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Al Gauthier Interviewed for New West Newsleader / BCLocalNews.com

By Al Gauthier ⋅ September 4, 2009 ⋅

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Original Can be Found Here

New Westminster News Leader

Barefoot booster

Al Gauthier displays his main means of transportation; his bare feet.

MARIO BARTEL/NewsLeader

By Mario Bartel – New Westminster News Leader

Published: September 04, 2009 3:00 PM

Al Gauthier’s boots aren’t made for walking. In fact, if Gauthier had his druthers, he’d walk through life without any boots at all, or shoes, or even sandals.

Gauthier is footwear and fancy-free. And to spread the word of his emancipation from shoes, the 33 year-old New Westminster resident runs a website, www.livingbarefoot.info, that’s become a sort of gathering place for like-minded barefooters from around the world.

Gauthier, who works in healthcare, first eschewed shoes five years ago. He goes barefoot as much as possible, walking around town, going shopping, even driving, although he does wear shoes at work and while taking transit, where it’s easy to get his toes trampled in a crowded bus or SkyTrain. He also packs along a pair of shoes in his backpack in case the weather takes a nasty, cold turn, or he finds himself in a situation where going barefoot would be unsafe.

That rarely happens, says Gauthier, who claims he’s never been injured while walking around without shoes.

“When you’re barefoot, you’re always aware of what your feet are doing,” says Gauthier. “You have to be hyper-aware, always scanning the ground where you’re going.”

Prejudice is a bigger challenge than pavement to being barefoot all the time, says Gauthier. Bare feet may be against a store or restaurant’s policy, but they’re not against health regulations. It’s also not illegal to drive barefoot. But there’s nothing to stop people from staring, or commenting.

“I’d just like it if people would not view (going barefoot) as taboo,” says Gauthier, who endures plenty of double-takes and unsolicited admonitions while he’s unshod. “It’s just feet.”

Since its launch three month ago, Gauthier says his website has attracted more than 30,000 visitors a month, and there are more than 150 active participants in the discussion forums. The site features stories about the barefoot lifestyle, barefoot hiking and running, interviews with other barefooters, product reviews, safety tips and advice for neophyte barefooters and a podcast.

Ironically enough, Gauthier says since going barefoot, he’s never owned so much footwear, as various manufacturers send him shoes to try out. But they’re not looking to win him back to their side; they want his feedback on new models that try to mimic the barefoot experience like running shoes with individual toe pockets and minimal soles, winter boots with warm, protective uppers and ultra-thin soles and rubberized slip-ons originally designed for surfers or sailboarders but now embraced by landlubbers.

Gauthier says freeing his feet has also freed his mind to be more in tune with the environment around him.

“To be barefoot is to open up a whole new set of sensations. It’s no longer just walking. When you’re going from A to B, you feel where you are walking, the coolness of the grass, the textures of the cobblestones and cement.”

Gauthier says he’s not trying to convert people to his discalceate ways, he’s hopeful sites like his will help educate them about the health of their feet. He foresees a day when groups of barefooters will host gatherings to expose people to their lifestyle, maybe even lead guided barefoot walks.

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