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Barefoot and fancy free
taking taking
Student says shoeless existence is sensational
by liz brucks ● features@kansan.com
"I know they are asking me to leave because it is a health code violation, but my feet are clean. My feet get washed every day — people's shoes don't. They step in God only know what
— dog crap — and can come in and walk on hamburger buns, and they aren't asked to leave."
ryan zarter
shawnee sophomore
Shoeless in the rain:
Zarter cruises the sidewalk in front of the Kansas Union on a rainy day. Weather elements do not deter his barefoot stance about shoe apparel.
It's noon and Ryan Zarter shuffles in the side door of Wescoe Terrace wear corduroy cut-offs, a faded T-shirt, and headphones that rest on top of his long brown ponytail.
He is here for his daily salad and Coke, yet this day's lunch will be cut short as he is quickly asked to leave by a Wescoe employee. As always, he is shoesless and this time he gets the boot.
His preference for going shoeless stems back to the age of 12 the summer his family vacationed in Alaska. Zarter walked on the tundra for the first time and was smitten by the sensation.
"It was like walking on a big sponge," he said. "It was really soft except there were little twigs sticking out and they would pick the bottom of your feet."
His first walk on the tundra opened the door to a world to be explored with his bare feet.
Since then, Zarter's feet have encountered the cut of glass, the burn of hot concrete, the chill of snow, and many other sensations not felt through the average person's sneaker.
Zarter has even walked on hot coals, the remains of a barbecue that scattered in the grass alongside his Volkswagen bus. While unlocking the door to his bus, he felt a burning sensation on the bottom of his foot and assumed it was just "nerve burn." However, upon looking down at the ground, he noticed something was glowing and he realized he was standing on hot coals.
the physical danger of not wearing shoes is stepping on something because the foot is unprotected.
"The primary purpose of shoe gear is to act as a covering," said Lawrence podiatrist James E. Reeves. "There is a common public misconception that not wearing shoes will cause the arches of the feet to collapse or flatten. Foot type is inherited."
"Shoes will not stop a person from becoming flatfooted," he said. "If there is a tendency to become flatfooted, wearing shoes can slow the process. But in or out of a shoe, the arch will collapse in time."
"Look at the caverne," he said. "They walked around barefoot. They didn't have arch support or Nike Airs. And when it gets uncomfortable for me, I put shoes on."
Zarter is not worried about any type of long-term foot damage and notes that he is not the first to go without shoes.
"It's the rule, the company policy; they are just doing their job," he said.
"I'm stubborn, yes,
but not stupid," he said.
"I wouldn't starve to death.
If I can't get in
somewhere, I just pull
out my flip-flops and it
all works out."
With Prehistoric Times long gone, Zarter's biggest obstacle is the dreaded sign at the door: No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service. This rule and health code regulations prevent Zarter from being able to eat his lunch in Wescoe Terrace.
But Zarter will not go hungry. His simple solution is to carry his flip-flops in his backpack.
So he takes flip-flops or a spare set of shoes with him. This has created another hassle for Zarter.
These serve as shoe covering enough for Wesco employee Edward Mitchell, who asked Zarter to leave the premises when he arrived barefoot.
But Zarter is not bitter when he is asked to leave.
"It doesn't make sense," Zarter said. "I know they are asking me to leave because it is a health code violation, but my feet are clean.
My feet get washed every day — people's shoes don't. They step in God only knows
what — dog crap, and
can come in and walk
on hamburger buns,
and they aren't asked to
leave. 10166
Putting his bare feet up: Ryan Zacaran, Shawnee sophomore, lounges in the lobby of the Kansas Union. He became enamored with going shootless while strolling on the Alaskan tundra a姑 12. Photos by Eileen Bokri/KANSAN
"Whenever I get where I'm going, I take off my shoes anyway, so I end up losing shoes," he said. "I think the
Granada has a pair of my old Tevas, and the Bottle-neck may have a pair too."
Zarter receives quite a bit of attention for his bare feet, especially during the winter when people come up to him amazed that he is walking around in the snow without shoes.
He insists he does not go barefoot to get attention, but that he is simply a guy who likes to feel the world through the soles of his feet.
Although shoes tend to be a staple in the grown-up world, Zarter, who is majoring in biology, has no intention of growing up and wearing shoes on a daily basis.
"If I can get away with it, I won't wear shoes, 'cause when I'm barefoot, I'm comfortable," he explained. His mother, Carolyn Zarter of Shawnee, has a patient but hopeful stance on her son's shoelessness.
patient but upendance off her son's adolescence:
"Although it really doesn't bother me, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I hope at some point he grows out of it," she said.
His friends wear shoes but accept his decision not to. Phil Kelly, Zarter's rrommate and Chicago sophomore, explains with a smirk on his face, "To understand Ryan's practice of not wearing shoes, you've got to understand his personality. He's a really, really weird guy."
Zarter looks down at his feet, which are clean but gallused. His toenails are painted a shade of electric-green nail polish that he describes as "rancid, yet happy."
Despite all the attention she gets, 24hr says,
"Thinking of me to more than what's on my feet."
Or what's not.
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