The Clark’s Desert Boot, the flip flop, Levi denim jeans, and the famous Converse Allstar; they were designed with function in mind. Better performance was at the heart of the creation of these products and it is no wonder why they have defined their companies and are still here today.

They are comfortable, lightweight, get better with age, work so well, and feel amazing. Design was born out of necessity and I believe that is why function is at the heart of these and many more iconic products that transcend fashion and will always remain ‘fashionable’.

Barefoot running is not a trend and it is not about a product. We were born to run, but as we grew up in a modern world with cushioned shoes; somewhere along the way we managed to unlearn what perhaps is one of our most important natural skills. Barefoot running is about relearning the natural skill of good running technique.
If your technique is good then you can enjoy injury free, efficient running and movement for the rest of your life.

Our shoes are about putting only the bare minimum of material between your bare feet and the world beneath you. Feeling the ground, having enhanced surface specific traction and a shoe that allows your feet to do their natural thing are at the core of what we do at VIVOBAREFOOT.

Along with the hotly anticipated free barefoot training eBook that we recently launched with Lee Saxby, we have two new big new footwear products in our SS11 collection that we genuinely believe are opening the doors to brand new categories in footwear. Company leading, game changing innovations that embody barefoot as well.

Product 1 – The Ultra is the lightest barefoot running product on the market. Weighing in at a mere 114 grams, it is our first fully molded amphibious shoe that allows the wearer to enjoy summer runs in and out of water, and it feels like you have nothing on your feet!

Product 2 – The Achilles barefoot running sandal is the worlds first ‘running sandal’ since the Tarahumara’s Huarache sandal, made famous in the book Born to Run. It’s pure performance driven and it feels great to wear and run in.

It’s all very exciting and while we are confident we have the best barefoot products on the market, we continue to learn and aim to get better with every step we take

Asher Clark
Head designer / Creative director VIVOBAREFOOT

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller

Call me a woman who can’t be kept down for long. I had given up walking for exercise and enjoyment a while back when I was diagnosed with a neurological problem that threw off my balance and made my legs and feet numb. My feet wobbled in my shoes and walking my usual urban paths was what I imagined a stroll on a tightrope would be like. My dream to revisit Italy was out. The trip to London was out. I started avoiding the whole walking thing. But I missed striding around the neighborhood and missed the freedom of heading out on an urban path. Would I ever see Europe except in photos? Not at this rate. I decided to become a walker again.

Read more…

“I could honestly say that without them I would not have completed my training let alone finished the race in 3 hours 22 minutes.” – Nick Hines, Brighton marathon 2011

Here I am a week on from finishing my first Marathon. What an amazing experience! Although much of the last 5 miles are now a blur and I am grateful that we cannot accurately remember physical pain, the rush of endorphins and raw emotion that accompany crossing that finishing line make the previous hours of strain fade into distant memory. All those weeks and months of training; all those hours pounding the same pavements, all those nights you have had to drag yourself out after a hard day’s work to complete your weekly mileage culminate in the overwhelming sense of pride and achievement at having run 26.2 miles. Read more…

In a recent Reuters article, Dorene Internicola talks about running and walking and, with the help of Lee Saxby, Dr Mark Cucuzzella and Dr. Elizabeth Matzkin, highlights the dangers of the modern phenomenon of jogging.

Read more…

Read more…

My VIVOBAREFOOT journey started Fall of 2009. I had just finished a BA in dance and was in a moderately crispy state. I was in limbo, working odd jobs while looking for that next break, when my mother decided to go home to her birthplace to help care for my 93 year old grandmother.

Read more…

Tim Brennan, childhood friend of Galahad Clark, talks to us about the resurgence of barefoot running and reveals the origins of VIVOBAREFOOT. In a series of articles he explains how he came to the idea of “hacking up” his Nikes in search of a truly barefoot shoe.

One of the major landmarks was the barefoot cover story on Nature magazine in January 2010.

That was the point where journalists started to bang the drum about barefoot running.

But why now?

Read more…