Vibrams, the marketing thinking and the invisible style

Just came back from a 5km run in the backwoods in my Vibrams FiveFingers.

A little girl going to school watched the shoes and followed my moving feet with a sleepy curiosity. A taxi-driver followed my feet for a few seconds. A watchman (whom I encountered for the first time) at a neighborhood building followed my feet for a few seconds too. Sometimes even dogs look at my feet with curiosity.

When at Hiranandani Garden in Mumbai, quite a few fellow runners/walkers on the track look on with inquisitive eyes.

Over more than 2 years now, I've rarely encountered another person in my vicinity wearing Vibrams.

None of the people who've talked to me about Vibrams have ever admitted that they love the style. Strangely, it doesn't bother me. My feet feel so right, so very natural, so free.

That's the point. I am sure Vibrams must have been written to or informed by a mighty number of shoe-lovers about the 'ugliness' of the visual design. On the other hand, a mighty number of Vibrams wearers must have shared how amazing they feel on wearing the shoes.

Surely, exclusivity - even that of the weird or the incomprehensible which borders ugliness - is a style statement. But unless there's something substantial, such style statements are difficult to sustain.

In the case of Vibrams, the movement the shoes facilitate and the feeling arising out of that movement in the wearer, far surpass the awkwardness of visual style. In fact, if you video-record the movements/the action of someone wearing Vibrams, you might not find anything extraordinary either. And this someone won't stop wearing Vibrams.

The First Sockwa Experience - Barefoot Running Shoes in India (Post # 5)

After some wait, I received my red Sockwa G2 pair day before yesterday. Was eager to experience them on the tarmac since that's what I had in mind when I ordered.

If you ponder about the name, you get the essence of these shoes. They snug like socks and work like shoes.

I ran 4 kms and skipped for about 10 minutes. I've done the same quite often in other makes like Vibram's Five Fingers, Vivo Barefoot. Here's a little comparison. Mind you, the context is Indian roads and conditions.

VVF have a thicker, harder sole. When I run in those I run watching my surroundings - the tree, the birds, the buildings, the people - more than the terrain. With VB, very much the same but I have to watch out more frequently to avoid stepping on the little stones. Wearing Sockwa, my concentration and eyes were fully on the tarmac. For how light and thin they are, they induce you into concentrating on the activity. I won't claim but I suppose they would aid the runner in focusing on the running form, for otherwise running just won't be pleasurable.

I also think I could have ordered size 12 instead of 11. My foot measurement is close to 27.4 cms, or may be 27.5 cms. However, the make is such that a size smaller or bigger might not make a hell lot of difference. Most importantly, they won't hurt the toes.

A nice gift to myself this winter. 2013 will see me very often in my red Sockwa. :)

I've written about VFF and VB as well, just in case you are curious. Check the posts here.

Shoekill

A few days back, I felt an urge at 3:30am to find out what makes these sports shoes so expensive. I thought, let me read up on the internet. But I had done that on a couple of occasions earlier too. And I lost all that I had learnt.

It struck me that there are a couple of pairs which I've stopped wearing. I picked one, grabbed my scissors and went dissecting an actual shoe. So this is the result. You can count the number of components in a typical shoe.

There's designing of course, lots of stitching and most importantly, moulding. Add to that there's quite a bit of 'complexity' too. They call it technology. Compare the above design with the one below.

Significantly less number of components and when you look closely, significantly less complexity. Besides, these red shoes proved to be far more relaxing and fun when worn for long hours. And while running they help me develop a form which is less injurious than the form I adopted coz of the heavily technologized shoes above.

Interestingly, the red shoes should cost, by virtue of its simplicity, should cost less than the technologized shoes. But no. Not yet. In fact, significantly more. Those in the thrall of technology are yet to appreciate these, and so I reckon volumes are limited. Early adopters gotta pay. And they are happy paying.

The thing is whether you can get your market to appreciate the nuances. And how sooner?

Invisible Shoes

For anyone who has been into running, and has had to grapple with small or big injuries induced by running, and has spent a good deal of time picking appropriate/perfect running shoes, this is a must watch/read. And for those who are interested in marketing and communication of any sort, this is a must must watch/read.

The oxymoron called INVISIBLE SHOES. And this is a positive note (I mean no contempt coz of it's oxymoronity). Click on the link and check. You'll see 'shoes' like these.

Shoes, these are shoes? And invisible, we are saying?

These are huaraches. (This isn't news, these are already quite popular.) If you were asked to wear huaraches by a Mexican tribesman, you would've frowned. A flaunty burly inebriated guy might have even kicked that tribesman with his Nike pairs :).

In the context of running and shoes-obsessed runners, the way to cut through was take a relative position. Compared to the stuffy big running shoes, of course they can be said to be 'invisible'. They are sandals but for guys wanting 'shoes', the way to make them look at this option is to call it a 'shoe'. And to charge whatever they are charging (which isn't a big deal), the prices of current crop of shoes is a good benchmark.

I might get one of these soon enough :).

Barefoot Running Shoes in India (Post # 4)

Shoe-mania that I have, especially for the ones meant for running and workout, I've been trying the barefoot types from various brands.

I received the FILA Skeletoes just a couple of days back. They look similar to Vibrams FiveFingers. And the quality is also good. Haven't gone running yet but they feel good and sturdy.

I use the red VivoBarefoot for running often and they don't disappoint. Very light and airy.

The Vibrams pair was the first in the series of barefoot shoes I've tried. My experience in these has been the best so far. Vivo has softer soles than the Vibrams. When on the ground, I like the slightly harder soles better. For general purposes softer soles are fine but while running, Vibrams feel better.

In each of the above-tried shoes I have one and the same problem. Since I sweat rather profusely, obviously the shoes start emitting an unpleasant smell. So I have to wash them rather frequently. Let's say after every second run.

So, in my search for the perfect (where I feel closest to the ground, in which the soles feel fairly sturdy and in which I can wear socks) barefoot shoes, I came across Merrell. Since this is the normal age-old shoe shape, wearing socks is easy. I found out that Merrell shoes use the same tough Vibrams barefoot soles. But the disappointing part is, like Vibrams FiveFingers and Fila Skeletoes, Merrell Gloves (yes, they call these shoes Gloves) are not available in India!

So I reckon when I get a chance, I'll get these. Most likely, my search for the perfect barefoot running shoes might be answered for some time at least.

Barefoot Running Shoes in India (Post # 3)

I wrote a couple of posts earlier on Barefoot Shoes (Post # 1 & Post # 2). I wrote also that Vivo Barefoot shoes are now available in India.

A few days back I tried Vivo Barefoot shoes at SportXS. This is the one I really liked and might buy some time soon.

But what's wrong with my current pair of shoes, the Vibram's Five Fingers? Well, nothing really. Enjoying running in them. But I have to wash them very frequently. Almost after every second run. The thing is I sweat a lot and since, I can't quite wear socks in them, they start stinking very quickly.

In this Vivo model, one can wear socks as well. Very airy. Very comfortable. And though not as eye-grabbing as Vibram's Five Fingers, but fairly bright and attractive.

Even as I talk about shoes, the point is they are not really the shoes that make us run well. An obvious point this but often lost on us in our 'buying' driven frenzy. They are not the shoes, it's the running style. The technique. The form. This fabulous article talks more about form and technique and even about the shoes. If the form is not right, no shoe might help. But yes barefoot shoes force a runner into paying attention to the technique and therefore, improve it, resulting in lesser chances of injuries in general.

That said, the typical cushioned and marketed running shoes are definitely not appropriate. Time for you to consider if you are into running or developing a habit of 'running'.

Vivo Barefoot are still not available at a lot of places in India. If you've got the heart to buy shoes without trying them on, this is the place.

And btw, there are white ones too. Awesome!