Hey all of you! I don’t wanna specify my name, but I am a 15 year old guy living in Helsinki Finland, and for 3 or so years I’ve been a barefooter! I cannot do it full time tho cuz the winters here in Finland are really cold, so usually late spring to mid spring I go barefoot all the time. My family has been very chill with it although at first they did have big doubts, considering Helsinki is a pretty big city to live in but overtime they got accepting of it. My friends think I’m a bit crazy but in general they don’t mind. While I’m in public, especially in the metro or malls or something I do get stares often, which is fine really. So glad to be a part of this community and hope I can get to know people in here
And OMG I’ve just now realised I said “from late spring to mid spring”. I meant to say from late spring to mid fall
Hey! And yeah you’re right, I was around 12 when I started, just around “easy” places like stores and grassy areas, but quickly I began expanding my territory to basically anywhere now. Best decision ever!
I started when I was 8 years old and I wish I could have gone bare feet in school . When I was in high school I walked around to my classes barefoot and some of my teachers let me be barefoot in the classroom it was awesome.
Hiii! Sounds awesome, starting at so young age and all that. Luckily I’ve always been able to be barefoot during school, there’s no rule for footwear
We didn’t have a foot wear rule either so I would walk to my classes barefoot with my shoes in one hand and my school books in the other . We had some teachers that would ask me and some others to put on your shoes so we would. But most teachers were ok with me and the other classmates going barefoot. And the teachers that let us they told me that I did really well on tests. And I notice it to . And hi I got the name barefoot rick back in Junior high because I would be barefoot in gym class. It’s really nice to hear that someone that is your age goes barefoot at school and everywhere else.
Hello, and welcome! You're already off to a very, very good start! At your age, I was still years away from any serious barefooting, even in the relative privacy of my own small village and the woods and crop fields that surround it. I guess living in a rather big city means that you can march to the beat of your own drum and be left alone, for the most part. And Finnish people don't really have a reputation for wanting more human interaction other than that which is absolutely necessary, so I hope that the uneasy stares are just about the biggest obstacle you'll ever need to overcome (beside the weather, of course)! Since your parents, friends, and even the general public know about your barefoot ways, and having visited such places as malls and the metro in your bare feet - those that even some seasoned barefooters would have a hard time finding the courage to explore - if there was ever a curve to walking barefoot, you're way ahead of it (note that there's no right or wrong way to be barefoot, so you're all good anyhow)! Also, consider yourself very lucky to live in a place where no sort of footwear is compulsory in school - that's such a nice way for bare feet to get a whole lot of experience without making too much of a fuss!
I love hearing that younger people are going barefoot in other parts of the world . I wish more teenagers here in the USA would get back to going barefoot and see what they are missing out on .
Hiii there! Thanks for all of your kind words, I guess I am pretty lucky, living in a country like this (besides the weather again lmao) and the fact that schools don’t require footwear. I have a lot of courage with barefooting yea, at first it was bit awkward but when I realised most people don’t care, I was so much more comfortable going barefoot around the public
Good to keep barefooting into the colder weather and expand your comfort zone. I was about your age when I'd challenge my self with rougher surfaces and terrain and built up my cold tolerance. Snow and ice are barriers with dangerous consequences but if you are paying attention to circulation and are prepared you will surprise yourself with how much tough feet can take. Glad you found this forum and will look forward to future postings.
Hii! And thank you, I’ve tried my best to expand my horizons on barefooting in terms of the weather. It’s getting a bit chilly here, so some days I use barefoot shoes.
