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The Living Barefoot Show – Episode 7 – We Interview Vivo Barefoot

By Al Gauthier ⋅ October 29, 2009 ⋅

October 29th, 2009 Episode 7

We have the pleasure of interviewing three key members from Terra Plana. Sabra Ellingson runs the USA operations for Terra Plana and Vivo Barefoot out of her New York Office. Damian Peat is the Terra Plana Brand Manager, and Ben le Vesconte is the Vivo Barefoot Brand Manager. Both Damian and Ben work out of the London UK head office.

We cover the history of Vivo Barefoot and Terra Plana, speak about Vivo Barefoot shoes in general, and talk about the release of the new EVO running shoe to be released in the spring of 2010.

Ben and Damian are running in the New York Marathon on Sunday November 1st, 2009, and may be seen wearing some bright pink and yellow colors.

They are each looking to raise $3000. If you’d like to help them out, go to the Team Continuum website, or go directly to Ben’s sponsorship page or Damian’s sponsorship page.

Update: Damien and Ben finished the NYC Marathon in 4:27:37 Congratulations Damien and Ben!

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38 Minutes, 40 Seconds Download mp3 - Click Here (Size 35.41 MB)

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As you read our reviews, please keep in mind that our reviewers review shoes in terms of their suitability for those looking to find the highest quality minimalist shoe products. All reviews are as factual as possible. In an effort to be transparent and ethical, we will point out any defects found, even if these do not affect the usability of the product. Not all defects will be present in final production shoes as we are sometimes offered “seconds” or pre-release products in an effort to provide you with reviews in a timely manor. In the event that serious issues are found with a review sample we will give every opportunity for the manufacturer to replace to explain the review samples before the final review is released. We never accept payments for reviews. We do not guarantee a good review for any products sent to us. We do not review products that do not claim to be minimalist or “barefoot like” unless we receive a significant number of requests from readers or listeners.

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Featured Interview: Christopher McDougall – Author of Born to Run

Listen HERE

Christopher McDougall is a well-spoken, humble man who has through the popularity of his book brought about some of the biggest changes in the perception of feet and running in recent years. Join us in learning about how this talented author wrote his book, discovered his feet, and how he feels about barefooting and running. This interview should not be missed.

We Talk about:

- Chris’s recent appearance at the TED Conference

- Thoughts on Interviews In General

- His first exposure to barefoot running

- How he came to find the Tarahumara while on assignment for the New York Times.

- He thoughts on his influence over barefoot running and ultra running

- How he struggled with writing Born to Run

- This thoughts on minimalist shoes

- And much more!

To learn more about Christopher McDougall visit his website: http://chrismcdougall.com

Buy His Book: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
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Tags: Ben le Vesconte, Damian Peat, EVO, Living Barefoot Show, New York Marathon, sabra ellingson, Vivo barefoot, Vivo Barefoot EVO

Discussion

4 comments for “The Living Barefoot Show – Episode 7 – We Interview Vivo Barefoot”

Facebook comments:

I understand that what you are doing at Living Barefoot is new, and that a lot of what you are doing is trying to promote a lifestyle and inform people of different options within that lifestyle. I appreciate all of this, as I am one of those people. However, I think you could have done better with this podcast by taking a bit more of a objective viewpoint.

Specifically, I was really disappointed that you did not get these people to talk more about their pricing. They stated that their new running shoe was going to be $160 – that is a lot of cash for a shoe that has very little to it. I know a lot goes into the design and that they are trying to build shoes in an ecologically friendly way, but at the end of the day, they are having them manufactured in China for a reason.

I think there is a real trend for these minimal shoe companies to be getting maximum dollar for their products because they know most of their customers are going to be people who can afford to pay more. But if they really believed that using shoes that mimic being barefoot is better for people, they would price them in a way that makes them more accessible to all.

You guys have a great opportunity to get this message to these companies!

Posted by Cory | November 16, 2009, 05:23
Hi Cory, Thank you for your comments. I have forwarded your comment on to Vivo Barefoot and will post the reply here as well.

Al

Posted by Al Gauthier | November 16, 2009, 06:05
I’ve had some experience with Terra Plana Vivo Barefoots I have to say some of it has not been good. In September I first ordered a size 41 women’s Lucy. It was the summer edition and it was on sale. The shipping charge was $20 for two day UPS. It was too small and I had to exchange it and paid $15 for shipping it back and ordered a size 42 (even though that should be a size 12 American and I am normally a 9.5 or 10). I had regular shipping for that (only $12). So I basically paid full price for the shoes. They work fine and I’m learning to walk with minimalist shoes.

In fact I like them enough that I bought 3 more pairs in size 42 (Odette, Womad, and Yukam). All three fit terribly. The Womad was more than a half an inch longer and I could not wear them. The other two styles I couldn’t keep on my feet. So I paid for shipping both ways.

Then I ordered a size 41 Womad from Amazon. Sadly the toe box was so shallow that even though I have very thin feet I couldn’t wear it because it pressed down on my toes so much.

So I order another 42 Lucy from Terra Plana. They were definitely larger and also had a higher heel counter than the original 42s, but with extra foam inserts I could wear them. (That seems to be defeating the whole purpose of minimalist shoes.)

So, on a trip to New York last week I actually went to the physical store hoping to try on several pairs. I really wanted the brand to work because I haven’t found very many minimalist shoes that have a nice wide toe box and a flexible sole and without extra support. Sadly at the store they only had about two shoes in my size (is size 9.5 or 10 really that unusual?). I bought one, but was very disappointed at the lack of stock. The one I bought (another Lucy) was again larger than the original Lucy and the sales clerk then admitted that the new shoes were larger than the originals. (But 41s still didn’t fit.)

Now I’m searching for an alternative (I have a pair of Kigos which are nice but not very wide) since buying Vivo Barefoot long distance just makes the shoes really expensive if they aren’t sized consistently.

Posted by Pam | November 22, 2009, 12:50
Hi Pam, thank you for your comments. I have forwarded your comments to the Vivo Barefoot team.

Posted by Al Gauthier | November 22, 2009, 14:06