“Walk Like A Barefoot Masai Warrior”: MBT Shoes

It’s no secret that one’s lifestyle contributes greatly to one’s overall health, fitness, and sense of well-being. However, it’s alarming how few people seem to realize that, from the mattresses upon which we sleep to the shoes in which we walk, so many of the items that we use in our daily existences either help or hurt us. Thus, I’m particularly intrigued by the novel footwear from Swiss shoemaker Karl Müller, of MBT Physiological Footwear

Müller, a Swiss engineer, made the connection that the East African Masai tribesmen, who walk barefoot over soft, uneven surfaces, never get backaches; this led him to years of research and development, and some years later he produced these shoes which mimic the experience of walking barefoot in soft earth. With the compressible heel and the ergonomic rolling slope in the sole, a more natural gait is achieved, relieving stress on the joints and working muscle groups that go largely unused in modern man’s bipedal locomotion.

I’m ordering a pair of these immediately. While none of the styles particularly interest me, my back went out like a mad bastard this week, and there’s nothing like serious chronic pain to help one overcome his fashion over function hangup.

MBT: Physiological Footwear