My FiveFingers

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How FiveFingers Changed My Life

by Tyler Hurst » on Apr 17, 2011 1

Wearing Five Fingers is a weird, unique and fun experience. No matter where I go, what I’m doing or who I’m with, I can usually count on someone asking about the shoes I have on. Most of the questions hover around how long the break-in period is and if they’re actually comfortable (few months and yes), but today I was thinking just how different my life is since I’ve owned Five Fingers.

This guy wears Five Fingers. So there's that.

When I bought my first pair of Sprints in September 2009, I was a 235 lbs, out of shape, kinda athlete who was sorta rehabbing after a major surgery the year before. I had run my first half marathon in January 2009, but had hurt myself and hadn’t run regularly much of that entire year.

I felt disconnected from my body, unsure of how to heal myself and get back into shape and fairly confused as to how I’d let it all get this far. And then I figured it out.

I was ignoring the world. My feet had no idea what the ground felt like because I always had my shoes and orthotics on. My friendships had mostly stalled, as I was traveling and using too much technology to keep up with people. My ideas for stories were trapped in my head because I was worried about revealing them.

The decision to purchase and wear Five Fingers helped me understand how to better connect with the world, people and myself. By removing the shields we all have on ourselves, we’re better able to understand what the world around us is like.

I know what sidewalks feel like under my feet, exactly how cold rain water is and just how much softer asphalt is than concrete. Because of this, I’m able to visualize and experience other aspects of my life and have grown tremendously as a person. Without the fear of ever getting hurt, I think we tend to atrophy – physically, mentally and emotionally – making it tough to improve out lot in life.

I can’t say that FiveFingers will make you a better runner, a better person or even attract strangers with questions, but I can guarantee the philosophy around them has changed the way I look a life, love, friendships and my relationship with everything around me.

In a world feels artificially smaller every day, it’s a good feeling to know that I’m able to grow instead.

1 Comment

  1. brian says:

    oh they attract questions.

    Also, how do yours fit/your bikilas? Like a glove or lil loose? Tried a pair in-store that was too small, went next size up (online) and it seems a little big…Room for my toes to shift or even once or twice fall out of the little nook.

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