Hi all, I really love being barefoot indoors but I’m way too scared to do it outside. What if people stare? I just feel like it’s so embarrassing. Also being barefoot is nice but walking on concrete is so uncomfortable. Any advice?
Don't be scared! If people stare, just remember they'll forget they ever saw you about 2 seconds after they finish staring. And concrete? I was surprised you said that. Concrete under bare feet pretty much always feels great to me, especially that smooth sanded variety. Even the rough-finished concrete feels good on my feet, but everyone's different
Start slowly. Go barefoot on easy surfaces - your yard, the park and concrete a little at a time until you get used to it. Wear a pair of flip flops or sandals and take them off from time to time as you walk around. Good luck
I would advise you to start taking long walks in nature, in parks where you would feel less observed. After a while you will begin to notice that your feet will start to change and get stronger. You will be very happy with this and you will no longer care who is watching you. ✌ Bring sandals as others have advised you.
Hi, my experience is that people usually don't stare but maybe give positive comments, if they even show some reaction. Maybe you can try first in a more "safe" setting where it's not so unusual to go barefoot, like e.g. at a festival, near the beach, at a garden party etc. I'm quite sure you will see nothing bad will happen. As you asked about walking on concrete etc. This is just a matter of training. Start with 'nice' grounds like natural hiking trails,tiled floors etc. and then go further in the way your comfort level allows. Barefoot life should be a fun thing, not a torture thing.
For your first outing, choose a location where going barefoot won't stand out, or look ridiculous. Like a beach, or a public pool. In an area and a situation where everybody else does it, it's extremely unlikely that you'd catch flak for your own feet. Maybe, possibly a public park with enough space that you can comfortably keep a healthy distance from other people, while you try to take your shoes off, and catch some barefoot time. Or, like suggested earlier, choose some private location, where encountering others would be less likely. The most important thing here is that it is you yourself, who must first get used to the sensations of outdoors barefooting, and to the idea of doing it in an open place, where there's a chance of being seen. Public barefooting is something, where you're expected to leave the comfort zone, it's next to impossible to covertly barefoot in public places. Do you have a circle of friends, who are readily open to barefooting? There's safety in numbers. In a manner of speaking, you can hide your feet in plain sight, when you're in a group of barefoot people. Regarding concrete... martial arts style foot wraps maybe? If you're comfortable enough to at least let your toes stay out in the open, consider wrapping your feet like this to get some protection against the coarse surface of the concrete: The flexibility of bare feet, but still letting your toes breathe, while offering protection against chafing, AND still letting your feet stay partially in hiding. Or, consider something like the Nike Studio Wraps (if available to you) as a stopgap measure, until your confidence grows. Ultimately, if you're serious about barefooting in public, you'll have to bite the bullet at some point eventually, and learn to not give a shit. Like I said earlier, covert barefooting is an oxymoron. How can you hide something that you want to expose and keep bare? Now that's a conundrum. So, my condensed advice: Do private barefooting sessions in some hidden outdoors location to allow the strength of your soles grow, hopefully along with your confidence. Seek out dirt, sand and gravel. Hopefully, by next summer, your foot muscles and the skin of your soles will have adapted to the point where, if we're graced with another heatwave like this year, you can then make your grand barefoot entrance, because nobody questions a person who dresses lightly for the type of heat we experienced this year. Also, don't worry about the ouchies. They come with the territory in this life, another inescapable fact. Just keep your tetanus boosters up to date, and carry a pair of tweezers and possibly a bottle of disinfectant with you.
Personally I wouldn't care if people stare, It would be cold in the winter though. Perhaps you could use some of those running shoes that are meant to look and behave as if you are barefooted
Start small and go for short walks barefoot. Then build up to longer more public walks. After a while you will love it and will not care what others think. Remember it is there loss for not going barefoot like you. Just enjoy the feeling.
I've heard from others that I've convinced that the best thing to do is just to put yourself in a situation where there isn't much of a choice, such as by driving to the supermarket without any shoes so that by the time you are there, its too late.
In the beginning I left my shoes / flip flops in the trunk of the car to break the habit of putting them on when getting dressed in the morning. I still do. I seemed to feel the most barefoot after taking shoes off as opposed to starting day that way if that makes any sense. That awkward feeling of missing something on my feet went away rather quickly.
