IS IT COOL TO WALK BAREFOOT EVERYWHERE?
This originally Croatian language article, written by Izak Vrtarić and featuring barefooter and SBL member Nikola Novak, appeared in Medimurje, a local Croatian newspaper. Below, Nikola first comments about the article and then offers his English translation.
Nikola comments: “[In early October] I agreed to give an interview to a local paper about my lifestyle. I did it to promote the lifestyle and this way to perhaps encourage more people to go barefoot. I had no idea I would end up on the front page! I never thought this was such a big deal for people here. — Nikola Novak
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
(Title:) “Is it cool to walk barefoot everywhere?”
(Author:) Izak Vrtarić
“I wear shoes only to weddings and funerals”
“I’ve been going barefoot for two and a half years. My feet have adapted to the cold. I feel it, but not so that I would shiver or suffer. Only at zero degrees Celsius I begin to lose sensation in my feet, but not completely. I don’t get frostbite at that temperature, nor am I in pain,” a 34-year-old programmer Nikola Novak, told us. Many have noticed him passing by and stared in wonder, for the sight is really not everyday. But, Novak doesn’t seem to care.
“Many people know this is healthy, but they wouldn’t try it because it is socially accepted to walk with your shoes on. Colleagues have become used to it, and in the street I get asked if I’d forgotten my shoes a lot. I only wear shoes at weddings or funerals, so I don’t become the center of attention, and when my wife says she would herself be uncomfortable,” says Novak. He got the idea when he saw the performance of an Australian comedian who was barefoot on stage.
One Should Know His Limits
“He said he felt really good barefoot, so I tried it too. There is no big philosophy here. The first time I tried it it was winter and the cold asphalt felt good. However, back then I still didn’t know I shouldn’t walk barefoot on salt which injured my feet and I spent some time in bed afterwards. One should know the limits of his body. Minus 5 degrees Celsius is OK, I’ve tried to go as low as minus 10. But it’s no good on ice, snow, and frozen slush. There is a summer limit too – it would not feel god on blacktop at 40 degrees Celsius. It feels great in the rain – your foot dries out faster when you get somewhere dry and it’s fun to walk on puddles. People believe I would catch cold. But, the cold is a virus that enters through your nose, and not cold air,” says Nikola Novak joyfully.
He feels great, doesn’t get sick and says he is now more stable on his feet and less of a “klutz”, and the only mishaps are when he steps on a thorn or glass.
“I did not step on glass in the street, but rather in my own kitchen!” he adds.
(End)