How I found Vibram Five Fingers...
I've been wearing Fivefingers now for around 10 years... but how did I get there..??
Well at the time I was working in the mountain biking industry and my boss at the time showed me a photo online of their "weird looking shoes" I agreed that they looked kinda odd but I'm a curious individual so this image played at the back of my mind for a month or so but I didn't act upon this curiosity and left them as a passing thought.
My First Encounter In The Wild...
Moving forward a month or so, I found myself on a day out in Bath where I was walking by a running shop and I saw "Those weird looking shoes" right there, front centre...
Now I hadn't really put much thought into their shoes at all... but curiosity took over and I popped in to try them on.
At the back of my mind I really wasn't interested in owning a pair of these, but after trying them on and taking a few test laps around the shop I was stunned to find just how damn comfortable they were. annoyed almost, as I knew at that point I wanted them.
I really couldn't justify the expense at the time so I left them there in the shop and carried on with my day in Bath... to cut a long story short, I couldn't get the shoes out of my mind for the rest of the day, just before I headed home I popped back in and bought them. My first pair of five fingers, The "SPEED"
I wore them doing everything... from walking to the shop, wearing them to work, gymnastics / training and slippers around the house. I lived in them.
Now a number of years have passed and a mild obsession later with these shoes I noticed a few things that were happening to my body, but mostly in my feet, ankles, knees and back... I come from an extreme sports background ,needless to say it's hard on your joints.
I used to roll my ankles all the time just walking around, these shoes stopped this with increased ankle strength, my knees would ache, these shoes greatly reduced my pain and the same story goes for my back.
To top it off, my balance improved due to using all the muscles in my feet and ankles.
I found Barefoot Junkie around 6 years ago, their outstanding customer service and broad selection of shoes kept me coming back time and time again. I have said been a loyal customer ever since...
So from one pair of these "weird looking shoes" to now 30+ in 10 years, I've developed a love for them and the benefits they've had for me... as drastic as this may sound... life changing effects.
Subsequently over these years I've formed a friendship with Barefoot Junkie going from customer to helping them with their photographic needs, testing out their footwear and helping others find the right pair for them.
I have many friends over the years that have been on the fence with these shoes, and I've also put some of them in pairs... every single one who's tried them has loved them and now own several pairs and are feeling the benefits for themselves. What can I say, these shoes are infectious.
The most recent conversion to these shoes was on a little shoot I did for Barefoot Junkie. I was heading out to Valencia, Spain on a mini stop off to catch up with a good friend of mine Rick. I asked if I could take a pair of EL-X Knit with me and do a little mini shoot.
Rick has had double knee operations, bad feet and back amongst a few other ailments , Ohhh... he's also in the later years of his very colourful life.
Sceptical as most are, he tried the shoes on... But fell in love with them after the first dog walk around the block.
The following day while he was showing me around the city we chalked up 10 miles on our feet, one product shoot under our belts and a convert.
Over the following days Rick wore these shoes non stop, dog walk, shopping, around the house and any other antics we decided to get up to.
The most notable take away from this for him was how much more he was able to do, the comfort, the ground feel and more importantly how much more steady he felt moving around. Since the visit earlier this year he is still wearing them most days and is still blown away by the improvements in his body he's felt... who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
An open mind, healthy curiosity... This is what got me into these "weird" shoes and honestly I couldn't be happier that I 'just had a go'.
I have now made the leap full time to one of my other passions, photography.
Take a look at my new website below where I showcase some of my favourite work.
For all Barefoot Junkie customers I am happy to offer 10% off any commissioned work. I think you can see from my work I have a distinct natural style and happy to work with you, your brand and your pets to deliver bespoke photograpy in a natural and authentic way.
https://www.danielseago.com/
Happy Barefooting to all you Barefoot Junkie Tribe
Dan Seago
