"By the 1970s, Converse eventually lost its hold on the basketball market. But In the 80s and early 90s, the Chuck Taylor shoe became associated with people like Andy Warhol, The Ramones, Kurt Cobain, and later, Nate Kadlac."
Now, I'm inspired AND wanting to be the next Nate Kadlac. ;-)
One of my favorite posts you’ve done yet! I’ve never thought about the evolution and symbolism of Converse that way…kind of makes me want to buy a pair of high tops! I used to bartend in a pair of navy Chuck Taylor’s…and after a while my feet would be so sore I finally switched to the ultra-crunchy, ergonomic Danskin clog. 😂 Maybe that’s when I became an adult, too. 😉
I need to review my entire "shoes strategy" because since the beginning of the pandemic I've been passing more time barefoot at home than with shoes on + I've been training with kettlebells (also barefoot): my feet strengthened so much that I have arches that I previously hadn't and my toes spread out so much that my pre-COVID shoes don't fit anymore.
I bought a pair of Feiyue that I love but they only come in two colours and two models, they are not winter shoes and I'm not completely sold on the no-arch support thing.
While I definitely need a wider toebox, I don't mind having shoes with some support. I don't think that a lot of people out there are willing to spend the time that I spent working out barefoot with kettlebells for fixing their feet (also: for me it was a completely unexpected side-effect, not a goal).
Wow, that's incredible! I also spend much of my time barefoot around the house, or in sandals. Honestly, I just hate wearing shoes.
To your point, I think there's some merit to the zero-drop mentality, but I feel it's not for everyone (based on body type and dedication like you). For me, I'm just not going to spend my days worrying about my arches when I find much more joy in using my free time to be creative.
Love that you were able to achieve that through a byproduct of lifting barefoot!
I played basketball for more than 20 years and I was among the first ones to switch to low-tops when they became fashionable. There was a lot of skepticism about those shoes not being as supportive as the high-tops. Never twisted an ankle in my life. I guess I've always had good ankles.
Same goes with bad arches and constrained toes. If it wasn't for the pandemic and my barefoot training I would still have flat feet and crumpled toes just as anyone else.
Barefoot pundits are right when they say that shoes are like mittens for our feet, limiting motion and weakening muscles, but they also forget to say is that in order to have benefits you basically need to be barefoot or almost barefoot most of the times, and that is not sustainable for most people.
This quote had me dying.
"By the 1970s, Converse eventually lost its hold on the basketball market. But In the 80s and early 90s, the Chuck Taylor shoe became associated with people like Andy Warhol, The Ramones, Kurt Cobain, and later, Nate Kadlac."
Now, I'm inspired AND wanting to be the next Nate Kadlac. ;-)
Haha! (Can't believe I wrote that)
One of my favorite posts you’ve done yet! I’ve never thought about the evolution and symbolism of Converse that way…kind of makes me want to buy a pair of high tops! I used to bartend in a pair of navy Chuck Taylor’s…and after a while my feet would be so sore I finally switched to the ultra-crunchy, ergonomic Danskin clog. 😂 Maybe that’s when I became an adult, too. 😉
Haha, you are more of an adult than I am wearing Danskin clogs! 😂😂
thanks for the shoutout! and I can definitely agree that Stutz is one hell of a film.
Yeah man! Looking forward to reading more of your writing as well!
I need to review my entire "shoes strategy" because since the beginning of the pandemic I've been passing more time barefoot at home than with shoes on + I've been training with kettlebells (also barefoot): my feet strengthened so much that I have arches that I previously hadn't and my toes spread out so much that my pre-COVID shoes don't fit anymore.
I bought a pair of Feiyue that I love but they only come in two colours and two models, they are not winter shoes and I'm not completely sold on the no-arch support thing.
While I definitely need a wider toebox, I don't mind having shoes with some support. I don't think that a lot of people out there are willing to spend the time that I spent working out barefoot with kettlebells for fixing their feet (also: for me it was a completely unexpected side-effect, not a goal).
Chucks sucks.
Wow, that's incredible! I also spend much of my time barefoot around the house, or in sandals. Honestly, I just hate wearing shoes.
To your point, I think there's some merit to the zero-drop mentality, but I feel it's not for everyone (based on body type and dedication like you). For me, I'm just not going to spend my days worrying about my arches when I find much more joy in using my free time to be creative.
Love that you were able to achieve that through a byproduct of lifting barefoot!
I played basketball for more than 20 years and I was among the first ones to switch to low-tops when they became fashionable. There was a lot of skepticism about those shoes not being as supportive as the high-tops. Never twisted an ankle in my life. I guess I've always had good ankles.
Same goes with bad arches and constrained toes. If it wasn't for the pandemic and my barefoot training I would still have flat feet and crumpled toes just as anyone else.
Barefoot pundits are right when they say that shoes are like mittens for our feet, limiting motion and weakening muscles, but they also forget to say is that in order to have benefits you basically need to be barefoot or almost barefoot most of the times, and that is not sustainable for most people.