Squishy Shoes, Sea World, and Other Things that Won’t Age Well

Look, it’s not an equivalent. But, putting gigantic, intelligent mammals like Orcas into captivity won’t age well. History will look back on Sea World like we look back on the Salem Witch Trials.

While less tragic and a disgrace on humanity, the fifty to seventy year period where we thought wearing an inch and a half of rubber under our feet in the name of athleticism will be just as ridiculous.

Free Willy and free your feet, people.

We’ve normalized such ridiculous “athletic” footwear that it’s allowed people to not just run poorly, but it’s allowed us to learn an abomination of running mechanics that are only possible while wearing these ridiculous shoes.

This all comes to a head anecdotally when people come to the gym for the first time and talk to their coach about how they can’t lift in their running shoes. What’s funny is that they probably can’t run well in them either, but there’s less immediate feedback in running.

If you’ve gotten this far in your athletic journey standing On Clouds (such an ironic brand name) and you’re realizing you actually want to be standing On the Ground, you aren’t alone.

Athleticism involves interacting with the ground not separating from it. The perfect shoe is the one that allows you to connect with the Earth in a stable way that supports mechanics and force development. Doing so will likely involve more minimalism and less squishiness.