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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.
Changes are afoot at the Softstar workshop! If you follow us regularly then you know we spent most of 2016 renovating a historic building to be the new home of Softstar Shoes (originally a roller skating rink from 1950 that shut down many years ago). As much as we loved our cozy space in the small town of Corvallis...
As December comes to a close, we find ourselves reminiscing about everything that happened this year. Between the exciting summer Olympics, a long election season and bittersweet farewells to some of our favorite celebrities, 2016 is certainly a year to remember. Don't even get me started on my hometown Chicago Cubs winning the world series for the first time in...
It's the end of the year, holidays are fast approaching and our new workshop is sooooo close to completion! Utilities are up and running, the new showroom is ready to greet customers and our fancy green slide is mounted in place. We're all ready to move, but we're waiting for our holiday rush to be over to maintain the sanity of...
If you're not already familiar with Katy Bowman then I highly recommend looking her up, especially if you crave a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. The renowned biomechanist has published several books on natural movement and human development, and her research has been a big inspiration for our shoe designers at Softstar. We have been sharing Katy's work on this blog...
On a chilly Oregon morning last week, moments after we opened up the shop, we received an urgent phone call. A long-awaited delivery truck had just arrived at the new workshop location and several hands were needed immediately to unload its contents. All non-essential elves rose to the challenge, left their sewing machines and hopped in carpools to nearby Philomath. The truck was...
A New Study From Harvard and PolyU Reveals Minimalist Shoes Make Your Legs and Feet Stronger, Decrease Chance of Injury The public debate over minimalist shoes has been on a roller coaster for several years now, but perhaps not for much longer. Although minimalist shoes for kids have been popular for several decades (we've made a business of it since 1985), the idea that...
Switching to minimal shoes can be very liberating... if you do it safely. Although people may still debate over the benefits of minimal shoes and barefoot running, we remain strong advocates for both. So many customers have told us their foot pain disappeared and their cushy orthotics became unnecessary after switching to our barefoot-like shoes, and it's hard to ignore that kind of response. We...
