Martin is a lifelong runner who began wearing minimalist shoes over 10 years ago when he found they alleviated his chronic foot pain, which eventually disappeared completely. He further studied proper running form through a series of workshops taught by Correct Toes inventor, Dr. Ray McClanahan DPM. Martin has collaborated with several health care professionals to collect and share peer-reviewed studies that show the benefits of minimalist footwear. In his personal life, Martin loves living in the Pacific Northwest because it allows him to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities year-round, including hiking, cycling, rock climbing, surfing and snowboarding.

  1. Shiny Violet is Here!

    Shiny Violet is Here!

    For all of our shiny leather fans out there, we're very proud to announce the arrival of shiny pastel violet! This gorgeous new color is now available on all of our Design-Your-Own smooth leather shoes. We can't wait to see the creative shoes you'll make with our new color! Remember to send us photos of your shoes to enter our...
  2. Playday 2.0 – Vote for Your Favorite New Shoes!

    Playday 2.0 – Vote for Your Favorite New Shoes!

    As some of you may recall, the Soft Star elves held our first playday back in March. We liked it so much we decided to try it again! Last week, we closed our shop for half a day and encouraged everyone to work on a new shoe design. Once again, we were both surprised and pleased with what our staff...
  3. New Elf on the Way... Guess the Name for a $50 Gift Card!

    New Elf on the Way... Guess the Name for a $50 Gift Card!

    Updated 8/24/12: WE HAVE A NEW ELF!!! Guessing for the baby name is officially over. And the winner is... Shel! Congratulations to Phoebe, Joel & Nancy—the three winners who correctly guessed his name. Each of them received a $50 Softstar gift certificate. Thanks to everyone who participated and gave Shel such a grand welcome! Mother and son are doing great...
  4. Soft Star Now Accepts Paypal

    Soft Star Now Accepts Paypal

    As many of our customers know, we’ve made a lot of changes to our website this year. The launch of our completely overhauled site back in January was a big leap for the elves, and it allowed us to interact with our customers in many new ways. But the changes didn't stop there. Our web elves depend quite a bit...
  5. Elf Roots: The Early Days of Soft Star Shoes

    Elf Roots: The Early Days of Soft Star Shoes

    The Soft Star elves are proud to tell people we’ve been making shoes since 1984, but anyone who saw our shop back in the early days might be surprised to see how much things have changed. The biggest difference: Soft Star once operated out of a school bus! Daughter Corina in front of the old Soft Star workshop. Notice the...
  6. The Other Extreme

    The Other Extreme

    A few weeks ago, we posted a photo showing one of the largest shoes ever made in the Soft Star workshop. This week, we found ourselves at the other extreme—making shoes for extremely small (and new) footsies. The baby shoes on our website normally start at size 3, which we’ve found to be a good value for newborns. A size 3 is usually a...
  7. Happy Birthday Dash!

    Happy Birthday Dash!

    It has now been one whole year since we released our Dash RunAmoc. The elves celebrated the event by looking back at the history and evolution of the Dash model. Way back in the early 2010s, Soft Star released what is now known as the Original RunAmoc. At that time, nobody in all of elfdom had any idea how popular...

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