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How they are made
Foot friendly
Sambas are designed to love your feet, without restricting them: respecting their natural shape, movement and balance, just as they are.
Your feet are coming out of a toxic relationship
It may surprise you, but if you grew up in our society your feet need that extra bit of love. They are in a toxic relationship with conventional footwear and, as so often happens in toxic relationships, by the time you notice, the damage is done. The consequences? Deformities, chronic pain, bunions, poor body alignment, back and knee pain…
In the Western world we have spent centuries walking against the health of our own feet. We have made progress in all sorts of fields, but we have made it on feet that were squeezed and weak.
The shoes we are used to are anatomically wrong: they are not even shaped like a foot. Our poor feet, confined from an early age, mould themselves to the shoe, lose part of their function and create imbalances all the way up the chain of movement.
The good news is that the human body has a wonderful capacity to recover. Just as the wrong shoe can deform a foot, a shoe that respects its anatomy can give it its health back.
What conventional footwear does to your foot
Four things, and all four hurt.
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01
A rigid sole
Stops you from developing the muscles of the foot.
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02
A narrow toe box
Crowds your toes against each other, causes deformities and gets in the way of how the foot works.
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03
A raised heel
Throws your whole body off balance and pushes it forward to make up for the drop.
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04
A thick sole
Interferes with the conversation between your foot and the ground, which is what lets you adapt the way you move to the surface you are on.
So what is a foot-friendly shoe?
A shoe that respects the anatomy and the function of the foot, and interferes with its natural work as little as possible.
It also goes by barefoot, minimalist footwear or respectful footwear, although those terms are not exact synonyms.
What makes Sambas foot friendly
The sole
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Flexible
It gives your feet full freedom of movement, in every direction.
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Thin
Only 4 mm between you and the ground, so your foot can feel the surface and adjust your stride.
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Flat, zero drop
No drop at all, level from heel to toe, so your body keeps its natural balance.
The toe box
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Wide
Your toes move freely, without being squeezed, with room to spare as you walk. The natural movement of the foot spreads them out like a fan: that widens the surface of impact and improves your balance.
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Lightweight
No unnecessary weight or structure that your feet do not need.
No arch support
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Nothing built into the shoe
Sambas have no built-in arch support, so your feet activate and strengthen on their own. The insoles are 100 % flat too, and you can take them out.
What if I have flat feet or I overpronate?
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Flat feet and overpronation
In most cases you can wear them: the foot builds up its own muscle instead of handing the job to an insole. That said, we are not podiatrists. If you have a diagnosed condition or wear prescribed insoles, talk to your professional first.
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Room for your own insoles
Our last is very roomy and takes your own insoles. The ones that come with your Sambas are 100 % flat and removable, so you can swap them for yours.
What you will notice
First of all, the thing everyone tells us: the pain stops.
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01
Your feet stop hurting
Walking, running, training or dancing go back to being things you do without pain.
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02
They get their shape back
Little by little your feet recover their shape and their function. They will probably grow a touch longer and, in time, your toes will spread out and take back their space: they are trying to return to the shape they had when you were born, the shape of an unmodified human foot.
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03
Better balance
With the foot fully on the ground and the toes spread, the base is wider.
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04
Better posture
With no drop at the heel, your body lines itself up.
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05
You feel the ground again
The slopes. The textures. In the city, and far more out in nature. Soil. Grass. It is good. Really.
Is footwear enough to get my feet back?
Probably not, especially if your feet have spent their whole life — and above all their growing years — inside conventional shoes. Respectful footwear helps a great deal, but to feel a real difference you will usually need to work the foot a little and recover the function, mobility, flexibility and stability it has lost.
The good part: 10 minutes a day is enough to notice real improvement, and you can fit it around other things. They are simple exercises, like rolling a small ball under your foot or spreading your toes.
And whenever you can, exercise barefoot. Any exercise you do without shoes is, in the end, exercise for your feet.
The next step
Give your feet a chance
Start by measuring your foot calmly and choosing the right size. If you have any doubts, write to us: a person answers.