The Barefoot Shoe

People with active lifestyles have been searching for the perfect running shoe for years. Vibram, an Italian company that has developed quality rubber soles for more than 70 years, decided to make a sole, without the shoe. Recently, the company has released an unusual but creative product called, Vibram FiveFingers.

Vibram’s FiveFingers are designed to simply use what nature gave us, our feet. Most regular running shoes force to you walk on your heal which can lead to problems in your feet, legs, hips and back.The FiveFinger is designed to use the foot’s natural shape encouraging you to come down on the front of your feet, instead of your heal. Each toe fits into a separate pocket, so it looks like a ‘foot glove’.

There has been a high demand for FiveFingers throughout the country. According to Liz Claman of Fox Business Network, Vibram went from having 24 FiveFinger distributors to more than 700 within the past three years. Vibram U.S.A CEO Tony Post told Fox news, “The Vibram FiveFingers allow you to have a barefoot sensation and strengthen the muscles in the feet and lower legs, improve range of motion, and neural activity.” Running in FiveFingers has the potential to improve your agility and balance while strenthening muscles in the feet and lower legs.

U.S Marine and FiveFinger owner Bo Pryor says, “A lot of my exercise in minimal or with no shoes at all. My favorite thing about the FiveFingers is that they are practical. I would prefer to be bare foot all the time; it’s just not very realistic when the ground is nasty.”

One of the best FiveFinger models for running is the Bikila. The name Bikila was named after a 1960 Olympic gold medalist, Abebe Bikila. He won in a record time and was the first black African to win an Olympic gold medal. The best part- he raced barefoot, just like he trained.

In 2007, Times Magazine voted the FiveFingers one of the best inventions of the year along with Apple’s IPhone. Now, years later, FiveFingers are becoming extremely popular. Forbes wrote about the product as, “Names you need to know in 2011.” FiveFingers are an innovative product with substantial physical benefits and in 2011 are projected to sell 400 percent more shoes than last year.

Written by Keith Whetzel