Featured Image Credit: TikTok/christifritz
Topics: Fashion, TikTok, Social Media
Emma Rosemurgey
Some people pick their shoes based on fashion, others are focused on practicality - and the majority of us sit somewhere in the middle.
We like our shoes to look nice but be comfortable and protect our feet at the same time. That's the whole point of shoes, right?
So you can understand why one couple have left people feeling absolutely baffled after revealing they had cut out the soles of their $20,000 shoe collection because 'walking barefoot means the world to [them]'.
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In a clip that has now been viewed more than 46 million times, TikToker Christi Fritz showed herself and her husband removing the soles of their shoes, before taking a trip to Sephora, where they put them to the test.
Explaining the reasoning for their unusual fashion choices, she went on: "We decided to start walking bare foot and one of our followers had a great idea.
"Since some businesses don't want us being completely barefoot, if we cut the bottom of our shoes off, it allows us to be barefoot and blend in with everyone else."
The TikToker admitted it was a 'huge commitment' to be decimating her huge shoe collection, but that it was one she and her husband were willing to make.
"Our shoe collection is worth more than $20,000, but this is a sacrifice we're willing to take, because walking barefoot means the world to us," she said, adding: "The benefits of walking barefoot are priceless."
In the comments, Christi's followers questioned her on the benefits of walking barefoot and why they would be so eager to go to the extreme to allow themselves to do so.
One person suggested it was because walking barefoot 'keeps you grounded and connected you to the earth and its energy'.
Meanwhile, another suggested that having to create a lid in the shoe for their toenails to latch onto in order to keep the shoes on, actually goes against the benefits of having bare feet.
Others suggested that walking barefoot on natural ground, such as on grass, does have its appeal, but that walking around in concrete areas in the middle of a city does not.
"Are you really grounding if you’re walking on sealed floors though? How often are you making contact with the real ground? Suggest carrying EMF meter," one follower commented.
They certainly are committed to the cause, however many followers suggested that they could actually buy barefoot shoes, which are specifically designed for allowing wearers to connect with the ground without going completely barefoot.