There will be people reading this thinking, “Running? Dave? With sandals? Are you nuts?”.  No, I usually don’t where any shoes at all. You might need to read my last post as a filler.

To all the other barefoot and minimalist runners out there. Welcome! You know my joy and frustration.

Onto the review.

I bought these online here http://www.runbranca.com/ two months ago because.

1. They were new

2. They were cheaper than other huaraches type sandals available online.

3. I made a pair of my own huaraches from 4.5mm insertion rubber but they were heavy, stinky and left my feet black.

They arrived in this

They arrived about 3 weeks later (I’m in Australia) in a flat post pack.  I don’t have a photo of them before I cut the toes end but I’m a size 13 shoe so there wasn’t a lot to trim. You’ll notice how NOT-Handy I am with the scissors. Was going for the rough unshaven guy look in my cutting style. Not true again, I had crappy little scissors.

You notice on their site they give some instruction videos on cutting them when you get them. It’s good  to be generous at first with your size. You will be running in them so cut a little, wear them, go for a run and trim again to suit.

The back of the sandal is already styled and cut. Very nice and neat and not small considering the size of my foot. In fact, given the price, the craftsmanship on the sandals is quite good.  The video on their site outlines some of the sandals features and is worth watching if you are considering a pair. Which brings me to the materials.

THE MAIN STRAP LACING is standard nylon shoe lace material. Ties up well and feels alright.  I’ve not owned a pair of running sandals with leather straps so I can’t compare but these are fine.  The strap is protected under the sandal with an additional rubber patch. Clever but I wonder how replacing the strap lace will go considering its sealed underneath.

THE BACK STRAP is rubber and I must say, very comfortable. Nice, light and makes the sandal easy to get on and off without having to do the laces again. Clever.

THE SOLE is rubber. Just smooth underneath and I needed to scuff them on some rough rough to take the shine and slipperiness off them.  I’ll be honest with you though, you can smell the rubber. It smells like the insertion rubber I made my own huaraches from a while back.  The smell hasn’t gone either.  I do like the thickness of it. Just right so it’s a little flexible but doesn’t flap and curl under the toe line.

THE FOOTBED is, well… looks like a wide piece of gaffer tape that’s been stuck on and obviously is how they make the custom crazy colour models so cost effectively. It seems pretty well glued on and is trimmed well. Didn’t un-stick when I cut them with my crappy scissors.  The footbed is smooth and doesn’t take any moisture. Which sucks for me because I have sweaty feet and slip all over the place – which is probably the thing I dislike most about them.

THE COST:   At $30USD & delivered to Australia in three weeks. These are great value. Don’t know if I’d pay double or even $50 for them. The price seems fair to me considering the materials used.  Actually, it is really good value for Australians with the dollar the way it is now. I mean they get delivered to your door and you’d pay that for a decent pair of thongs (FLIP FLOPS – hey downunder we call ‘em thongs OK mate!?)

WEARING THEM:  I have worn them a bit. Honestly, because I love barefoot running on concrete I’ve only ran maybe 1-2KM in them but the slapping sound of the material, the lack of proprioceptive feedback on my skin and the sweaty, slippery surface puts me off and I carry them.  HOWEVER, casual wearing to shops or out and about is good. Again, the wet sweat underneath put me off if it’s warm (which it is in the state of Queensland) but they beat a pair of thongs or fully enclosed regular shoes for casual wearing.    I am still to wear them more and may be able to report the long term wear and tear in a year or so.

THE LOOK:  Hey, if you go minimalist sandal, you are asking for comments, looks and laughs so you can’t be too hungup about the looks. I will say though, the shoe lace tying method on top is both great (for practical reasons) but a little girly looking for my liking. But that’s just me. I’d like for them to tie a little differently and considered cutting and tying them but the lace stretches after a few wears like a normal nylon shoe lace does, rendering the cut and tie idea a little useless.  My wife may get a pair of crazy color ones for the summer and she won’t mind the look of a bow on her ankle.  I mean, leather strap huaraches look sort of Roman and eastern. These, on a guy, look a little too feminine in my opinion.

OVERALL:  I can’t really compare these to other minimalist shoes/sandals (feel free to send me some to review) but I think these are good value for money and will probably suit the female not-sweaty-feet-sole market really well.  They have a great range of colours and they are custom made to fit you well. The back strap and the lace system is great and quick and easy.  The smell (although not drastic) may go after a while but if you leave them in a hot car you will smell them when you get it.  At size 13 mine weigh about 370gram from memory. Not super light but no super heavy  either.

Although I’m yet to wear them more across summer and I’m not a fan of running in them (personal preference). As a whole, I like them and the team who made them have thought through the production and lacing system well.

FOR YOU?  I say, try a pair – it’s a $30 risk which, in the scheme of things isn’t a massive one for minimalist shoes/sandals.

So we know our five senses right? Sight, touch, smell, sound, taste.  What about Proprioception? Perhaps if it were easier to say and spell it might have made it on there. What is it and why am I blogging on it?

According to this site one overlooked sense, known as proprioception, is as important, if not more important as the other senses, for normal functioning. Proprioception is “the process by which the body can vary muscle contraction in immediate response to incoming information regarding external forces,” by utilizing stretch receptors in the muscles to keep track of the joint position in the body.

Now I’m writing about it it because I came across the term whilst studying this article, video and e-book from Lee Saxby.  I came across the site because I took up barefoot running 5 months ago and I honestly think it’s the best thing I have ever done for my body (but that’s for another post or 20).  And for those new to the term or idea – it’s running, no shoes, on all surfaces – I like concrete pavement. Did 10km this morning. Took about an hour. Feels amazing.

It’s said that during running your brain relies on proprioception for 70% of it’s feedback. Often muffled by fat shoe soles it may explain common injuries like twisted ankles and other injuries related to poor running form (and attention need whilst in shoes), which in turn, is often the result of your body not having the correct sensory feedback to make adjustments to gait (stride) and pressure applied on impact.

I’m convinced some children learn to walk and balance later than others because parents always have shoes on them and the brain isn’t geared for it, especially that young.  Our last two kids walked earlier than the first and I’m quite sure some of it has to do with footwear and this false idea we bought into that said “Protect their feet!”  from what? Feeling the ground? lol.

Even studies and therapy with the elderly have seen them gain greater balance and mobility once again by taking off their shoes and standing/walking on varied to surface to wake up the senses in their feet.  Again, it’s proprioception doing it’s thing again.

Am I against footwear? No way. Power to it! It allows us to dominate as a species. But like gloves for the hands, footwear is a tool and doesn’t HAVE to be used all the time.    See how long you last with a pair of gloves on all day.  As with all things, common sense reigns.

For those that can’t bear the thought of going totally barefoot, there are an increasingly large number of minimalist shoes on the market. Even manufacturers like Merrell are making minimalist shoes now.  Shoes that still let you feel the ground but protect them from elements and harm. You might also have seen the weird looking Vibram Five Fingers shoes around too. Again, thin & light to promote proprioception and foot strength.

*Just want to add that the Nike Free shoes are SO NOT minimalist or barefoot-like. Definition and proprioception FAIL but marketing WIN – I’ll give them that much.

Thought I’d end with an embedded video from movement specialist Lee Saxby who has partnered with Terra Planna (I hear they are the best minimalist shoes out there – still to get some in Australia) to explain the topic and demonstrate how it affects how we move. Video here if it doesn’t display http://vimeo.com/12451532

Learn to Run Barefoot with Lee Saxby and Terra Plana from GTB Goodtruebeautiful GmbH on Vimeo.

My theory on buying cheese and food in general.

Don’t spend more than you would on the larger, cheaper item at the big supermarket

Buy the high quality stuff.

Have smaller portions.

You’ll enjoy it more.

You’ll eat less.

Stay thinner.

It is less likely to grow legs at the back of the fridge.

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.

If you don’t mind, I’m naming next year 2010sen.

I’ll be working across the break excluding the public holidays so please don’t hesitate in contacting me with any requests.

This is posted from my iPhone using the great WordPress 2 app. The smile is courtesy of my daughter.

Dave Tensen

A local real estate publication recently published a feature article on the National Broadband Network which I think is a great thing.  If you’ve ever had to go back to dial up internet or use a slow connection, you’ll notice that most sites and online applications don’t compensate for slow speeds, and I truly believe it will get faster, better, cheaper and again, we’ll be relying on it more and more for everyday thing.

When I lived in Tokyo the internet access to our place was very very fast.  We paid around $100 per month and through our little phone linewe got High Speed Unlimited Internet, Unlimited Nataional Calls, Foxtel (yes through the phone line) and it was awesome.  In the next decade I don’t doubt that we’ll get use to video calls and conferencing – for business, personal, social and more.  We’ll get use to TV via the net. We’ll get use to zero load time of internet sites on our PC’s.  We’ll get use to cloud computing (software that is internet based). We’ll rely on mobile computing even more.

20 years ago, if I told my parents that I’m going to be a web developer they would have said, “Great… What the heck is that?”  My kids will probably be moving into roles that only exist in the dreams of creators and will be sparked by the incredible speed of technology and the internet.  Personally, I think if Australia doesn’t get on board with rolling out something of world standard (and then make it affordable), our kids will miss out and we’ll miss out on possibly growing old and being part of their lives – albeit via HD webcam links to their flatscreen in their lounge rooms from the other side of the world!

It’s not going away folks.  And that’s why I love what I do and see an increasingly great future in building websites and web based solutions.

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The term “don’t worry be crappy” comes to mind when clients pitch me an exciting idea, opportunity or dream they have to market something online. I say, let’s get SOMETHING going. As Seth Godin, author of “Tribes” wrote this week, ‘Make a decision – It doesn’t have to be a wise decision or a perfect one. Just make one.’

And once the decision is made and the site is launched, THEN we can start to measure and tweak and perfect the design.

You may know that you can now see how people found your website via your traffic counter and tools like Google Analytics. You can see which pages they visited, their points of entry and exit and even the length of time they stayed on your site. Unlike any other form of marketing, a website gives you LIVE, HONEST and TRANSPARENT stats that you can bank on and work from.  Contrast this against your advert on page 1423 of the yellow pages or the advert you run on TV or Radio.  Sure, sales people can give you stats of viewership or listeners but the accuracy of this doesn’t come close to what a website can give you.

Back to speed.

Can a website be launched and built overnight? Yes.
Can it play an integral part of a campaign, cause or product launch? Yes.
Would the general public be happy with an average looking website as long as they can find and interact with what they are looking for? Absolutely

Still don’t agree?
Did the owner of the first car care much about design or was he just grateful he was able to use this contraption?
Or the first mobile phone?
Or the first injection of penicillin?
Or the first phone call overseas?

Now, I’ll just add that if design doesn’t take the product or website further, then you definitely fail and the world misses out.  I’m grateful for my iPhone, Car that goes faster than 10km/h and modern medicine – but I’m grateful that the first mobile phone came out when it did because then design could step in and enhance things.

It’s been said that around 25% of searches done on Google everyday are new searches.  People looking for things that have only just come out, or they’ve only just heard of, or they’ve realised there could be a website for.

So maybe you have an idea, a concept, a campaign or idea you want to test and launch and measure interaction with.  A website might be a good part of the plan – my advice is to be faster to market. Then measure, tweak, change, cut, copy and design around response, traffic and feedback… but don’t wait forever.

I’d recommend you head on over to http://www.thepeoplepill.com and start by downloading the Free 12 page Manifesto called “The Age of Engagement”.  It’ll let you into Ken’s world on leadership and management – then I’d consider buying the book.

Which brings me to my main point. Manifestos

Manifestos are quickly becoming a great alternative to a fully blown e-book.  I think the name is cooler and certainly a little less abused than ‘e-book’.  It’s a perfect way to digest your message and offer it for free on your website, facebook page etc.  If people like it, they’ll come back to you looking for more stuff to read, buy and learn from.

Generally, manifestos aren’t long. They are often set out in landscape with a nice margin for people to write notes in when they print it out. The most popular file type to use is PDF.  If you write it in Microsoft Word, I recommend a program like cutepdf to convert it into a PDF.

They’re a great pre-curser to a published book and a great way to solicit feedback and stories before you go spend the money on producing a book.

Perhaps you’ve got a good idea and message that you’d like to spread? Perhaps you’ve considered writing a book and would like to ‘test the market’.  A manifesto is a great way to do it.  Being digital it’s almost cost-free and it’s easy to send around the world to family, friends, fans and your heroes!

Want to see some more manifestos? Head on over to http://www.changethis.com/

Aaron Parkes - Fix Your Own Business

Over the last 6 months, I’ve come know Aaron Parkes and have the privledge to work with this clever guy on various projects.

When I need to present or make a pitch I call in Aaron to work with me.  I call him my ‘translator’ – keeping my techinical things practical and easy to understand for the audience.  He’s a great sounding board, full of ideas and he drinks long black -  and anyone who can go cup-for-cup with me is alright!

I asked Aaron to appear in my blog this week and asked him 4 simple questions:

1. Tell us who you’ve worked with?

Over the years I’ve worked with companies of all sizes from one man bands to multinationals but, I like small business best because you can work closely with the business owner to make real change quickly and see results fast!

I’m best at identifying ‘barriers to growth’ in businesses and developing new strategies to overcome them. It’s what I love and I seem to have an intuitive flair for it.

Accounting! I know it’s necessary and critical to businesses being successful but it’s just not something I enjoy doing myself! I enjoy working with financial people though, finding solutions to funding challenges and I really respect their ability to understand the intricacies of the finance world.

My big project at the moment is actually for my own business www.fixyourownbusiness.com where I’m developing an all new online small business support model for business owners. It’s subscription based and is designed to give small business owners access to expert help and resources to fix and grow their businesses… all at a very reasonable cost.

I’ve spent nearly 15 years working with businesses, helping them grow and be successful but, not everyone can afford a coach or consultant so, I wanted to set up a support network that’s accessible to every small business owner where they can get the help and support they need to work on their business. I’m really looking forward to it so keep an eye out for big changes to www.fixyourownbusiness.com over the next few weeks!

I live in Noosa on Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. We moved here from New Zealand around 10 years ago and the decision to move here would have to rate as one of the best we’ve ever made. The weather and family lifestyle are great and because a lot of my business is done via the internet, it’s certainly no barrier to success living here. What’s not to love about living in Queensland!