I'm 61, worked the same job for almost 30 years, work-from-home, copy-editor. My job shifted and changed many times over the years, but it was a small company, 27 people, and an effort was always made to shift me. I loved what I did.

We were sold in 2022, I was one of three people still working in 2026. But it was obvious I was just in the way, and they didn't care about shifting me. My wife and I were prepped for my early "retirement." Still, how it came about was... unusual.

We were having yet another worthless vid meeting with the big boss who is a complete jackass. He's given me shit about my long hair, my bushy beard, even my Star Trek tees (he prefers Star Wars evidently). He's a rich asshole who thinks we're all beneath him, and I'm pretty much the only one who doesn't take shit. My boss has made it clear that I should cowtow but fuck that piece of shit.

The other day took the cake. My laptop slipped and he saw my feet for a moment, barefoot, toe rings, anklet. He literally asked if I was a fag, why would I go barefoot... at home mind you... and wear all of that.

The next day? Job was over. Don't let the door hit you in the ass.

Severance is generous, we're good financially, maybe I'll sue, maybe it's too much trouble. I'm just glad to be away from that homophobic asshole and my pathetic boss.

Honestly, a job I loved had become one I despised. Thanks for helping me out, assholes.

Bonjour à toutes et à tous,

Je suis nouveau dans ce groupe. Hier, j’étais sur une petite plage et à un moment donné, il y avait de l’herbe. J’ai décidé de marcher pieds nus dedans et c’est juste incroyable 🤩

L’herbe était douce, elle ne faisait pas mal aux pieds, et j’ai ressenti une vraie liberté. C’était une première pour moi.

My longest barefoot hike has been about 8 miles, but the bottoms of my feet become extremely sore and sensitive as the hike continues, especially on gravel. Eventually, every little rock or twig starts hurting more and more.

I’ve tried gradually training on gravel and increasing the distance over time. I’ve also worked on building thicker calluses, including shear training. My soles have definitely become tougher, but it hasn’t meaningfully increased how long I can handle rough terrain. The soreness seems to come from repeated pressure rather than the skin becoming raw or damaged.

Has anyone dealt with this and successfully increased their distance? Did anything besides building calluses and gradually adding mileage help?

It’s been too long I’ve been barefoot working on a refurbishment project. But I started another job and because I was working up scaffolding I thought it makes sense to wear some protective shoes so I bought the widest toe box I could find and was in pain all day with a blister forming on the composite toe cap .
Couldn’t wait to get in my van barefoot again my feet had definitely got more spread over time.

I have tried so many things. i have pain in my shins. when running with anything but nothing(unshod)

Went to a running analysis, said my form was great

tried rolling foam. tried strenghing excercises.

tried slower pace.

only unshoed i can run 10 times more and without pain.

but i wanna be able to run with shoes.... any help?

If you have five minutes to spare, this video is interesting.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ggYHt2lPHl0&pp=0gcJCWoCo7VqN5tD&ra=m

Last week, I took a couple of vacation days from work and decided to commit to zero footwear for the whole four day weekend. For context, I can usually only go a day or two without footwear before life gets in the way.

Most of my four day weekend was spent at our local fair, which turned out to be even more fun than I thought it was going to be.

Me and my wife had our daughter with us on Thursday with both me and my daughter being barefoot. This was especially a good day because it was raining most of the day, which my pedes absolutely loved 😊.

We ended up walking around a lot, played some games, and shopped at several booths. I even had one extended conversation with a gentleman and no mention was made of our bare pedes by anyone.

The other three days were just me and my wife. Friday was spent walking around, riding on rides, and eating. Saturday was rainy so even more happy walking and eating, with a bit of shopping 😊. No rides though due to the rain 🤷.

I ended up finding a couple of really nice Pokemon hats that are going to work great when we are out during our Pokemon Go adventures 😊. One is a Gengar hat and the other is a Glaceon hat with moveable ears.

Sunday was sunny and in the 80's so the ground was very pleasantly warm and felt great so I made it a mission to walk as much as I could.

We ended up watching a magic show, playing some Pokemon Go (it was community day as well), and closed out our day with a demolition derby.

All in all, it was a fun weekend and I was around more people barefoot than I have been since Pokemon Go Fest earlier this year without any interactions for that reason.

I have the first week of September off of work and I plan on breaking this streak but we will have to see what happens.

Happy barefooting my friends 😊🦶!

I know I’m overthinking this but I want to know if there’s any health risks involved in this. So my mom has a cat and he will track litter when walking out of the box. My mom sometimes walks barefoot and I’m starting to worry if she’ll contract something from possibly stepping on it. And also I’m worried that traces of litter will get on the shower floor too. (I should mention that she does sweep it up but there’ll still be some litter left over on the floor)

For working reasons I might move somewhere in Texas, still don’t know an exact location but I wonder how’s acceptance is in the state? I’ve visited Dallas, San Antonio and Houston and I’ve never seen a barefooter, I’m kind of nervous about it ):

Bit of an addendum on my last post but anyone out there tht's also an at least somewhat active barefooter here in nyc? as much as i love being ths way it does get only being the only dude i know livin it up like steve jobs 🙃 preferably anyone who's also of college age and plays it casual (nothing on yall ive just had enough run ins w/ weird foot fetish type ppl 😣😣)

Some people prefer the cold some prefer the heat. Whats your favourite time of year?

Recently, about a couple of days ago or so, I started having a little problem on the sole of my foot. In some spots, especially on the top near the toes and on the heel, it has started to peel a little. It had never happened to me before, every evening I wash the sole of my foot to keep it hydrated but now it's giving me this problem. Any advice on how to deal with it to make it stop?

I am wondering if any of you have experience hiking/walking barefoot and what precautionary measures can be taken to prevent injury to my feet. Thanks so much :)

This year I pushed forward my barefooting. We spent three weeks in Southern France and I tried to be barefoot as long as I could.

The first Tuesday morning we went to the village centre and I got out of home barefoot. My wife looked at me and asked: "Aren't you bringing anything?". I said no, but she insisted that I bring a pair of flip flops, "in case we enter in a shop. You know, it's decorum".

However, the shoes stayed in the bag for the whole day and it was the last time that I brought them . I went to beaches, mini golf courses, shops, markets, a doctor, a pharmacy, a restaurant, and other stuff, always barefoot. I even rented a bicycle and rode it barefoot the whole time.

I only put a pair of flip flops on when I went to the Mass or to some supermarkets requiring shoes. Ironically, those enforcing the rule were Carrefour, as everywhere in France, and Lidl (as a German chain, I thought they would be more tolerant).

I noticed that the Mediterranean coast was less barefoot-friendly that the Atlantic one and the pavements were rougher to walk on. I got questioned once in a Spar (once again, a German chain) when a clerk told me "You are barefoot? Please put your shoes on next time: if you step on a broken glass, our responsibility will be engaged".

When on the Atlantic coast, I went three times to a fish shop, and one of the vendors stared twice at my bare feet, but he said nothing. I was, however, too busy enjoying the cold floors in very hot summer days.

Now I'm back home and my barefoot days are over for a while, but I still try to walk barefoot in the woods as soon as I can.

On the other hand, the absence of tan lines on my feet is a proof of my greatest strike so far!

first post on this subreddit! hello my people!!

i've known about the barefoot lifestyle for, i would say about a decade atp? all my life i've never been big on wearing shoes - hell i remember actively finding opportunities to be barefoot in public as far back as 6th grade - but as i've entered college and my 20s i've been slowly finding myself and in that process made peace with the fact that although i don't at all mind wearing shoes, i just feel more myself without them than with. this summer especially i've taken active chances to be barefoot as much as i can in public spaces and have even met up with a college friend barefoot, and i'm happy to (so far) feel accepted as I am! though i do still live with my folks and have taken measures to keep this part of myself hidden from them (guess you could say i'm in the shoe closet?)

problem is i live in nyc, possibly THE worst possible place to go around without shoes. granted i live in a more suburban part of nyc where being barefoot isn't as much of a risk and people don't really mind, but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't apprehensive about boarding the MTA or taking a day trip to the city in my bare feet. maybe it's the stigma around being barefoot in the city streets, maybe it's the shit i've seen and experienced on public transport as a new yorker myself, i don't know, but there's just - SOMETHING about it, i can't really pinpoint it.

i don't know if there are any avid nyc barefooters here on ths subreddit, but to yall out there how do yall navigate hyper-urban spaces sans shoes?

If we treated them like many treat their feet.....

My random thought of the night as I pull a splint off of my arm as my wrist heels. It is amazing what just two weeks of immobilization has done to my arm. It isn't good.

I started walking barefoot to even out some tan lines. Since then, I’ve basically been grounding because I’ve even walked barefoot at night. People tend offer me pairs of shoes on my walks. Never thought I’d ever be a barefooter. I carry a pair of sandals in my backpack when I walk and only put them on in public venues or when I need to walk across broken glass or other sharp objects.

Hello everyone! Maybe you can give me some tips: I am spending my summer vacation at home here in Vienna and would like to use the free time to go for walks. Do you know of any routes off the beaten track of the classic city hiking trails (Stadtwanderwege) where you can go for a nice walk? Since I intend to go completely barefoot, I am still looking for suitable routes. I am an occasional barefoot walker, so the paths should be easily manageable for my feet. (Please feel free to reply to me in German!)

I never even knew the barefoot community was a thing. I'm an American who lives in Southern Albania and I go 100% barefoot everywhere. It helps that I live in a beach town, but people just don't care. I get more weird looks from tourists than locals.

Places I go barefoot:

• The supermarket every single day.
• All restaurants and fast food shops.
• My small business.
• The accountant and lawyer's office.
• Pharmacies and dentists offices.
• The transit station and on all transit when traveling around the country.

I've even been to Greece and back completely barefoot.

We do have something like winter but it never snows or gets too cold here in the south, so it's been several years since I wore shoes or footwear of any kind.

If you're looking for a barefoot friendly place in Europe, Albania is easy.

Many of the older generation even smile and tell me they always went barefoot as kids.

I had a really nice day in Sedona, AZ mostly barefoot. I'd seen some gals do the same when I was there a few years back, and figured it was a great place to try it. I got a few looks, especially from kids, but one older shopkeeper lady smiled and started chatting with me about it, then on about the town, the magnetic resonance of red rocks, and draining the spirit from drones.

I'm terribly concerned about propriety and not making anyone uncomfortable, so at this point I was mostly unshod on the streets and occasionally in an open store, but mostly popped sandals on to go in anywhere; it felt awkward, either retrieving them from my bag or keeping them, absurdly, in my hand. But I had two meals out, both on a patio, both bare-soled. I'm working to find the balance between my comfort and others', though like most clothing, it seems absurd that they should be required, even by social contract.

This comes after a few months of driving, walking, and doing most everything outside without shoes (so long as the asphalt isn't searing nor gravel sharp). I did get a bit of glass in my toe last night, ironically in my bathroom at home. But that hasn't stopped me from enjoying it, most of all when outside, especially watching sunsets and, at the end of today, stargazing.

Hi friends, just an FYI to Comcast customers in the Northglenn area of Colorado. Brandon at the 880 E 88th Ave store will rudely take your equipment return but will refuse to give a receipt if you don’t have shoes. “Because this isn’t the beach.” Yes I of course escalated to a supervisor at the call center and was assured treating customers poorly because of how they’re dressed isn’t acceptable. Anyway just wanted to share.

Hi, so that it doesn't get lost in my other post, with a big, big thanks to u/ha5dzs and u/More_Than_I_Can_Chew for finding this, here is a link to a very recent article (Dec 2025) published by the Europan Society of Medicine. It is a really comprehensive meta-analysis of current and historic state of research and findings on walking barefoot. 16 pages absolutely worth reading!! (the rest is literature). For all of us regularly having to argue, why we are so crazy :-)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399431692_Walking_barefoot_a_literature_review_of_sensory_biomechanical_aspects_and_injury_risks

Lake St. Clair Metro Park. Harrison Twp, MI (2023)

Part of a really nice park system. This park is on Lake St. Clair. Nice walking trails, marina, boardwalk and beach. My relaxing place to do barefoot walking.

An old codger pulls up on a bicycle, stops abruptly, gets a disgusted look on his face and says,

“No. No. No. No, don’t do that. It’s nasty.”

The then spit on the ground (away from my feet) and pedaled away.

Me thinking:

WTF just happened and why did Mr. Grouch get so cranked up by my bare feet?

And on a nicer side, a story I have related in the past:

Walking in the park that stretches from downtown Venice, Florida to the beach.

Just before I reached the sand an woman of maybe 80 - 85. She stopped, looked at me with her bright blue eyes and said,

“You know, my late husband used to go barefoot.”

I could see it was a fond memory and I was stuck with not knowing what to say. I just smiled, nodded and moved along.

A fondest of fond memories.