r/barefoot

There is a trend going on in major league baseball where large groups of fans, mostly young men, take off their shirts and wave them in circles above their heads while cheering for their team. Everyone seems supportive of this trend.

This makes me optimistic that a barefoot trend, where entire groups of friends decide to go out to eat or for some kind of fun recreation barefoot, could happen. I don’t really need to participate in that, but it would make barefooting seem more normal and acceptable I think.

Rain is best barefoot. Feet dry quickly and it’s cool to see bare foot prints on the floor

Went to the local DMV and county Court Clerk’s office to change my address and renew my tags. Got a couple of stares but no comments. It was raining which made it better.

Hello!! So, this is going to be a long post. Buckle up! Before I go into my story. Just understand that everyone has their own challenges and situations.

When I was a kid. I loved being barefoot. I would spend days on end without shoes as one does when they are a child. When I was going around in my barefeet around my neighborhood. I kid in the neighborhood that was the known bully called out to me that being barefoot was gross and I should put shoes on. That did something that I never thought would happen. I developed a fear for showing my barefeet in public and to anyone including my self. The anxiety that sparked when I was needing to be barefoot drove me to go majority of my life living in a bubble of fear. I will say however I could go barefoot if I was spending a day with family at a pool, but I once I realized I was barefoot around people I didn’t know I would shake and burst into tears.

When I was going into high school and met some good friends. One in particular would hangout with me and he loved being barefoot. He asked if I wanted to take my socks off so I wouldn’t feel left out. I started to have a major anxiety attack. Once I was calmed down enough by him and his mom. They asked why I have so much anxiety about being barefoot. It was hard for me to tell them, but they told me something I needed to hear. It is normal to be barefoot and I won’t be judged to be barefoot in their house. A few days later I had the courage to go barefoot and it was hard, but I did it.

Now to be very honest, I was going to struggle with this anxiety for years going forward. I started to go barefoot in my house and around my family again. I’m going to skip to adulthood. I met a very caring girl that I would date for over a year and a half. I should mention. I wear toe socks because I find them comfortable and I love the benefits. When I was asked to come to her family dinner on Sunday. I took my shoes off at her front door. I forgot I was wearing toe socks. Thankfully I remembered I had a pair of regular socks in my car. I ran out and put them on. She asked me when I was going home why I ran to my car. I told her I wear toe socks. I wasn’t expecting her to ask in a very curious voice why I wear them. I explained that I love the comfort and the benefits they have over regular socks. I think it was the next day. I told her through text why I didn’t like to be barefoot and I wear toe socks mainly because I don’t like to show my feet. ( it’s hard to explain why I started wearing them) She blew me away with her response. She said in my family we like to be barefoot. We won’t judge you. That was cool to hear. We worked together to get myself to be barefoot at her house. It was a hard process but I was so comfortable being around her family it was easy to be barefoot. Seeing I don’t like to shoe my feet in public. I didn’t like to wear sandals. During last summer I decided to wear sandals in public again and face this anxiety heads on. It was super hard, but I can do it!!

Recently I was talking to a doctor. I was explaining to him about my situation. He explained to me how I could overcome my anxiety more. Now I wasn’t expecting him to help me out more. He showed me a picture of feet shapes. I should explain I also hate to show my feet in public because I don’t like how my feet look. He pointed at a picture of a foot shape called “Egyptian shape feet”. (Reader trust me how I explain why) He asked me if my feet look like those. I said yes. He told me that is the most common foot shape in the world. That sparked something in me that was the coolest feeling ever!! Knowing that I was normal and I had normal looking feet gave me so much courage to go barefoot again.(I know that sounds silly)

Here I am in the present day. A 24 going on 25 guy. I still struggle with this anxiety everyday. I go on night walks because I am still very scared to go barefoot in public during the day. When I do go out I tell myself this. It’s normal to be barefoot. No one will care what my feet looks like. I have normal feet. Anxiety is a hard thing. I thought to tell my story because not everyone can go barefoot so easily. When I tell my story to local barefoot enthusiast. They think it can’t be that hard. Just go barefoot. This is what I want to finish out with. Walk a day in someone’s struggles and you will understand more than you know.

My journey and struggles will continue with me in my life until I can get through it. I want to share this today because this community is great and supportive! Thank you for reading my journey. Have a great day!!

Feel free to ask me questions in the comments!

I am curious about your stories on when and what was the reason to go barefoot? Feel more free? Health?

I'm gardening in my backyard and often it is muddy after a rain when I am inspecting or otherwise working on the plants. If I wear boots, it's like an inch of sticky mud gets stuck on the bottom. I'm wondering if doing it barefoot would prevent all the mud from getting stuck on me and I can just hose off my feet before going back inside. I'll continue wearing boots when working with shovels and other digging equipment for safety reasons.

As it stands, I’m the only mod that’s still active on this sub once again. I’m seriously considering leaving Reddit for good, 19 years on this website is plenty and I’ve been realizing the upsides don’t outweigh the downsides for a while now.

The last few times I’ve done a recruitment drive for mods on this sub has been successful in terms of getting people on board to help… but it never lasts. This thankless, unpaid part time job. In the end, I’m always the last one standing as a mod here. But I guess since I founded this sub, it’s my responsibility too in a way.

To be honest the work to mod this sub isn’t that difficult. It’s mainly to deal with the foot fetish folks, removing their posts, comments and occasionally banning them.

I’m hoping that this recruitment drive this time would attract more long-term mods to take over the modding of this sub, with me gone from this site for good.

Send in your applications, thank you in advance 🙏

Hi, barefoot for 3-4 years. Toes are beginning to spread.

Although the old pains I had (whole feet and lower back) are less severe, it is still there when I stand for long.

I notice that the ball of my big toe is very smooth, like I don't put too much pressure on it. Although I know I should.

Any methods you suggest on how to start using it more?

Thank you all! ​​​

I’m curious whether being barefoot is allowed in the gym? I’ve been a regular gym‑goer for 3 years, but I’ve never seen anyone train without shoes—not even in socks. Is this usually prohibited for safety reasons?

I went for first time this year in April knowing very little about it. Fortunately went week 1. For those who dont know its 3 day festival and 4 days of camping in Indio California every April.

Pulled into campground first day and to my pleasant surprise it was all perfect condition sod grass, as was the entire festival grounds.

Spent the entire 4 days barefoot while putting in about 30k steps a day and tons ofnl dancing etc. I have never had another barefooted experience like it before and it was pure bliss. I think they say there are like 150k people there altogether and did not see another barefooted human there the entire time.

By the end of the weekend the grass was pretty much dead and gone and just dirt so the second weekend of the festival would not have been as blissful.

So yeah it was a month ago and I am still remembering it fondly and just here to recommend it. Will definitely be going again next year.

For people who wear shoes, they take their shoes off before coming inside. What strategies do you use to clean your feet as you get home? Do you have towels to wipe your feet by the door or have a policy to immediately rinse your feet in the shower as soon as you get home?

Hey guys I just had my first bad experience and I wanted to vent a little. Tl dr; liars piss me off.

I went into one of our local gas stations barefoot to grab a few snacks tonight. There were no other customers in the store.

When I got up to the counter, the lady working lied to my face and told me that it was a health code violation to be barefoot in the gas station.

When I informed her that there were no health codes for barefoot patrons, she then gave me an attitude and said it was illegal to shop barefoot and it's been that way since she was a kid.

When I informed her that there are no laws on the books banning barefoot patrons in stores, she became increasingly aggressive and told me that she'd refuse service to me next time I came in without shoes.

I told her okay, wished her a good night, left, and filed a complaint on the Murphy USA website on her. Needless to say, I now have two businesses I will not shop at anymore.

Just wanted to get that off my chest before I go to bed tonight. For those that are curious, I live in Illinois and we have no laws or health codes pertaining to barefoot patrons.

Doing a bit of research and really need some input.

Guess that means, that I'm a barefooter now, now that I'm doing it even in my night time dreams.

I started my barefoot journey after listening to Courtney Conley's podcast. I bought a couple of toe spacers, started to walk barefoot in the house (no socks, no slippers). I don't feel comfortable walking barefoot outside, so I bought a pair of barefoot shoes. I am using them for a month now, however I started to have mild pain and soreness in my feet. Do you have any tips how to get rid of the pain and where can I go barefoot in a city where nobody will look at me weirdly?

A month ago I started walking barefoot in the house. I always kept the house clean, however my feet still collected dust. Nowadays I sweep the floor, vacuum the carpet and wash the tiles more, so my feet will stay clean. Am I exaggerating? I mean I still take a shower before bed so I don't bring any dirt in my bed.

Hey all ! I've started going barefoot on walks around my local area and im loving it! Really enjoying giving these size 13s some freedom!

I’m a guy in my twenties and I’ve spent most of my life barefoot whenever possible. Around the house, outside, road trips, whatever. Since I’m barefoot so often, I started wondering why women seem to get all the fun foot jewelry while guys are expected to pretend feet don’t exist 😂

A few weeks ago I bought a simple fine toe ring and started wearing it casually with sandals. Nothing huge or dramatic, literally just a thin silver band. The reactions have been way more noticeable than I expected though. Some people said it looked cool and relaxed, while others looked genuinely confused like I broke some unspoken fashion rule.

The funny part is I don’t even think most people notice bracelets or necklaces anymore, but apparently a guy wearing a fine toe ring suddenly becomes a whole conversation topic. I even ended up reading jewelry discussions comparing minimalist designs from smaller sellers and jewelry manufacturers because I wanted something subtle that didn’t look cheap.

For the people here who’ve seen guys wearing toe rings before, what vibe does it give off to you honestly?

Looking for suggestions when trying to create the best content.

I have to report to prison in a few weeks due to a stupid mistake I made. I will have to be there between three and six months. It is minimum security. Can I do the time barefoot or do they require I wear some kind of footwear for meals and recreation? What about at my prison job, if I can get a job in the library or something like that, can I perform the job barefoot?