to the former head of biomechanics for the US Olympic committee, cause strain on the lower extremities. And, thinking logically, why would it be good to reduce or eliminate your foot's ability to sense the ground with its 200,000 nerve endings (which, clearly, are there to help your brain figure out how to help you move effectively)? Ironically, after saying all that, I'm not going to tell you to ditch the shoes you're wearing. But if you can see that letting your body do what's natural might be beneficial (and, according to over 38,165 reviews on our site, more comfortable), you can always find something at xeroshoes.com that could be useful for *something* that you do.
Everything you're saying is true. I hate wearing shoes and will take my shoes off almost immediately after getting home. If I could, I'd go everywhere barefoot.
I've worn shoes with minimal support for years and shoes with loads of arch support for years. I've found that the arch support helps with being on my feet for long periods of time and exerting myself a ton. When I'm home, I'm always barefoot, and I've never noticed any ill effects. I'm skeptical to the idea that ergonomic shoes are bad for people. We didn't evolve with ergonomic chairs either, or ergonomic keyboards, or ergonomic bow and arrows. It's true that we didn't evolve with ergonomics, but we have lots of archeological evidence to the reality that our ancestors had HORRENDOUS posture issues. That might be fine when you'll live on average to 35 and no higher than 60, but we don't live in that sort of world anymore. What makes foot ergonomics different than every other field of ergonomics?
Ergonomic design is about adapting technology to what the body wants to do naturally. For example, the ergonomic keyboard you mention is made to let the arms, wrists, and hands be in a more natural position than a flat keyboard allows. When walking barefoot or in a shoe that lets feet move naturally, they don't need an "ergonomic" aid because we're not asking to have them adapt to some external device. But a stiff, padded, heel-elevated shoe with a pointy toe IS an external device that, like the flat keyboard, makes your feet function unnaturally. So, in that regard, an arch support is an ergonomic aid and SOME people can get some relief from arch support (that, again, you wouldn't necessarily need if you weren't in footwear that prevents natural movement and feeling. BUT... it's a small percentage who get help from support. See an article about this at xeroshoes.com/huaraches/orthotics-vs-barefoot-running/) That you feel fine after using arch support is great and shows you may be one of those people. BUT... Research shows, though, that adding arch support weakens feet over time (just like "supporting" any joint makes it weaker because you can't move it). And preventing your brain from getting the feedback that it wants from your soles can lead to "de-differentiation" in the brain, meaning you can no longer function as effectively. The book "The Brain That Changes Itself" mentions this. Our basic position is simple: whenever possible, letting your body do what it's made to do is the better option. Or, as we say, Xero Shoes help people re-discover that natural movement is the obvious, better, healthy choice... the way natural food is.
@@libertyspike8890 There is a place for supportive shoes, but most don't need them if they get strong feet before injury happens. Standing in one place is much harder on the body than moving around on your feet is; I don't know which type of "on your feet" you deal with. If your job requires standing in one place it might be good to find shoes with zero drop and little arch support but some firm cushion. Memory foam really is useless, just keeps your feet hot and degrades quickly. Maybe Sanuk shoes would work. I grew up barefoot and working hard, usually on my feet but moving around. I was extremely difficult to injure. I had my feet stepped on by horses, and even when I was barefoot it didn't hurt my structure, just skin. I could sprint across a lumpy field in the dark, barefoot or not, and lay my ankles over four times and not feel any twinges after. Then I went to live and work in the city, always on flat ground. My feet were ok for a while. But I was wearing "comfortable" shoes and gradually developed problems, culminating in plantar fasciitis and a thrown-out back that took months to recover from. My boss at that job was overweight and constantly on her feet and developed plantar fasciitis too. I recovered by being out of shoes as much as possible, and getting 'minimalist' (not as minimal as Xero shoes) running shoes to work in. If my boss had gone straight into flat, flexible shoes for work, it may have crippled her. She needed to support her damaged feet. But she lived in those shoes at home too, and she couldn't recover pain-free feet. She wasn't getting the right kind of exercise to strengthen her feet. She did need the supportive shoes at work, but if she had phased in use of minimal shoes, she would've been able to recover. I have been looking for shoes like Xero shoes because I know I am much stronger in those than in FOOT COFFINS. I will probably use that term from now on; it is apt. And I'm definitely getting some Xero shoes.
@@xeroshoes I'm not convinced. I think you have a point in that we obviously didn't evolve with ergonomic shoes, but that applies to everything. You argued that a keyboard is an external thing that the body interacts with and that it therefore needs ergonomic support. This makes a lot of sense, but how does this not apply to shoes as well? Like... ALL shoes, including yours. Heck, or even NOT wearing shoes. We didn't evolve to walk around the concrete jungles we call cities. We evolved walking around in grass, dirt, sand, etc, where the material in question usually has a measure of give, which provides its own sort of arch support. Ergonomic shoes emulate this and take it to its logical conclusion. (And they feel great to me.) There's a lot of people here who swear by your product. Which is great, but my personal experience with flattened support in shoes and being barefoot and on my feet for long periods of time has been negative. Maybe different people have different needs. Maybe all my shoes have been wack. I dunno. What I do know is podiatrists don't seem to agree with your philosophy on shoes. The people who work day in and day out with feet, shoes, and posture. That is, those folks who have literally dedicated their lives to trying to understand absolutely everything that we possibly can about the nature of foot health? They don't agree with you. If there was compelling evidence to the idea that we've been doing things wrong, doctors and scientists would be over the moon with joy. So either the evidence that these shoes are drastically better for people is uncompelling due to human's inability to recognize the evidence for what it is (at which point, how do we even know you're right? What makes you better than a scientist at seeing this truth?) OR the evidence doesn't exist despite being the truth (in which case, how could you know you're right?) OR the evidence doesn't exist because it's not true. I'm not deeply convinced one way or the other on this product. But I definitely tilt towards modern, ergonomic shoes with arch support and whatnot over this minimalist design.
@@libertyspike8890 your feet are just muscles, that’s like saying exercise will cripple you. After I transitioned to minimal footwear my foot pain increased for about 3 weeks until my muscles started to build and now I’ve been wearing minimal support footwear (not this brand, never heard of them before today) my feet feel stronger and I have no pain whatsoever. The most surprising part was my knee pain went away entirely. There’s an episode of startalk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson that covers this topic without this company’s say, called Born To Run and Born to Run Farther, I can’t remember which but one of those two episodes covers this topic with a foot expert, and she cites multiple studies that supportive shoes are bad for feet
How about standing in one place for almost 8 hours. Literally, the arch support saves my arches when I'm at work. The rest of the time I'm barefoot typically.
Hi - We know of hundreds of people -- including our Customer Happiness Team (who all have standing desks) -- who spend all day on their feet in Xero Shoes. We encourage you to read this - xeroshoes.com/flat-feet-high-arches-and-running-barefoot/, too.
I have no knowledge about shoes or anything shoe related. But there’s something about this ad that makes me just wanna listen to the whole thing. Maybe it’s the calm demeanor. Maybe it’s the way it hooks you in… Maybe it’s a combination. I like this ad.
you're not far off, I think it's just you entirely. Voice, demeanor, hair; it all just makes me want to listen to you like you're a wise wizard teaching me a spell@@xeroshoes
This logic is so dumb. The analogy that pisses me off is the arch support one, where he compares a broken arm coming out of a cast to your feet because we “support” it. That is not true, I literally HAVE to use arch support because of how large my arches are. My legs concave in without it. Such a stupid ad man.
It's an analogy, of course. But it's based on research and not inaccurate. A study showed that putting arch support in the shoes of healthy athletes reduced foot muscle mass (and strength) by as much as 10% in as little as 12 weeks. Having high arches is not inherently problematic. Having WEAK arches is. If you go to 3rd world countries where they don't use arch support, you can find people with extremely high arches, and none of the problems that are attributed to high arches.
Dude I struggle to see what your saying... thinking about knee problems and taking away what is so important to reduce shock on your joints. That is basically your shoe
The distinction between what I said, and what you wrote can be subtle. Check out the Washington Post article that discusses why minimalist footwear (TRULY comfortable shoes) can help the elderly (and children). And why more familiar, "comfortable" footwear that limits motion and feedback, contributes to trip and fall injuries in the elderly which often lead to death. I link to the article and comment on it at xeroshoes.com/barefoot-shoes/the-fake-barefoot-shoe-debate-washington-post/
That's not exactly what I said, and I think you're smart enough to know that. You may want to check out the Washington Post article that discusses why minimalist footwear (TRULY comfortable shoes) can help the elderly (and children). And why more familiar, "comfortable" footwear that limits motion and feedback, contributes to trip and fall injuries in the elderly which often lead to death. I link to the article and comment on it at xeroshoes.com/barefoot-shoes/the-fake-barefoot-shoe-debate-washington-post/
Actually, everything we say about the value of natural movement is firmly grounded in science. The "flat earthers" in this story are the Big Shoe companies that have convinced people that squeezing your toes together, preventing your feet from flexing and bending, throwing off your posture with elevated heels, and preventing your brain from getting the feedback from the nerve endings in your feet it needs to help with balance and agility are "good for you" and "comfortable."
Yeah but aren't the way our feet are designed completely at odds with how much concrete, asphalt, tile and hard floors exist in cities and workplaces? When we evolved we walked on soft ground.
If you went to the places where we evolved you would see that the ground is often hard packed mud, which is as hard as concrete. And it's full of rocks, twigs, insects, and other things you wouldn't want to step on or in. We evolved to walk on all of that and more. The idea that we evolved on lush, comfy surfaces isn't accurate. Plus, just because we evolved in one situation doesn't mean we're not able to handle other situations. There are MANY things you do on a daily basis -- without problems and sometimes in ways that improve your health and life -- that we didn't evolve to do.
I want your shoes but in all fairness I am VERY skeptical. Your website has 100% all five star reviews. Red flags. No one gets all five star. That's perfection. Nothing can be perfect. I would try them but you probably can't trail these I assume? I am interested in the water proof boots.
Actually, that's not true. We have a preponderance of 5-star reviews, but there are plenty of 1-4 as well. Sort by rating and you'll see them. For waterproof boots we have the Xcursion and Alpine. xeroshoes.com/shop/
I got these shoes and I am so happy I did! I am legally blind and I love to walk but where I moved I can’t walk so easily since I am also light sensitive. It is not so easy for me to walk outside but these shoes help me as they help my balance which is also affected by the ligh outside! These shoes have helped me so much! When I went to visit home I realized how important walking again was, also I have invested in so many different shoes and I have never loved another pair of shoes more! Thank you so very much!!!
I just gave a review with more or less the same information! I am also partially deaf and have super bad balance as I can’t walk to much where I moved to so these have helped me to walk again which I love to get out and walk a lot so these were the best thing I have purchased aside my Lyra as I am getting into aerial arts
Ah yes the perfect shoe for a person who stands for 8-10 hours each day for a majority of my week. Lol I hate these kinds of ads popping up(come on magical algorithms you should know me by now) Nothing against this kind of thing if you can but talking about the idea of what's commonly known as a comfy shoe comes from people who aren't running on inches of memory foam. They are standing. They are working. Having time to strengthen your feet as this guy puts it really is a privilege. I wish I could develop my monkey sprawled out toes like the good old days when we were monki pre capitalism but alas these feet were made for standing on memory foam, buying shoe inserts, and scrubbing human feces off of the rimms of toilet seats for people with more money than I'll ever have in my lifetime. (Sorry for this vent but all of this seems like bullshit if you are a regular working person)
If you check the reviews at xeroshoes.com/reviews/ you'll hear from some of the thousands of Xero Shoes customers who are on their feet for 8+ hours/day on concrete floors... and who report how they're doing that with no problems for the first time ever. If you don't let your feet do their job -- moving, bending, flexing -- then the "upstream" joints (ankle, knee, hip, back) try unsuccessfully to compensate. Let your feet do their job, and the rest of your body can do it's job.
So I have Greek foot I cant stand wearing shoes my feet feel best just being barefoot as much as possible. I was thinking of trying zero shoes for work. I am on my feet a average of 6 hours every day on concrete floors and at the end of the day my feet are killing me. I have tried every shoe and boot you can think off they don't help. Sometimes I even take my shoes off and work barefoot at work when the managers are not around and I have no pain. I am going to give XEROSHOES a shot and I hope they work.
Except that your body has a suspension system that outperforms any man-made cushioning system for running, walking, hiking, plyometrics, etc. It's called your muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints. Research from Dr. Daniel Lieberman shows than running WITHOUT cushioned shoes puts LESS force through your joints. Research from Dr. Isabel Sacco showed the same when elderly women wore un-padded shoes (and their knee osteoarthritis was reduced or eliminated as a result). Research from Dr. Christine Pollard (and others) showed that cushioning does NOT reduce loading forces into the tibia and knee. And, of course, cushioning wears out quickly. Most running shoes say "replace in 2-400 miles." The new "maximalist" shoes say they last as little as 100.
LOL. FWIW, though, what I'm ACTUALLY saying in here is backed by research and, some, simply by common sense. For example, why would it be good to squeeze your toes together so they can't move properly (and, according to research, restrict blood flow)? Clearly, it's not. Think about this -- when you do push ups, you don't squeeze your fingers together. You spread them apart for better balance and force production. Your feet are similar. If your toes can't spread and move, balance and strength are reduced. What about arch support? We all know that if you "support" a joint -- think about putting a cast on your arm that includes your elbow -- the muscles around it get weaker. Research from Protopapas shows that putting arch support in shoes reduced foot muscle mass in healthy athletes by up to 17% in 12 weeks. Elevated heels? They impact posture, putting more stress on knees and back. Is it a mistake that we have 200,000 nerve endings in our soles? Seems unlikely, don't you think? In fact, those nerve endings send information to the brain (and some just to the base of the spinal cord in a reflex arc) so that you can move more effectively and efficiently... but only if your feet can bend/flex the many joints they have for balance, mobility and agility (you have 1/4 of the bones/joints of your entire body in your feet and ankles). Thick soles prevent all of the above. To hear more about the research that supports natural movement and minimalist footwear, read some other replies to comments in this video, or go to PubMed and search for Harvard's Dr. Irene Davis or Dr. Daniel Lieberman, or Dr. Isabel Sacco, or Dr. Sarah Ridge, or Dr. Christine Pollard for a start. So, your exaggeration is funny, but it doesn't disprove anything I said or the research that backs up what I've said, or even our own actual experience.
Shoes without cushioning eventually destroys your knee cartilage unless you're walking or running on soft ground; run on tarmac for a couple decades and you'll require new knees like me.
Research from Harvard's Dr. Daniel Lieberman shows the exact opposite: LESS force through the joints when barefoot. Research from Dr. Isabel Sacco showed that elderly women who wore minimalist shoes reversed knee osteoarthritis.
@@xeroshoes Arthritis is inflammation in joints which through time creates degenerative joint disease so that people lose Cartilage; usually hereditary. Sports or work inflicted cartilage damage is created by injury usually a repeated sustained activity. The fact remains Dr. Daniel Lieberman can bring out as many books as he likes but once the cartilage is gone it’s gone. Proof is the pudding I’ll believe it when I see all those whose knees capute, like mine, can reverse it and right now they most defiantly can’t. I have probably ran more miles than you or Dr. Daniel Lieberman put together, it wouldn’t have mattered what I did, I just ran too far; but I can tell you I attempted barefoot running for a period and it only exacerbate my knees. Follow Dr. Daniel Lieberman nonsense and you regret it.
Interesting. Wrestling shoes are also thin and flexile, but they tend to have too-narrow toe boxes, and the soles don't have a 5,000 mile warranty like the ones on Xero Shoes. In fact, we have a bunch of wrestlers as customers who use our shoes for running, lifting, and daily wear, but then wear their wrestling shoes for, well, wrestling ;-)
I can't get them on my feet. The toe box is too narrow. And I feel like I'm going to fall forward due to the elevated heel. Plus, I miss getting FEEDBACK from the 200,000 nerve endings in my soles (due to the thick foam), which my brain uses to move my feet and the rest of my body more effectively.
this is not true, yes it can build up your strength over time but would you rather be uncomfortable so that your feet are stronger? and there are plenty of comfortable shoes that the cushion never wears out and it doesn't tire you, (adidas boost for example) the whole thing about the hip and his dad is unrelated, wearing comfortable shoes did not kill him that's insane, if you look at this from an advertisement perspective you can spot almost every trick in the book, wear shoes that make you comfortable and fit your feet don't wear ones that are intentionally not cushioned or comfortable it will wear down your feet, joints, and everything else way faster
Your point about fit is 100% correct... but every major footwear brand makes shoes with POINTY toe boxes that don't fit feet (unless they've been shoved into pointy shoes for too long). What we typically call "comfortable" shoes -- with padding, stiffer soles, and arch support -- don't let you build that foot strength, which comes from USING your feet. You may want to read the 38,212+ reviews at xeroshoes.com/reviews/ where people talk about how doing what's NATURAL -- letting your feet bend, flex, move, and feel -- is more comfortable than the above. Boost foam actually wears out within 2-300 miles, prevents natural motion and, like all cushioning, reduces the feedback brain is supposed to get from your feet to help you move efficiently. The idea that getting rid of cushioning wears down your joints is 100% opposite what all the research (and many of those reviews) shows. Cushioning does not reduce impact forces, and the heel striking that it engenders puts MORE force through the joints. Contrarily, getting rid of the cushioning engenders a gait change where you use your muscles, ligaments, and tendons as the natural springs and shock absorbers they're meant to be. I never said comfortable shoes killed my dad. I said that from wearing shoes that prevented natural movement and feedback, he lost balance and agility. The trip/fall/hip break resulted in his death and I *am* suggesting that it may not have happened had he the balance and mobility we see in people who use their feet naturally rather than squeezing them into "comfortable" shoes that prevent natural movement.
I had to search out this video, because it keeps spamming every other video I watch. Aren’t you about a decade or 3 late with the whole minimalist shoe design. Nike abandoned this concept over 20 years ago. I guess you’re banking on the uninformed social media generation, who never researches anything.
I'm not sure any Big Shoe company "abandoned" the idea, because none of them ever made anything truly minimalist. The original Nike Waffle Trainer from the early 70s was close, but still had enough padding, toe spring, and pointy toebox that Harvard's Dr. Irene Davis would list it as a "partial minimalist shoe" at best. Nike and others didn't embrace the concept in the last decade because, like other Big Shoe companies, they couldn't tell two opposing stories simultaneously -- one about padding, motion control, arch support, etc., and the other about natural movement. And, sadly, it's easier to tell the false story about "footwear technology." If people did do research, they would actually find no evidence to support the "technology" and a ton to support natural movement. (I'm about to add what I write below to the description of this video so I can stop repeating myself for those who aren't reading the comments) So, let's start by examining the modern running shoe, which is a 50 year old idea, inspired by some sports podiatrists who came up with the idea for a padded, elevated heel shoe and gave the idea to Nike. Most of the rest of the design elements of modern athletic shoes developed in response to the gait change that an elevated heel created. These same doctors, BTW, recanted and said their idea was the biggest mistake of their careers. But let's leave that alone for a moment since it's anecdotal (told directly to a friend of mine who used to work at Nike by one of the doctors) and let's consider modern shoes through the lens of common sense: 1) The pointy toe box in modern shoes -- how is that beneficial? If you were going to drop and do pushups, you spread your fingers for balance and strength. Well, your toes need to do the same, for the same reason, but modern shoes don't facilitate that. 2) Elevated heels that impact posture -- how is it better to change your balance in a way that puts stress on the knees and back? 3) Thick soles -- your soles have more nerve endings than anywhere but your fingertips and lips. This is to send information to your brain about the terrain so that it can move your body more effectively (some of the info just goes to the base of the spine and back down in a reflex arc). How are soles that reduce or eliminate this feedback good? And if you think the answer is "protection", read on. 4) Stiff soles (which are related to stiff ones) -- you have 1/4 of the bones and joints of your ENTIRE body in your feet and ankles. This is to facilitate movement (many of the movements are micro-movements) for balance and agility. How is having a sole that prevents these movements good for you? 5) Toe spring -- the elevated toe designed to help you "roll through" the gait cycle because you can't naturally move your toes. Toe spring forces your toes into dorsiflexion (pulled toward your knee), preventing the natural motion that's used for walking and running, and forces your toes to contract isometrically when they're trying to move, putting excessive force on the tendons and ligaments. 6) Support -- when is preventing a joint from moving good for you, other than when recovering from an injury? An arch is the strongest structure in architecture. And the 3 arches in each foot are similarly strong when used for natural movement (see #4). "Support" a joint (think "arm in a cast") weakens the surrounding tissue. Research from Protopapas shows that adding arch support to the feet of healthy individuals reduced foot strength and muscle mass by as much as 17% in 12 weeks. When is weaker better than stronger? 7) Cushioning -- We like padding in many situations -- chairs, beds. And cushioning in shoes can FEEL good, but that doesn't mean it's good for you. Besides, your muscles, ligaments and tendons can outperform ANY manmade cushioning when it comes to being a shock absorber and spring (note: there is no such thing as "energy return" which shoe companies use to talk about how great their cushioning is). Research from Dr. Christine Pollard and others showing that impact forces are NOT reduced by cushioned shoes, and more cushioning not only isn't better than a bit less, but sometimes it results in MORE force going into the body (as your brain tries to get SOME feedback from the ground. 8) "Stack Height" (essentially, the thickness of the sole) and flared soles -- the higher you are off the ground, the harder it is to balance. Having soles that extend further out than your foot change the dynamics of how the foot naturally moves and further impact movement and balance. When basketball player Zion Williamson blew out his Nike shoe, the more interesting thing to notice was WHY -- he tripped over the flared edge of his other shoe and was trying to catch himself from falling. 9) Durability -- Big Shoe companies say we should replace athletic shoes after 3-500 miles. This is because they're designed so that the outsole rubber wears out at *about* the same time the midsole foam becomes unstable. In other words: planned obsolescence. So, putting that all together using just using common sense, it would seem to be beneficial to have footwear that: * Let the toes spread and splay * Low to the ground for balance and agility * Flexible enough to allow the toes and foot to bend and flex they way they're meant to * A sole that provides protection and allows the sole to safely feel the ground and send feedback to the spinal cord and brain * Lightweight so as not to affect kinematics * More durable TRUE minimalist shoes do all of these (many companies sell shoes they incorrectly call minimalist or "barefoot" since they lack one or more of those features. Xero Shoes, BTW, without a foam midsole, have a 5,000 mile sole warranty. Before we take a deeper, but still brief, look at minimalist footwear research (BTW, no major company ever did make truly minimalist shoes), you may want to check out these resources: 1) Harvard's Dr. Irene Davis explored this fully with Dr. Peter Attia at peterattiamd.com/irenedavis 2) Dr. Davis and Harvard's Dr. Daniel Lieberman did this together on the Freakonomic podcast called, "These Shoes are Killing Me" at freakonomics.com/podcast/shoes/ Okay, so let's look at the research that anyone in any generation could do, and that's the basis for much of what I say in this video. Research from Harvard's Dr. Daniel Lieberman, and others, shows that getting RID of the cushioning results in a decrease or removal of the initial impact transient force spike, which many believe is the cause (along with overstriding and heel striking) of many running injuries and joint problems. Research from Dr. Isabel Sacco showed that elderly women who got out of cushioned shoes and into minimalist ones had a reduction or elimination of knee osteoarthritis. Why the reduction in force and improvement in KO with minimalist footwear? Because you end up changing your gait to one that uses the muscles, ligaments, and tendons as natural springs and shock absorbers in ways that protect the joints. The footwear selection recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine highlight the divergence between expert opinion and mainstream behaviors (e.g. what shoe stores recommend). Their recommendations are echo what I say (which is one reason I say what I do) -- see xeroshoes.com/shoes/pickarunningshoe/ Dr. Sarah Ridge's research shows how simply walking in minimalist footwear builds foot muscle strength as much as doing an actual foot exercise program. Of course, if you don't switch to something minimalist, having stronger feet is beneficial no matter what shoes you wear. Let me toss in a simple fact. For the first 99.95% of human history, footwear was made with a simple design idea: protect the foot and find a way to secure that protection onto the foot. The advent of the modern athletic shoe has not improved upon that. Fifty percent of runners and 80% of marathoners get injured every year. Contrarily, prior to the advent of the modern running shoe, Dr. Davis points out that there was NO scientific literature about running injuries. They simply weren't happening the way they do now. Interestingly, a recent Nike study was touted as a breakthrough when "only 15%" of the runners wearing a new Nike shoe that was "designed to reduce injury" (as if any shoe was ever designed to increase injury) got injured in the 12-week study. And of those wearing Nike's best-selling motion-controlled, arch supporting, heel elevating, padded shoe, over 30% got injured! Asked what they did to make the "better shoe", Nike said they removed most of the protective features in their other shoes. They made it SLIGHTLY more minimalist. But Dr. Davis's research shows that "partial minimalist" shoes are worse than either truly minimalist shoes or fully padded shoes. Finally, while anecdotes do not equate with data, one cannot overlook a preponderance of spontaneous reporting. And if you look at the reviews at xeroshoes.com/reviews/, you'll hear from tens of thousands of people who've discovered the often LIFE-CHANGING effects of switching to footwear that lets your feet do what's natural. I hope this can at least shorten the comment threads where people seem to assume I'm just spouting baseless opinions rather than realizing I'm speaking from over 13 years of experience, examining the research, and hearing from hundreds of thousands of people who now, in our words, Live Life Feet First.
To much of a good thing yes it’s hard to walk on a memory foam mattress but just a thin layer is easy it’s basically saying because pure oxygen is bad for you then don’t breathe it just doesn’t make any sense
I wish your analogy held, but research from Harvard's Dr. Irene Davis shows that adding padding decreases the feedback your brain can get from your feet, which inhibits proper motion. A layer of memory foam thin enough to NOT do that wouldn't provide any benefit, and would break down extremely fast.
Comfort is subjective. Bottom line is there are different shoes for different activities. I would agree in some cases but you've prob never tried ultra boost. Everyone's feet are different.
Never mind that so many long distance records are getting smashed by athletes wearing “comfortable shoes.” “Buy my shoes or you’ll live a long life then trip and die.”
There's also a higher incidence of injury in those shoes, plus they wear out in as little as 100 miles, and cost 2x what Xero Shoes cost (and we have a 5,000 mile sole warranty).
I hate how you reference your own article as evidence to your claim. I also believe shoes without support would definitely negatively impact runners feet.
If by "your own article" you mean the blog post that includes the ACSM white paper for you to download, their recommendation for footwear, and then my comments... feel free to ignore my editorial and just read the paper. You'll find that what they say echoes what I'm saying in this video. If you mean something else, let me know and my apologies for mixing things up.
First, there are a lot of different shoes out there, different amounts of support, different material types, etc, so is this targeted towards a very specific 1% type of shoe (if you are targeting this very specific shoe, wouldn't it be even worse switching from a lot support to no support all of the sudden?) Second, the father story, i dont even know why I'm bothering to explain the issue with this story, arch support has nothing to do a very old man tripping and breaking his hip (no disrespect meant towards him), seems like just a scare tactic/emotional thing. Third, a lot of your arguments against "comfortable shoes" end in something like "a lot of bad stuff", "not very good", etc. Fourth, wearing a cast on your arm is very different from walking around in shoes (and being able to take said shoes off and walk around barefoot at home, beach, etc), because your arm is stuck in one position uninterrupted and you're not using it at all. Fifth, your shoes are rly just any other minimalist shoe out there, so idk why I just wasted 5 mins of my life on this comment
Thanks for your well-considered comments, Let me address each point: First, the research about cushioning and support is very clear... and AGAINST it for the amount that's used in the VAST majority of shoes, especially running shoes. Not just whatever "1%" you're referring to. Oh, and switching from a cushioned shoe to a truly minimalist one (or barefoot) is actually BETTER than trying to make incremental changes... you just have to start SMALL and build up your time/distance (whether you're walking, running, hiking, etc.) based on the feedback you get from your body. Research shows that the "intermediate" shoes are worse than options on either end of the spectrum because they have enough cushioning to reduce the ground feedback that engenders changing one's gait to a more natural pattern, but don't have the mitigating design factors to address the effects overstriding and/or heel striking. Second, I never said my father's situation came from arch support, but from the long-term use of footwear that prevented natural movement and FEELING -- since if you stop sending sensory info from your soles to your brain, your brain basically stops paying attention, which dramatically impacts balance and agility. Research is coming out soon showing how minimalist footwear improves balance in the elderly which, one could argue, will impact fall-related injuries (the studies haven't been going on long enough to demonstrate that). Next, this is a short video, so I didn't go into *explicit* detail about the problems typical shoes create. So I used more casual language. But a search on PubMed will give you all the info you need and reveal what informed my comments (other than the obvious ones, including footwear toe box shape). Onto the "cast" analogy. Note the word "analogy." I'm not saying the two are identical but, again, the research is very clear that the two are more similar than one might think: Healthy athletes who put orthotics in their shoes can lose up to 10% of the muscle mass in their feet in under 12 weeks. And given how stiff many shoes are, I'd argue it's a fair comparison. Also, from talking to clinicians about their patients who spend time in traditional footwear, lack of foot strength is one of the most commonly observed phenomenon. Finally, our shoes are NOT like "any other minimalist shoe" since most of the shoes sold with that label are, according to research by Dr. Irene Davis at Harvard, NOT actually minimalist. Most have excessive padding, some have heel lift, some have narrower toe boxes, some are heavier, some even have arch support. If you look at the top rated running shoes in RunRepeat.com (runrepeat.com/catalog/running-shoes?order_by=score), you'll see that 3 of the top 5 are Xero Shoes... you're not seeing other minimalist shoes anywhere near the top of the list. That should suggest something different is going on here ;-) I hope that's useful.
I imagine that you don't actually believe that was my "immediate reaction." Now that it's been 6 years since he died, his death doesn't have the same emotional "weight." But, it DID add extra fuel to our desire to share something that could help others not suffer the same fate. This Washington Post article discusses the balance/mobility problems that elderly people can have from wearing shoes that don't provide natural movement or feedback (posted on our site with commentary): xeroshoes.com/barefoot-shoes/the-fake-barefoot-shoe-debate-washington-post/
**Laughs In Equestrian** Paddock boots and worn out sneakers are my everyday shoes, so I'm not entirely sure what comfort in lots of cushioning is lol 😂
We have MANY videos on this channel that are what you're asking for (and a straight info video about each product on our site in each product's detail page). Sorry you didn't like this one.
Just got the Denver and the Cloud sandals. Love them! I love the concept of these shoes and you are so informative! I studied a semester in Fiji for undergrad and that was the first time I experienced barefoot walking. Islanders commonly walked barefoot and it wad the first time seeing how our shoes warped and restricted our feet. Like some of the other Fijians and other Islanders there , I ended up hiking a mountain barefoot, went to classes barefoot, and went around town barefoot ( their enviroment and ground/leafy grass was perfect for being barefoot). It felt so natural. I grew up hating shoes and always wanted to wear sandals so I took the opportunity. Your shoes just helped me get back to that un-restricted feeling. Thank you so much! I'm loving these sandals and how I can walk and feel the ground but stay 100% protected. They are comfortable and I would legit reccomend them to anyone! Thanks!
What about them? Needless to say, the significantly elevated heel does horrible things to one's posture. And most high heels have VERY pointy toe boxes.
"Comfortable shoes" ... For me, this is nonsense. For me (and not only), in bare feet life is better (healthier, happier and more comfortable) than in shoes. I have discovered this pleasure since I was 3 years old (in 1962). And now, I'm a convinced barefoot hiker. So, my bare feet are the most comfortable shoes : 👣 👍 !
Thank you very much, dear @@xeroshoes. I don't like to wear shoes - since at 3 years old (in 1962), when I lived in a village in my country, Romania. And now, I'm a real "barefoot hiker", still preferring forests, mountains, caves ... Nature ! ~ "Going barefoot is the gentlest way of walking and can symbolise a way of living - being authentic, vulnerable, sensitive to our surroundings. It’s the feeling of enjoying warm sand beneath our toes, or carefully making our way over sharp rocks in the darkness. It’s a way of living that has the lightest impact, removing the barrier between us and nature" - Adele Coombs, “Barefoot Dreaming”.
The AU/NZ distributor doesn't carry all of our products... but reach out to them directly and ask for what you want and, hopefully, they'll bring some in.
I haven't tried Xero shoes yet. But what this guy is saying is 100% true. I switched from regular running shoes to minimal running shoes that are similar to Xero. All of my problems went away immediately. I went from having terrible knee pain when running, to zero knee pain when running. One of the main keys is having shoes with zero drop from the heal to the toe. Most running shoes have a big drop from the heal to the toe, typically 12 mm. Unless you have really good running form, this will cause you to land on your heels, rather than the balls of your feet. You want to land on the balls of your feet. If you land on your heels, it's really bad. That was why my knees were so sore. When I ran in regular running shoes, I was landing on my heels. When I switched to minimal shoes (with zero drop from heel to toe), I started landing correctly (on the balls of my feet) and I was hitting the ground much softer. I was pain-free immediately. I am anxious to try Xero shoes. They look very similar to the kinds of brands I've been using.
I have a pair of Nike flynits and they’re pretty comfortable to walk on. The only concern I have is when I have trouble balancing because the shoes had a giant heel on the bottom of it to give you cushion. This makes it difficult to walk and makes me more vulnerable to trip over. Flat shoes are the way to go.
In theory, I agree with you. In real life, I can’t do what you recommend, nor am I able to continue wearing my xero shoes. I have osteoarthritis in my right foot. Bending my toes is very painful. I tried doing it anyway, hoping that it would resolve itself. It only got worse. I work in manufacturing and am on my feet a lot. What gives me relief is a thicker sole, a platform type sole that doesn’t bend much at the toes. I wish I could go barefoot but I can’t. The pain can be unbearable. Also, why are your “minimal” shoes so expensive? Way less materials, less features. That doesn’t make sense.
Sorry to hear that your osteoarthritis is so problematic. Some people find that more mobility is helpful, but clearly not in your case. It may be that working up to "minimal" or barefoot would be helpful rather than going straight to those options. Regarding pricing, our shoes are actually more affordable than our competitors, especially when you factor in our 5,000 mile sole warranty. That said, ultralight materials cost more than "standard" materials (you see the same thing with, say, ultralight backpacking gear).
*Carbon fiber* is less material, lighter and stronger than steel. Would you still ask why it costs more? It's what you're getting and the process it takes to make for the quality of the product is why it costs what it costs. As for your arthritis (and other issues), try going on a carnivore diet for a while. You're welcome!
Fencing is not only about the feet. *Insert the fundamentals about holding the sword and facing an opponent chivalrously with proper techniques, rather than speed and power.*
If your foot is the shape of the toe box on that shoe, well, it shouldn't be ;-). Plus, the sole eliminates most of the ground feedback your brain is looking for from your soles (for effective and efficient movement), and the arch "support" weakens feet over time (a study from Protopapas shows that adding arch support in the shoes of healthy individuals reduced foot muscle size/strength by as much as 17% in just 12 weeks). Otherwise... enjoy. In fact, enjoy those shoes, but when you want to experience the comfort and benefits of natural movement, check out our casual and performance sandals, boots, and shoes -- xeroshoes.com
Actually, if you check the reviews at xeroshoes.com/reviews, you'll hear from thousands of people who are on their feet all day, every day, in Xero Shoes. And, they're reporting that it's the first time they are COMFY all day and at the end of the day. Why? Because letting your feet do what's natural outperforms any cushioning, padding, arch support, etc. Our warehouse team has discovered this (much to their surprise after years in the business), and our sales/development/marketing team did too after finding out that they could be enjoyably on their feet all day on cement-floored trade shows. But, if you don't want to give that a shot, then you can use our shoes, sandals, and boots for active recovery once you get out of whatever else you may be wearing.
Not at all. I'm not saying "wear uncomfortable shoes." I'm saying that what we often think of as "comfortable" isn't necessarily good for you and can lead to other kinds of discomfort (knee pain, back pain, etc.). More, our shoes are significantly less expensive than many of the highly padded, motion-controlled shoes designed for the same purpose (e.g. running, hiking, etc.). Plus, with our 5,000 mile sole warranty, the "net cost" of our shoes , sandals, and boots can be a fraction of the cost of even a less expensive shoe that wears out in 200-500 miles.
These already exist before "Xero shoes" existed. They're called penny Loafers(particularly the ones made from canvas or other thin materials, NOT the business casual ones) and they've existed for longer than the advertiser has been alive.
@@glennso47 I used to feel the same way. Some people legitimately have issues that require orthotics, but for me personally, the more time I spend barefoot the more I'm starting to actually like it. I feel like I have more energy and less achy joints.
I have a pair of nike running shoes. I think the midel of the shoes was call rosheez or something like that. Idk, I don’t remember. They’re thin cloth shoes with a big heel part of the sole while the rest of the sole is thin and the bottom of the sole has horizontal slits. I don’t like these shoes. The front half of the sole gets caught on the ground as I’m walking (idek how), making me trip on literally nothing, and sometimes I’ll randomly pull a muscle in my foot from walking in those shoes. I wonder how much of an improvement the xero shoes might be. I kinda wanna try them.
Since I have no idea who Adam Ragusea is (and haven't looked him up before responding), I can't be plagiarizing him. What I'm saying is simply true and common sense (and backed up by research). So, I'm THRILLED to hear that someone else (famous?) is sharing the same message about the value and benefits of natural movement, and pointing out that what "Big Shoe" has been telling us we need to be comfortable is fundamentally wrong. You'll have to point me to the video you're thinking of so I can comment on it and then reach out to Adam. -Steven
True, but both of those are narrow and squeeze your toes together and have soles that are thicker and reduce feedback and flexibility (and add weight).
If someone's feet have gotten weak from not using them, then to START using them you need to think about building strength the way you would think about going to the gym: Start small and build up. So, go "support-less" for less time, more often, and then start adding time as you feel your strength improving.
@@xeroshoes I do that and it gets worse this has been a problem for since first grade and until I stop growing I will need the support. The arch does not keep its shape so to keep its shape I need the support.
If it gets worse, then you're doing "too much too soon." Try 5 minutes at a time, once a day. When that works, try 6 minutes... then 7, etc. Also, look up "Foot strengthening BYU" here on RU-vid and you'll find the exercises that Dr. Sarah Ridge used in her study about foot strength and minimalist footwear (showing that merely WALKING in a minimalist shoe built foot muscle strength as much as doing an actual exercise program for foot strength). You haven't given me any reason to think that you can't build foot strength, but "supporting" your arch definitely gets in the way of doing so (research is coming out showing how adding arch support in the shoes of healthy athletes reduced foot muscle volume by as much as 10% in 12 weeks).
When you slip out of those, if you want something great for active recovery and for keeping your feet and ankles healthy, we have lots of shoes and sandals you might like. Research from Dr. Sarah Ridge showed that merely walking in shoes like ours can build foot strength as much as doing an actual foot exercise program.
This is why I make sure to spend some time walking in my bare feet in my yard so my feet are tough enough and that I have a high enough Ievel of cordination.👌🏃
I had weak knees and one knee injury that caused me to have to wear knee braces every day for about 15 years. I bought a pair of Altras and could never again wear a pair of non-zero drop footwear. I stopped wearing knee braces within months and it's been about 3 years now and I never wear them. I discovered Xero when I purchased my first pair of Denver boots. I have owned many brands and styles of zero drop footwear and today the Xero Denver boot is hands down my favorite shoe.
I grew up walking and running around barefoot in the garden and wearing flat canvas shoes. At 25 this has resulted in chronic heel pain. Buying comfortable shoes was the best decision I ever made for my feet. Unless you live in shoes, comfortable shoes shouldn't be a problem since normally people don't wear the same pair of sneakers everywhere and around the house... unless you're one of those weird Americans that don't take their shoes off indoors...
You've missed the point I was *trying* to make, which is that research shows that what we call "comfortable" shoes -- with padding and arch support, for example -- are not good for your feet. Research from Protopapas, et. al. shows that putting arch support in the shoes of healthy people reduced intrinsic foot muscle size and strength by up to 17% in 12 weeks. Padding interferes with the ability of your brain to FEEL the ground, and stiff shoes get in the way of adjusting to what your brain senses from your feet. Cushioning breaks down (more quickly than we think) which can lead to structural problems and interferes with natural motion.
Steven Sashan is the man. He puts SO much time into education. Thing I like about this company is they have sales that are real. You don’t have to make 30$ an hour to afford these shoes. I think he is a genuine person.
