Posts Tagged ‘city’
Another Great Interview Experience
Yesterday, I had the pleasure to meet, interview, and go for a fun barefoot outing with Radio Documentary Producer Frank Faulk.
Frank contacted me last week to do a showcase half-hour radio documentary about my barefoot lifestyle. As part of the exercise, he wanted to go on a barefoot outing with me to a commercial place and experience firsthand any potential hassles; so I suggested that we go for coffee at Fairview Mall – located at the corner of Sheppard Av. & Don Mills Rd. here in Toronto, not far from where I live – especially, because I’ve had a couple of “encounters” with security there in the past.
Sun Media Video and Paper Article
After meeting with Thane Burnett from Sun Media on August 13, he’s published a couple of pieces. Here are the links:
-> Video on Canoe.ca: “Barefoot in the City”
-> Article in the Sun Family of Papers: “Naked from the Ankle Down”; also featuring fellow barefooters: Al Gaultier from Vancouver, BC, Wolf Starchild from St. Catherines, ON, and Bryan McDonald, from Windsor, ON.
Barerfoot Moe
Toronto, Canada
Barefoot in Toronto
Barefoot Planet
Is the Newest Barefooter in Town a Media Writer?
Yesterday morning, I had an interesting and rewarding meeting with Canada’s Sun Media Corporation feature writer Thane Burnett. In the past 10 years or so, I have been interviewed by numerous reporters but I must admit interviewing with Thane was by far one of the most refreshing experiences of this kind in recent months.
When Thane contacted me to propose the article, he explained he wanted to do a cross-media piece focused on the urban barefooting experience here in the city; which would potentially include writing and video reporting for the different Sun Media publications which includes the Sun family of newspapers, Canoe.com and perhaps Sun TV. Needless to say, both the focus of the story, as well as the potential wide reach, got my attention.
There’s a Lot of Assuming Going On!
After nearly 20 years of leading a predominantly barefoot lifestyle, I keep being amazed by the amount of common assumptions “shoddies” (people who don’t like going barefoot and prefer to be in shoes most of the time) make about us barefooters. What I find most interesting is that all shoddies seem to make the same assumptions over and over; even the ones that claim “Oh, I used to spend entire summers barefoot as a kid”.
This, sadly, goes to show how misinformed we are as a society and how generalized these misconceptions are – even among health professionals and other “experts” such as sports trainers and traditional footwear designers; as well as individuals in positions of authority like police officers, security guards, establishment managers and corporation executives, just to mention a few. Additionally and unfortunately, here in North America, the association of bare feet with lack of education, destitution, and the hippie sub-culture is still very predominant. Therefore, we barefooters face a series of social challenges on a daily basis which make our desire to lead a “normal” barefoot lifestyle rather frustrating at times.
Every Day Should be Like Yesterday…
Yesterday was one of those “perfect” barefoot days which make you really enjoy and realize it’s a great lifestyle choice.
I’m in “summer mode” so I’m working from home these days (with a lighter workload) and I had my usual summer work attire on: polo shirt and a pair of cargo shorts; barefoot of course.
I needed a haircut and I was eager to see my hair stylist’s new shop he’s opened a few blocks from home; so I decided to walk there at about 11 am. Joe knows me; so it’s no surprise for him to see me show up in bare feet. However, he has new staff in the new place, so I didn’t know what to expect. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by the receptionist with a broad smile and she asked me to take a seat for a moment while Joe finished a phone call – no mention of my bare feet an no odd looks (need I pinch myself?)
