To the physiotherapist who opened my mind

I would like to thank the physiotherapist who opened my mind.

It happened long before minimalist shoes arrived in Spain. In 2000.

At that time I was in Cordoba, I had finished chemistry and was starting my PhD.

I lived on the Rabanales Campus, an ideal place for athletics. It was on the outskirts of Cordoba, at the foot of the mountains.

In addition to the athletics track, I could access an irrigation channel through a back door.

This canal has a firm path next to it that goes into the mountains.

A paradise of water, nature and peace.



During those years I used to run for sensations, without planning, for pleasure, but the bug of personal bests, time per kilometre and everything that surrounds the world of the popular runner began to take its toll on me.

Despite the fact that I wasn't pushing my body to the limit, the overloads, contractures and some more serious injuries didn't take long to arrive.

One Friday when I was returning to my home town, I made an appointment with a physiotherapist for a calf strain.

At the appointment, when I finished explaining what was wrong, she said to me:

- "Do you also run to improve your times?"

I remained thoughtful, not knowing what to say. After a few seconds I replied:

- "Of course, to improve".

Today, when I think about it, I see what he wanted to tell me.

He explained to me that the body is made up of muscular chains, that the pain can manifest itself in the calf, but that it can come from elsewhere, that it is necessary to do global stretching, .....

That resonated with me and I began to see the body in a different way, but what had the greatest impact, and over the years was decisive, was when he looked at my boots and said:

- "Look at your trainers, what shape are they?  And now look at your feet.

- "Your feet are like your hands, wider at the toes. And your shoes are the opposite, narrower at the front than at the back."

- "How do you think your feet will feel in there?"

That conversation was the seed of what came next.

It wasn't immediate, I kept running, looking to improve personal bests, time per kilometre and rankings in popular races. Surely I had to feed my ego with small victories in the form of seconds.

But that conversation was the key to seeing the Nike advert with the eyes of a curious child.

I believe in doubt.

And doubt, like curiosity, are key to becoming more aware.

More aware of what you see, what you read and what you hear.

To not live in automatic mode.

To stop the tiring and monotonous rhythm of life.

To take off your shoes and enjoy the incomparable sensation of walking on the sand or a meadow barefoot.

The rest is history.

Minimalist footwear is growing at a pace that is difficult for big companies to sustain.

And there are more and more brands that manufacture shoes that don't squeeze your feet, that let them work and feel.

And that's where I am, together with my tireless team.

Trying to remove ballast in the form of shoes.

Opening minds, when they let them.

And selling shoes that help you to be more human. The animal human.

So that your feet are not the ones that limit you on that morning walk you long for when you wake up or on your afternoon walk.

So that despite the years you can still move like when you were a child.

• Be Lenka whiz

Health starts with your feet.

Antonio Caballo.