What a great day

I woke up this morning for a full day of adventure with my father. We went to breakfast at a local place. Had a fantastic meal and headed off into Connecticut. Barefoot, I went into Tractor Supply Co because my father had to grab something. I walked around only one person noticing me without shoes. Luckily there was no problems, he thought I was very tough for doing it.

In Norwich Connecticut we arrived at an old mill that was half collapsed. The first building we arrived at we hoped to use as a bridge over the river to the majority of the complex. The building had collapsed entirely on the inside so we had to use the nearly destroyed bridge that was on the ground level.

Through each building we crept moving over fallen debris. Eventually after exploring each  level we found a stairway partially blocked by an entire part of the building that had collapsed from the roof to the ground floor. At the bottom was the drive shaft, and beyond that the turbine.

All over the building were subtle signs of fire damage. Above the turbine room where the collapsed section lay in ruin the far side was very charred. We went around the building and took the stairs to get up to the rooms that lay beyond the collapsed section. Every floor for four stories emptied out into a sheer drop to a pile of charred wood at the bottom. A large portion of this building burned.

After this little adventure we went to a local restaurant called Manny's. No one seemed to noticed my being barefoot. This was a good because I was tired and in no mood for anyones discriminatory shit.

After another mill visit we went back to our little town to our local resort where there was a party. The ceremony was one of those usual tree lighting things. I got a few questions if I was cold why are you doing this etc. The funny thing is the first woman to notice my "barefooted-ness" thought I was some musician who hasn't worn shoes in ten years to raise awareness of people who cant afford them. I told her that I didn't wear shoes because it is better for your health and its more comfortable. Her face seemed to crack in half. It was a very amusing moment. I had my father take a picture of me inside the hotel among the crowds of shoe wearing patrons.

As always friends,
GO BAREFOOT!

Ripstiking Trip

Today we went all over the state "bombing" down hills on our various boards. Dan on a longboard, Harrison on a razor scooter, and me on a ripstik. Barefoot the entire time as usual I raced down hills hanging on for my life. For those of you who don't know what ripstiks are, they are two wheeled skateboards.

I eventually gained more comfort going downhill and by our second and third trips I was a natural. On one of our stops my brother went off of the road and took a break to do some fly fishing. After a few more adrenaline pumping runs I decided to move through the leaves thorns and streams to get to where he was. Both my brother and Dan were shocked I could tolerate the water temperature. It was no problem.

The day  brought many more hills and a lot of more barefoot fun. We finished it all off with a fantastic dinner at Dan's house. Another day in the life of a barefooter. It's easy without shoes.

GO BAREFOOT!

Checking in again

So, since I have been home I have been into a lot of places barefoot and done quite a lot. Let me try to remember all the places I went, Grocery store, no problem, got turkeys for the local Johnny cake center, (donation place?) so when I showed up with two turkeys in my arms they tell me I cant be in there barefoot. I think to myself "Ok do you want the gifts or not?" So they say theres glass on the ground, I simply reply theres a lot more glass on the streets of Providence and kept walking.

Next I went to up to Groton CT with my mother to pick up a friend of ours. We were going to drop him off in Boston and me in Providence on the way to work on my computer. In Mystic, the next town from Groton, we went to a Five Guys burger place. I went in you guessed it, barefoot. As this story gets more and more boring we listen to our friend who was extremely entertaining.

I was dropped off right in front of my dorm and after dropping a few things off in my room went to the CVS. A few people on the way asked where my shoes were. I told them in my dorm room and why I don't wear them, every time that day though they all were very open minded.

I picked up a lot of labels in the CVS and posted them around the city.  I really hope it is legal to put advertisements up. My friends tell me it is. Anyway so I put them up hoping to draw people to the movement and show them how to change their lives for the better. So, yeah, we drove back and had dinner with Molly. The dinner was quick because I had plans with my friend Alex.

My friend alex was back in town and we weren't about to pass up a chance to blow up something. We went to Walmart and quickly found the "boom department." We stocked up on as much flammables as we could afford and set out to start the fires. As the ground was set ablaze and glass was melting in our furnace, my feet were bare and happy. We had a ton of fun sculpting the glass in as many shapes and layouts as we could think of.

Today  I didn't do really much at all. Just raking the leaves and some yard work, then lunch with my father at McDonalds, barefoot. Thats all I have to report. Ill have more tomorrow.

As always,
GO BAREFOOT

Walk Through The Woods

     On a lovely barefoot walk through the woods discussing advanced physics with my father we came upon a car, which I immediately walked all over, proving to my father how tough my feet have become. I showed him all that I had learned all the running techniques all the facts. He respectfully listened and he learned. It is good to have such a supportive father.

     There are friends of mine that are made by their parents to wear shoes. Their parents fear they will catch some sort of illness from being barefoot. They arent even allowed to be barefoot in the home. Its disgusting that people force their children to live like that. People need to wake up and take their shoes off. We live in a bubble of fake bullshit and taking your shoes off is one way to reconnect with yourself and the earth. We aren't robots yet. We are still human.

GO BAREFOOT

Back to work

Right now I'm at my much beloved job where I most of the time am allowed to be barefoot. The wind is whipping and howling between the buildings. My feet are not cold. Try to imagine our ancient ancestors. They had nothing at all to cover their feet with, and they survived. Like in the city my feet are not cold here either.
Even better than that around here I am not judged because of my lifestyle. The people around here keep to themselves more. They don't yell insults at any passing person who is a little different. Tomorrow I want to sleep in for the first time in a long time. When I do wake up though I want to do my first barefoot hike ever. Needless to say there will be photos!

GO BAREFOOT!

Beautiful ride

I rode all through Providence for an hour or so. I passed a group of construction workers shocked by the ripstik. They thought I  was barefoot because it was easier.  I told them that I actually never wear shoes and they were really taken back by that. They asked if I had a girlfriend and I said yes and that seemed to surprise them even more. They were overall more impressed than the usual looking down on me.

I went around Kennedy Plaza again and passed a bundled up woman in front of a booth for teen challenge. She yelled aren't you feet cold?! I told her not at all and explained why I don't wear shoes and she agreed with me and thought I was very smart.

I passed another group of women in front of JWU. They had a look of disgust and said something like your feet are going to freeze and I told them that no I'm warm and its actually a lot better for you and as they got further and further away I yelled GOOGLE IT. Just then a woman in high heels beside me said thats not good for you and I said actually its a lot healthier and I'm not cold at all. She countered by saying when you step on the pavement you will be and I told her no I just was for like 35 minutes strait. And she said maybe in the summer its good. And I told her and your feet were not designed to be like this as I raised my heel four of five inches off of the ground, and she said you know you are right about that and walked to her car. I win haha.

GO BAREFOOT

Dirty feet

I was ripstiking along through the dark after posting my it's easy without shoes signs when I passed this enormous piece of paper still on the ground from earlier. It had a number for questions so I quickly sent over a text. If I understood her correctly, the project was about how we all start off pure and are corrupted. And after it got dirty enough she would try to erase the mud and footprints but wouldn't be able to because we can never get back to that innocence. So I asked her later if she had retrieved the paper and she told me that it wasn't dirty enough. I asked if she needed some dirty feet. I spent about an hour jumping and walking all over it even riding a ripstik over that poor piece of paper. She said there was a second infront of the RISD library so I went over to try that one. As I was trying she popped out the door and asked menif I was the guy from the text. I said I was. After a few minutes of conversation and trying to dirty this paper we both headed back to our diff colleges. So I worked on a RISD project. Woo! The unrelated moral of the story is don't wear shoes.

GO BAREFOOT

Thanks to Reptile347 for this!

http://www.figuresomething.com/oneday.mp4 This is the edited version of my One Day Without Shoes Video. Music and eidting thanks to reptile347.

Broke but money well spent!

I just spent my last 10 dollars for the week on getting pro barefoot flyers laminated. I am going to put them up in my part of the city aswell as anywhere I can find a public bulletin board. I am actually in staples right now, Barefoot. No one has noticed yet but as soon as I get my papers I am heading on out with my bare feet on full display! It'll be great if anyone notices. My shirt has my name on it in all caps.

GO BAREFOOT

Beautiful day

It was a little rainy here earlier but it cleared up and ended up being a great day for barefooting. I took the photo for my Art Resume project for digital media class on the abandoned highway. Went back to the dorm after explaining to a few curious people where my shoes were. Photoshopped the picture just the way I wanted it. art_resume_by_farkle333-d331gzl.jpg Tell me what you think!

Damn luck...

I decided to take a quick walk then jog to staples a mile and a half down the road. I did this to get laminated copies of 2 different pages. One saying "It's easy to be barefoot" and the other a qr code link to the blog. I checked the hours online. Closing at 9. Sweet I'll deff make it. I have a quick conversation with some curious but supportive students infront of the dorm. Make it there at 815 sweet 45 min to spare. Holy shit the motherfuckers close at 8. Blah. Not cool. Gonna stop at whole foods next door and see if there's any good food.

GO BAREFOOT!

Video Fixed

There it is! hopefully it works this time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4H0c4wCyhA
Tell me what you think

Vide issue?!

It wouldn't play on YouTube. Reuploading it and I'll have the URL shortly

Video!

This is a short video I made as a spoof on Toms One day without shoes video. It features my feet standing in some pretty rugged places. Most of this was shot on an abandoned highway section in my city.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrVlX3XMw60

Its Easy Without Shoes!

Go Barefoot!

The New York Times Gets It!

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This is fantastic and over 50,000 people have seen this! Well I'm off to go for a run and film some stuff.
Incase the embed thingy doesnt work heres the direct link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIT7t2jtdP0

GO BAREFOOT

Tonights events and an IDEA

After a heated "cyberbattle"between myself and another youtube user about an unrelated topic I found myself drained. I went out for a walk for a few hours in the early evening. The usual reactions of people staring passing by conversations stopping for a good 15 seconds after I pass. All in all a pretty usual night.

Anyway, I was on youtube commenting on a video about how not having shoes is bad which as we know is bullshit. I posted my own video with my thoughts. A fellow barefooter agreed and suggested that barefooters have a day to demonstrate how good it is for you. Well LETS DO IT! why the hell shouldn't we have a barefoot day? A get back to basics approach to life.

We are increasingly enveloped in this world where everything is synthetic and artificial and going barefoot is just one way we can remember we are human. We can get back to who we are. and as part of barefoot day we should have a challange to go as long as you can without shoes and see the benefits. They should also put their experience on youtube and online. The more publicity the barefoot movement can get the better!

Night stroll

After I finally got my 27 iMac hooked up to the schools network I decided to go on a walk through the city. It was so great I walked all over the city with my new "facebook ME" shirt.
After a second loop around the city I took the skybridge over the highway so I could get to the other side of the city. As I was approaching the stairs to go down to the street a guard stopped me asking where I was going. I told him I was going outside I just used the skybridge as a shortcut. He told me I wasn't allowed in the mall without shoes and I didn't bother telling him there was no law against it because I was on my way out. I kept moving through the city and picked up to a jog. It was so great. I feel so healthy and so energized. GO BAREFOOT!

Flea Marketing

With bare feet and my beautiful woman by my side I went to the Jewett City Flea Market. It was a lot of fun and not so much as a peep from anyone. Then after we got lunch at a pizza place. They were completely fine with my bare feet. Looks like these hicks at least are progressive on barefooting.

One day without shoes

They say "Its hard without shoes." I say "BULLSHIT!" I have kept the shoes off for almost a year now and life has never been better health wise. I take pleasure in being able to walk around without shoes.  I can be comfortable while walking. Its great! If I were to do the same activity with shoes I would be aching during and after. OUR BODIES WERENT MEANT TO WEAR SHOES. If you, like me are a believer in evolution it seems stupid for us to wear shoes in our daily lives when our bodies took millions of years to evolve and design the perfect running, walking, jumping, moving platform, our feet. Shoes alter the way our bodies were designed to walk and it is killing us. America has the most "advanced" footwear in the world and we also have the most foot problems.

On April 8th, I say take your shoes off,  go throughout the day, and just keep going. Show the world how our bodies were meant to be treated and love every minute of the unparalleled comfort and ease of barefoot living!

My Vibram Five Fingers

Without a doubt, my five finger shoes are by far the most comfortable shoes I have ever put on. They are the closest you can get to the true pleasure of barefoot living with the protection of shoes. I wear them when it snows or when there is ice on the ground so I don't get frostbite. Otherwise I am barefoot and loving it. I have never been healthier and I am never going back to my old ways wearing dress shoes all the time. My backpain has dissapeared entirely and that alone makes it worth it. Seriously people, throw out the old shoes and join the revolution!

Asked to leave

Went out today to go print out a paper in the computer lab a few blocks away. As usual I passed group after group of people looking at my feet with shocked eyes. I decided to grab a bite to eat at one of the campus dining faculties. I walked in, swiped my card after a pleasant conversation with the card swiper lady and proceeded to grab a salad. Halfway through my meal I noticed a culinary student pass me. I could tell by the look in her eyes she caught a glimpse of my feet. About ten minutes later I was confronted by a manager with a very tall man in tow. I though oh fuck this woman is here to bother me and she brought a bodyguard...She said "Are you wearing..." I cut her off with a quick sharp "No." She told me I cant be in here without shoes. I asked her if there is any law against being barefoot, she aswell as her companion muttered some bullshit about health code and "you cant be in a place that serves-serves food without shoes." I told them I was under the impression that the according to the department of health what I was doing was perfectly legal. Then they shifted their plan of attack and started saying well as a manager she was afraid I would step on something. She had no idea what was on the floor. It was a restaurant selling salads and plastic silverware. There was nothing on the ground. I told them I was leaving and they said no no finish your food and I told them "No, I'm leaving..." Got my stuff and left. Ill be back and if they try to say anything to me again I will show them the documents from the department of health that I am within my right to do this.

The Discrimination Continues

       Since mid summer I have made the decision to stop wearing shoes. Initially what prompted this was a need to have more grip on my feet at my job and before that as a competitive sailor. Barefoot was always a part of my life but until recently limited only to the summer. I also suffered from chronic back pain but strangely only during the school year. Interestingly enough the only time my shoes were on. So this summer I stopped wearing shoes and started my first year at college continuing this practice. My back pain has disappeared and I feel healthier than ever. From day one however, I had people calling me crazy, freak, asking me if I was on drugs, and all sorts of ignorant stupid things. At least though I had around the same amount of people cheering me on. They said what I was doing was "badass" or "awesome." My teachers luckily have all shown great interest and support to my lifestyle so I am allowed to move throughout the college with bare feet. In some of the dining halls however I am forced to wear shoes which brings back my back pain very quickly within about 10 minutes of walking around.

        I did some research and it turns out in my state and in the state my weekend job is in there are no laws against being ANYWHERE without shoes on. Very often I am asked to leave or put on shoes, why? Today I was at the RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) museum and after paying for a ticket, passing through 4 or 5 exhibits passing numerous security guards curiously eyeing my feet this large heavyset black man said "Excuse me."In the raspy voice of a long time smoker he said "Excuse me." again as I continued past him. As I turned he said I have to leave because I was not wearing shoes. There was no place there even serving food! Why should I wear shoes? Long periods of standing and walking in shoes is not comfortable, I PAID to get in. What the hell gives him the right to kick me out. I was not being disruptive I was quietly observing the art.

         As I was going down in the elevator with a classmate two RISD students were very curious and supportive of not wearing shoes. They thought it was very cool. As I zipped through the streets of Providence on my Ripstik G, I stopped at an intersection where two shriveled up old ladies both holding cigars pointed at me and said "Whats wrong with you?" I ignored these crippled old hags and continued down the road towards JWU. A man stepped out of a door behind me and yelled "Wow you are wild man!" and I responded "Yeah thats me." We had a very pleasant conversation about why I do it and he was very intrigued. Eventually he got to his destination we exchanged our "Have a good one."s and went our separate ways.

      I printed out legal documents from the Department of Health stating that shoes are not required and I will pull it out every time some ignorant drone tells me I don't have the right to walk comfortably and treat my body as it was designed to work. Thats all for now. I am going out for a walk through the city. Its really a very beautiful place.