Masai Barefoot Views
Rocker sole shoes were popularised for the mass market in the late 1990s and early 00s by the Swiss company, Swiss Masai, as Masai Barefoot Technology or MBT.[7][8] According to Swiss Masai, the market concept originated with Karl Muller, an engineer and former athlete, who intended they would simulate the challenge of walking barefoot on soft earth .[7][2] Various other sports footwear companies followed suit with their own branded versions of the heel-to-toe rocker targeted at the exercise equipment market.[2]
Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) shoes have been advertised as the world's smallest gym and as shoes designed for walking on a world that is not flat and the anti-shoe. MBT shoes are extremely popular despite an appearance generally considered less than attractive. Their appeal lies in extreme comfort and a reduction in joint stress.
Masai Barefoot Technology shoes were invented by Karl Muller, an engineer whose time with the Masai tribes in Africa revealed that the seemingly natural pains associated with walking are virtually unknown to them. Muller intuitively understood that walking barefoot over uneven terrain diminishes the unwanted effects of walking and that the design of standard shoes is the culprit behind the stress placed on the bodies of most walkers. He then set out to create a shoe that would correct these problems.
The function of Masai Barefoot Technology shoes is to reduce the stress on the body. MBT shoes are bowl-shaped on the bottom to simulate the long sloping strides of the Masai. This transforms the act of walking into a more continuous and fluid movement instead of one made of sudden shocks and jolts that unduly impact the body from the legs to the neck.
Masai Barefoot Images
_MBT_Logol.JPG "masai barefoot"){kind=small}
