Like with most health fads, walking barefoot has its pros and cons. Healthline reports that while walking barefoot can make one more susceptible to injuries and expose them to harmful bacteria or infections, the practice can also improve posture, offer pain relief, and build stronger leg muscles, among other benefits.
However, it’s still not that common to walk around barefoot nor is it all that socially acceptable, as most places of businesses enact their right to refuse service to customers without shoes. Popular content creator Christi Fritz (@christifritz) and her husband think they’ve discovered a workaround to going to stores while maintaining their barefoot lifestyle. They call it being “incognito barefoot.”
In a video that was viewed a whopping 50 million times, Fritz and her husband remove the soles on all their shoes, which include several pairs of designer shoes like Golden Goose, Off-White, and Burberry shoes and are worth a collective $20,000. “The benefits of walking barefoot are priceless, and our shoes are worth more than money could ever be,” Fritz says.
After removing the soles on their shoes, they put the soleless shoes on and head down to Sephora.
“It’s the perfect way to get all the benefits of going barefoot but also no one has to know,” Fritz, who has 2.2 million followers, concludes.
Fritz reiterates her excitement in the caption, “the new age of barefoot walking has begun and I couldn’t be more [excited] or thankful.”
@christifritz the new age of barefoot walking has begun and I couldn’t be more exited or thankful 🫶
♬ original sound – Christi Fritz
Several different brands make shoes that are designed to be minimalist enough for wearers to retain that barefoot feel when they have them on. They are called minimalist or barefoot shoes. In the comments section, many viewers urged them to buy these shoes instead of taking the drastic measure of cutting out all the soles in their shoes.
“Just get barefoot shoes. Also I’d be afraid I’d get ring worm or something nasty,” the top commen on the video, which received over 440,000 likes, read.
“OR YOU CAN GET BAREFOOT SHOES????” another top comment read.
Most viewers were critical of the practice of going barefoot in city and in places like Sephora.
“Barefoot benefits come from grass and soil (connection with earth) not concrete and Sephora floors,” one wrote.
“Being barefoot on natural ground prob has benefits but not in the city,” another said.
Even the official Wendy’s U.K. TikTok account pleaded for answers, writing, “so..why?”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Fritz via TikTok comment.
