Going barefoot is commonly viewed as a painful waste of time, yet shoelessness can be approached thoughtfully and bring many benefits.
Weber enjoys many outdoor activities such as climbing, rafting, biking and hiking, he said.
Most of these activities, he does barefoot.
Despite usually opting for minimalist shoes or no shoes at all, Weber currently works at a shoe store downtown on Main Avenue.
Weber started working at the shoe store because he needed a job, later realizing that he was actually really good at it, as a natural salesman, he said.
Weber said how much more connected and at peace he feels after walking around barefoot.
“I think there’s a correlation between barefootness and happiness,” he said.
“Most people don't care if you’re like, ‘I’m going barefoot’ they say, ‘cool don't get hurt’ and that’s pretty much it,” Weber said.
“The only other people who care about going barefoot are the people who think it's disgusting, and then the people who think it's awesome and are probably doing it with you,” he said.
Weber and his brother were barefoot any time they could be while growing up, even while working on the hot roof during the summer, Weber said.
“Everyone’feeet should be able to stand being outside- if you can’t, you aren’t going outside enough,” he said.
Weber said his feet feel confined and claustrophobic when they’re stuffed in socks and “shoe jail.”
Weber said that we have feet for a reason and they need to get back to a more natural way of walking and living.
Going barefoot has led Weber to discover that it allows him to feel centered, grounded and able to feel the earth’s energy, he said.
It’s a way of communicating, in a non-verbal way much like how animals communicate, but with the earth, Weber said.
“People say that being barefoot is dangerous-yeah if you’re not looking down every once in a while,” he said.