The Anti-Shoe
Overheard in a Morris County coffee shop: two women raving about their MBT shoes.
The first says the shoes cured her long-time back pain. The second says they helped to alleviate the symptoms of a relative’s neuromuscular disease.
Now we’re listening. Here’s what we find out.
MBT shoes — it stands for Masai Barefoot Technology. They are:
a) expensive ($250.00+)
b) weird looking
c) not easy to find.
The sole is engineered to deliberately shift your center of balance. Like your ancestors, you’ll feel like you are walking barefoot over uneven ground. The manufacturer says the “natural instability” in these “anti-shoes” helps tone your muscles, improve your posture, and burn extra calories. Just like a walk on the soft sand at the Shore.
The MBT website lists plenty of retailers that supposedly carry these shoes, but in reality, not all do. We found one Lady Foot Locker in the ritzy Mall at Short Hills with a prominent display of MBT sneakers. You can see them in our video at www.njmyway.com.
We suggest you not buy these shoes without trying them. Once you get used to rocking off the balls of your feet backwards at every step, they almost seem comfortable. Until you feel the pain in your calf muscle. Must mean they are working!
Matt, the store manager, says “there is a whole mindset” that goes behind the shoes. He says people who are injured, or need an extra workout push, find them appealing.
The latest version, a less clunky sandal, will be in the Short Hills mall store this week. Still expensive, but far less than a pair of Manolos. And you’ll always feel like you are barefoot at the beach!
Speaking of which…NJ My Way will be on the beach next week and will return July 7.
Tags: Morris County | sneakers | Short Hills | shoes | Mall at Short Hills | Lady Foot Locker | Masai Barefoot Technology | MBT shoes
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