Tag: Xero Shoes

Posted on by — 2 Comments

“Barefoot Sandal” Start-up Hires Former Crocs Exec

Dennis Driscoll joins Xero Shoes“Barefoot Sandal” Start-up Xero Shoes Brings On Former Crocs Exec and Avia Co-founder

Boulder, CO, October 2, 2012 – Dennis Driscoll, a 35-year footwear industry veteran who co-founded Avia Footwear and most recently worked as Global Design Director for Crocs, has joined Boulder-based barefoot running shoe start-up, Feel The World, Inc., the makers of Xero Shoes • Original Barefootware.

Driscoll’s roll at the bestselling “barefoot sandal” manufacturer is Chief Development Officer. Asked what attracted him to the product, he answers, “Xero Shoes are genuine, legitimate. We don’t have to create ways to differentiate our product, because it is actually different.”

Regarding the company, and its co-founders, Steven Sashen and wife Lena Phoenix, Driscoll adds, “They are a smart team who’ve already proven themselves and their business. I like that my experience with all aspects of the footwear business can have a big impact here.”

Sashen and Phoenix reciprocate the admiration. “It’s highly unusual for someone of Dennis’s skills and caliber to work for a company at our stage. We’re thrilled to have Dennis help take our product, and our company, to the levels we know they can attain.”

Dennis Driscoll started in the footwear business in 1978 with Osaga Athletic Footwear as the Director of Product Development. In 1981 he co-founded Avia Athletic Footwear as the VP of Product. Ten years later Dennis joined Wilson Sporting Goods as the Global Business Unit Director of Footwear. After a 7-year stint at Converse in senior product roles, Driscoll took a position at Doc Martens Footwear and moved to London as the Global Director of Product. In 2010, he went to work for Crocs as Global Design Director where he had a fourteen member design team in the US office and design centers in Padova, Italy and Tokyo, Japan

ABOUT:

Feel The World, Inc. of Boulder, CO, manufactures Xero Shoes®,  a high-tech upgrade on the traditional huaraches running sandal of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico. Durable, stylish and affordable — Xero Shoes supply the fun and benefits of being barefoot, but with a layer of protection.  Feel The World, Inc. launched in December 2009. To date, over 25,000 customers, ages 1 to 91, in more than 73 countries wear Xero Shoes for walking, hiking, yoga and gym-going, Crossfit, kayaking, jogging, and even running hundred-mile ultra marathons.

Posted on by — 4 Comments

Comparing Barefoot Running Shoes – Nike Free vs. Xero Shoes

I bought my first pair of Nike Free about 6 years ago, soon after they came out.

I LOVED them. The flexible sole really let me feel the ground in a whole new way and they quickly became the only shoe I wore. Once I had the chance, I went to NikeID and made a custom pair that were all black… my “dress” Frees 😉

On the one hand, I’m glad I did that because earlier this week I needed to appear for a legal arbitration hearing and the only pair of “real” shoes I owned were those all-black Frees. For the last 3.5 years, all I’ve worn are Xero Shoes running sandals or my sprinting spikes (I’m a sprinter, not a “runner”).

On the other hand, I could barely remember why I used to be such a Free fan.

Compared to huaraches, where the only thing between you and the ground is a few millimeters of rubber, the sole on the Free felt a mile thick.

But the weirder thing was how quickly my stride changed. With the big, cushy, heel on the Free, I was almost instantly reaching out with my foot and landing hard on my heel, using the padding. In fact, with the elevated heel, I couldn’t even find a way to land on my mid-foot as I was walking… no matter what I did, my heel struck the ground first.

Let me back up a bit and add one fact: I removed the insole from the shoe. The insole — at least the 5mm one that comes with it — has 2 rubber “bumpers”. One under your heel, and one under the ball of your foot. Without those shock absorbers in place, I noticed something else about the Free… the sole offers some cushioning at first, but once you’ve fully compressed the foam, it’s really solid. Jarringly solid.

I could feel the jolt of force run from my heel to the back of my head. After just 5 minutes of walking, I had a mild headache!

After 2 days of wearing them, my right knee is out of whack and I’m writing this post during a time I’m usually out on the track, training.

It’s been so long since I’ve worn any of the “barefoot” style running shoes that I forgot how un-barefoot most of them truly are.