Lessons from an ex-firefighter on rebuilding movement in a world that encourages none. This article explores how long-term, patient work can restore knee health and other difficult areas of the body without rushing or pushing to injury. It shares lessons from lived experience, compares physical mastery to an open-ended martial art, and highlights how modern environments quietly erode strength, flexibility, and independence over time. The piece encourages readers to rebuild capacity through gentle, progressive movement and maintain it with simple ongoing habits. It also contrasts the urgency felt by lifelong athletes reclaiming lost abilities with the cultural numbness many develop through sedentary work. Readers will come away with a clearer picture of what’s at stake short-term (range of motion, balance, mobility) and long-term (autonomy, quality of life, independent living).
I'm the ex-firefighter who conversed with Pawel. I'll weigh in on your question per his request.
I grew up going to the beach and surfing, so going barefoot was never too far removed from my life in that sense. But, I did allow myself to become conditioned by "shoe culture" because of school, work, advertising, and peer pressure.
Like I shared with Pawel, I had to quit running in my late 20's due to terrible knee pain. I didn't learn until more than a decade later that my knee pain was being caused by the design of my expensive running shoes and the poor running form that they encouraged.
Essentially, wearing shoes can be akin to putting a cast on a part of our body to help heal a broken bone... when the cast is removed after 8 weeks or so, the muscles underneath it have atrophied to the point of the body part being visibly smaller than it's comparable counterpart, which also means that it has become much weaker. And, if a joint or joints were casted, they will have lost their ability to move.
This, to some degree, is what happens to our feet if we live in "traditional" shoes, and because our feet are our body's foundation, having weak feet can and does translate up the entire bodily chain as weakness, imbalance, and pain in areas such as the knees, hips, back, neck, and others.
Our bare feet, if we are able to listen to and translate what they're telling us, show us how to walk, move, and even run in ways that not only can protect us from injury, strengthen and heal existing injuries due to the improper use of our feet and bodies because of the sensory deprivation of covering our feet in shoes, they can also help to connect us to our body and environments in ways that we've been asleep to, also due to said sensory deprivation... if you're interested, look into "Earthing" or the anti-inflammatory effect of grounding trapped static electricity in our bodies through our bare feet into the Earth.
We all naturally walked and ran about barefoot as little children. Watch them whenever you get the chance, it's amazing. And, children have 'unadulterated' naturally shaped feet... again, if you're interested, look at comparisons between natural, healthy foot shape, and feet that have been "casted" by footwear... the most extreme example being the old practice of foot binding that was popular in China, but examples of modern, everyday foot shape distortions are easily found as well. Corns, bunions, and hammer toes are just a few examples of problems that aren't found in cultures who go barefoot. I can share links to good doctors that are on to all of this if you're interested, I learned a lot from them.
Like Pawel said about his feet becoming wider, our feet will naturally move towards a strong, healthy shape if allowed to by spending time walking (and especially slow jogging) barefoot.
What really did it for me, though, was learning about Kenyan runners, particularly the marathoners. They're typically and consistently the best in the world. They're not only the fastest (which really doesn't matter to me), but they often demonstrate the best running technique, which not only makes them able to run as fast as they do, but also maintain their speed most efficiently for as long as they do.
I wanted to know how they do it, especially considering that I couldn't run 2 miles without terrible pain in my knees.
What I learned is that they come from very, very, poor living conditions, where most of them grew up as little kids running back and forth to school on dirt roads with backpacks full of books on their backs... and they did it all barefoot, some for as far as 10Km one way. Some of the best Kenyan runners didn't get their first pair of shoes until they were well into their teens.
It's because of that foundation of barefoot experience, and the resulting foot and body strength that it engenders, that they can run like they do as adults, even while wearing their sponsor's modern running shoes that distort the foot's natural shape and function.
Look up the man who won the 1960 Olympic marathon barefoot, for an example.
So, I decided to put it all to the test for myself by reverting to that childlike starting place of going barefoot.
And it worked for me.
BUT, like Pawel reiterates in so many of his videos, I went into it very slowly. I took my time and listened to my body. There was no rush because I couldn't run anyway, right?
It's been around a decade and a half for me now, and going barefoot is a major cornerstone of why my body feels as good as it does at age 54. I'm barefoot as I'm typing this.
Our mental hangups (everyone has some) about stepping on poop, sharp things, or stubbing our toes can be overcome with simple shifts in how we think about things, a phenomenon that becomes proportionally easier the more we love something.
I'm usually VERY wary of grass, I try to avoid walking barefoot in it. It can hide things that can damage our feet. I've actually come across broken bottle glass hidden by the grass in the middle of a beautiful park, while barefoot, and I was fine. Most of the things that people imagine and fear about barefooting are easily remedied by the use of our eyeballs, paying attention to where and how we step (relaxing instead of tensing our foot), and using a little common sense which increases with experience.
If you're interested in giving it a try, one way to get the benefits of going barefoot but still wearing shoes is to try foot shaped, minimalist shoes and sandals. The key is a thin sole, and zero drop, which means that the heel is level with the forefoot.
If you do, START VERY SLOWLY. A LOT of people fail their exploration by rushing the transition from "traditional" footwear to minimal footwear. Just remember that your entire body's weight and balance is being supported by feet that just came out of "casts," and soft connective tissues can take a long time to strengthen and lengthen (most of us have shortened achilles areas due to lots of years of living in footwear with elevated heels).
VivoBarefoot is one brand, and they offer a 6 month transition guideline that is based on sound experience. But you can find lots of other brands and guidelines on the internet on how to safely transition... just be wary of any that say you can do it quickly. You want to think of it like wanting to eat the fruit of a tree that you planted from seed... it takes time and patience.
It's been many years for me, and I'm still learning and growing.
Can you explain the appeal of going barefoot? I thought it was just a personal eccentricity of yours, but now here's an ex firefighter that seems to favor it too.
I would be perennially afraid of stepping on something sharp or even just disgusting like dog 💩 or bugs or roadkill. And wouldn't you develop terrible calluses on the bottoms of your feet? In my family we were always discouraged from going barefoot...even inside the house.
Okay, on a most basic level it is an eccentricity of mine. It's something that I felt compelled to do. The best explanation is that it is a sensory feast on different surfaces. I believe it also helps to move right. The foot can move as it is designed to without the limitation of a shoe which may limit movement and flexibility in one or more planes.
Shoes felt very constricting and I longed to feel the pebbles and the ground beneath my feet. Now my feet got wider - the toes spread out. I have an inkling that this is what also helps me with balance. I tried today and manged over 90 seconds on my right foot with my eyes closed. You feel more grounded somehow. I frequently hike barefoot on the close trails that I know: at least one way. I think it also helps with balance. It's also a fantastic feeling to be barefoot on the grass.
As for the fear of stepping on something. I had to overcome that. I'd say I'm doing pretty good for a recovered germophobe (though the pandemic helped as it normalized many of my behaviours). We are conditioned for shoes since we are kids. So it's hard. And the imagination gets the better of us. But also, I am really lucky to live in a country that keeps its streets clean and they don't have too many ticks in the grass (I haven't seen one in a long while if ever here - as opposed to Europe where you get covered in them in minutes) and the ones they do have don't carry Lyme disease. Calluses, not terrible, not really. With gradual exposure, your feet's soles get tougher so it is more comfortable.
So far I have stepped into dog poop once and occasionally get a broken twig scratch, thorn and a tiny shard of broken glass - but nothing since I moved and only do it in the park and on the hiking trail.
It is not for everybody, for sure, but it's worth a shot. Makes me clean the floor of my home a lot more often then I would otherwise ;)
Maybe the ex-firefighter could weigh in on this and say why he's doing it. :D
Oh my. Good stuff... glad you're not going into the YouTube business 😉
I figured there was more to going barefoot than met the eye, and turns out, there's a LOT more! Thank you both for sharing all this information.
Hi Joelle,
I'm the ex-firefighter who conversed with Pawel. I'll weigh in on your question per his request.
I grew up going to the beach and surfing, so going barefoot was never too far removed from my life in that sense. But, I did allow myself to become conditioned by "shoe culture" because of school, work, advertising, and peer pressure.
Like I shared with Pawel, I had to quit running in my late 20's due to terrible knee pain. I didn't learn until more than a decade later that my knee pain was being caused by the design of my expensive running shoes and the poor running form that they encouraged.
Essentially, wearing shoes can be akin to putting a cast on a part of our body to help heal a broken bone... when the cast is removed after 8 weeks or so, the muscles underneath it have atrophied to the point of the body part being visibly smaller than it's comparable counterpart, which also means that it has become much weaker. And, if a joint or joints were casted, they will have lost their ability to move.
This, to some degree, is what happens to our feet if we live in "traditional" shoes, and because our feet are our body's foundation, having weak feet can and does translate up the entire bodily chain as weakness, imbalance, and pain in areas such as the knees, hips, back, neck, and others.
Our bare feet, if we are able to listen to and translate what they're telling us, show us how to walk, move, and even run in ways that not only can protect us from injury, strengthen and heal existing injuries due to the improper use of our feet and bodies because of the sensory deprivation of covering our feet in shoes, they can also help to connect us to our body and environments in ways that we've been asleep to, also due to said sensory deprivation... if you're interested, look into "Earthing" or the anti-inflammatory effect of grounding trapped static electricity in our bodies through our bare feet into the Earth.
We all naturally walked and ran about barefoot as little children. Watch them whenever you get the chance, it's amazing. And, children have 'unadulterated' naturally shaped feet... again, if you're interested, look at comparisons between natural, healthy foot shape, and feet that have been "casted" by footwear... the most extreme example being the old practice of foot binding that was popular in China, but examples of modern, everyday foot shape distortions are easily found as well. Corns, bunions, and hammer toes are just a few examples of problems that aren't found in cultures who go barefoot. I can share links to good doctors that are on to all of this if you're interested, I learned a lot from them.
Like Pawel said about his feet becoming wider, our feet will naturally move towards a strong, healthy shape if allowed to by spending time walking (and especially slow jogging) barefoot.
What really did it for me, though, was learning about Kenyan runners, particularly the marathoners. They're typically and consistently the best in the world. They're not only the fastest (which really doesn't matter to me), but they often demonstrate the best running technique, which not only makes them able to run as fast as they do, but also maintain their speed most efficiently for as long as they do.
I wanted to know how they do it, especially considering that I couldn't run 2 miles without terrible pain in my knees.
What I learned is that they come from very, very, poor living conditions, where most of them grew up as little kids running back and forth to school on dirt roads with backpacks full of books on their backs... and they did it all barefoot, some for as far as 10Km one way. Some of the best Kenyan runners didn't get their first pair of shoes until they were well into their teens.
It's because of that foundation of barefoot experience, and the resulting foot and body strength that it engenders, that they can run like they do as adults, even while wearing their sponsor's modern running shoes that distort the foot's natural shape and function.
Look up the man who won the 1960 Olympic marathon barefoot, for an example.
So, I decided to put it all to the test for myself by reverting to that childlike starting place of going barefoot.
And it worked for me.
BUT, like Pawel reiterates in so many of his videos, I went into it very slowly. I took my time and listened to my body. There was no rush because I couldn't run anyway, right?
It's been around a decade and a half for me now, and going barefoot is a major cornerstone of why my body feels as good as it does at age 54. I'm barefoot as I'm typing this.
Our mental hangups (everyone has some) about stepping on poop, sharp things, or stubbing our toes can be overcome with simple shifts in how we think about things, a phenomenon that becomes proportionally easier the more we love something.
I'm usually VERY wary of grass, I try to avoid walking barefoot in it. It can hide things that can damage our feet. I've actually come across broken bottle glass hidden by the grass in the middle of a beautiful park, while barefoot, and I was fine. Most of the things that people imagine and fear about barefooting are easily remedied by the use of our eyeballs, paying attention to where and how we step (relaxing instead of tensing our foot), and using a little common sense which increases with experience.
If you're interested in giving it a try, one way to get the benefits of going barefoot but still wearing shoes is to try foot shaped, minimalist shoes and sandals. The key is a thin sole, and zero drop, which means that the heel is level with the forefoot.
If you do, START VERY SLOWLY. A LOT of people fail their exploration by rushing the transition from "traditional" footwear to minimal footwear. Just remember that your entire body's weight and balance is being supported by feet that just came out of "casts," and soft connective tissues can take a long time to strengthen and lengthen (most of us have shortened achilles areas due to lots of years of living in footwear with elevated heels).
VivoBarefoot is one brand, and they offer a 6 month transition guideline that is based on sound experience. But you can find lots of other brands and guidelines on the internet on how to safely transition... just be wary of any that say you can do it quickly. You want to think of it like wanting to eat the fruit of a tree that you planted from seed... it takes time and patience.
It's been many years for me, and I'm still learning and growing.
Can you explain the appeal of going barefoot? I thought it was just a personal eccentricity of yours, but now here's an ex firefighter that seems to favor it too.
I would be perennially afraid of stepping on something sharp or even just disgusting like dog 💩 or bugs or roadkill. And wouldn't you develop terrible calluses on the bottoms of your feet? In my family we were always discouraged from going barefoot...even inside the house.
Okay, on a most basic level it is an eccentricity of mine. It's something that I felt compelled to do. The best explanation is that it is a sensory feast on different surfaces. I believe it also helps to move right. The foot can move as it is designed to without the limitation of a shoe which may limit movement and flexibility in one or more planes.
Shoes felt very constricting and I longed to feel the pebbles and the ground beneath my feet. Now my feet got wider - the toes spread out. I have an inkling that this is what also helps me with balance. I tried today and manged over 90 seconds on my right foot with my eyes closed. You feel more grounded somehow. I frequently hike barefoot on the close trails that I know: at least one way. I think it also helps with balance. It's also a fantastic feeling to be barefoot on the grass.
As for the fear of stepping on something. I had to overcome that. I'd say I'm doing pretty good for a recovered germophobe (though the pandemic helped as it normalized many of my behaviours). We are conditioned for shoes since we are kids. So it's hard. And the imagination gets the better of us. But also, I am really lucky to live in a country that keeps its streets clean and they don't have too many ticks in the grass (I haven't seen one in a long while if ever here - as opposed to Europe where you get covered in them in minutes) and the ones they do have don't carry Lyme disease. Calluses, not terrible, not really. With gradual exposure, your feet's soles get tougher so it is more comfortable.
So far I have stepped into dog poop once and occasionally get a broken twig scratch, thorn and a tiny shard of broken glass - but nothing since I moved and only do it in the park and on the hiking trail.
It is not for everybody, for sure, but it's worth a shot. Makes me clean the floor of my home a lot more often then I would otherwise ;)
Maybe the ex-firefighter could weigh in on this and say why he's doing it. :D