About us

MBT stands for Masai Barefoot Technology and the shoes were invented by a Swiss engineer called Karl Müller in the early 1990s. He noticed, on a visit to Korea, that walking barefoot over some soft paddy fields alleviated his back, knee and Achilles tendon problems. He also discovered that the Kenyan Masai tribesmen don't suffer from back pain and are famous for their perfect posture. Putting these two pieces of information together, Muller reasoned that this was because they walk across ground that yields underneath their feet. Walking on hard surfaces, such as pavements, that don't have any "give", he concluded, has
done our backs in. Not to mention our knees and ankles.

Muller decided that the answer was a shoe with a curved sole, effectively with no heel, which mimics the rocking motion of a foot walking on soft sand or grass.

As if the company were not doing a roaring trade as it is (MBTs are available in over 20 countries and sell one million pairs each year), they have now re-invented themselves as the "anti-shoe", by bringing out a new range that, although unconventional, are designed to look less like something prescribed by your doctor and more like something you might wear out of choice.

Benefits of MBT Shoes

MBT shoes have been billed as "the world's smallest gym." Since they increase muscle activity, strengthening and toning of the leg, buttock, stomach and back muscles takes place during everyday activities like walking and standing.

They've received a lot of press since celebrities like Cher, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Heidi Klum have reportedly added them to their shoe collection. Their unique design has supposedly help wearer's tone up, lose weight, and even smooth cellulite, which has garnered the brand a lot of attention as well.

1.Increased muscle activity
2.Increased circulation
3.Encourages upright posture and relaxed stride

As well as relief of:

1.Muscular Tension
2.Joint Problems
3.Back Problems
4.Leg & Feet Problems

Wearing MBT Shoes

MBT Shoes look weird, but not neccesarily in a bad way. They definitely don't look like a new release from adidas or Nike, but thanks to more recent attention to cosmetic design, many of the styles don't look exactly like sensible shoes either.

The first thing you'll notice is the extremely thick and curved sole. If you set one of the shoes on the floor, and look at if from the side, you see that the parts of the sole under the toes and the heel do not actually hit the floor. This looks strange, of course, but the really odd part is how the shoes feel when you first put them on -- like you might fall backwards. The extremity of the sole is probably in part why the shoes carry a warning that they're not meant to be warn on slippery or wet surfaces -- I strongly suggest you heed this warning, and exercise caution when you first begin wearing MBT shoes.