[Bgs-list] Hello and Vibram Five Fingers Shoes

[CHARLES BAKER]

Thanks to Will Robinson and Bobby ( sorry I've forgotten your last name ) for inviting me to join the BSGs for lunch. I enjoyed the food, conversation and camaraderie.

A few folks asked me about the Vibram Five Fingers Shoes I was wearing. Below is the standard email I generally send to folks who ask about them. Note the stores I mention are all in Greenville, where I live, but I'm sure there is somewhere closer that you can get some if you so choose.

I wish I could run like this! http://bit.ly/9wAAmd  I have run sprints/intervals wearing my classics, and as much as 3 miles (5k) at about a 12-14 minute per mile pace.

Here's the main website: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/indexNA.cfm

The purpose of these shoes, depending on your point of view or belief system, is to allow your feet to move like they were designed or evolved to move. In other words, your feet were meant to be bare! These shoes provide minimal support and protection which allow all the 33 joints of your feet to move freely and force the 20 muscles of your feet as well as all the muscles of your lower legs to work. Wearing these shoes on a daily basis has pretty much eliminated the pain I was experiencing in my ankles, knees and hips due to old football injuries and years of lifting heavy weights. I have also greatly diminished my low back pain due to walking, standing and running in a more natural manner.

Fit is very important. If you decide to give them a try, buy your first pair locally, at Half Moon Outfitters on Laurens Rd or GB Show Warehouse on Pleasantburg @ Mauldin Rd, to ensure a good fit. It is also important to only wear them a few hours a day at first to allow the muscles and joints of your feet and legs to adjust. Now that I'm used to them and my stride and posture are more natural I have almost zero pain in my ankles, knees, hips and lower back.

I feel like a walking billboard for Vibram and Half Moon Outfitters :-) At least two people a day ask me about them! I could make some nice income selling them. Unfortunately, Vibram won't let you sell them online w/o also having a brick & mortar store from which to sell them and I'm not interested in opening yet another shoe store. Also, Vibram doesn't have an affiliate program of any kind. :-(


--
Charles H. Baker
chbaker at clemson.edu | 864.656.8069 | 864.990.1297
I keep things interesting by always working to make myself obsolete. I automate
and document my job so that other people can do it, and then I let them do it,
and then my manager moves me to other things. Tom Limoncelli