The Barefoot Dutchman also known as Anton Nootenboom is currently crossing America barefoot for a cause that many people support: men’s mental health.
He originally started this cause because he was struggling too with this problem. Most people think that his mental health problem came from when he was in the army but the reality is different. “It’s everything that could have happened to anyone: heartbreak, financial pressure, not being in the right place with a house and a job, loss of identity.”
Studies prove that walking barefoot has many benefits strengthening the foot muscles, improving balance, and surprisingly helping with mental health. So The Barefoot then embarked on this journey with its first-ever hike: Mount Everest… barefoot. There was this big rock just before Base Camp 1 and when he reached it he realized that he had something with this project and could do it with his own two bare feet. “All of a sudden I had this new purpose in life,” said Anton.
This man also teamed up with Barbericks, a creator of barefoot sneakers to raise awareness for men’s mental health with a campaign called #BraveMenTalk.
During this walk, he’s hoping to raise awareness as mentioned previously, and to inspire others to say they have problems and to seek guidance to get better.
This man officially started his journey in Santa Monica Beach in L.A. on the 7th of February and will be finishing it in Times Square in New York City. This walk is 3100 miles long and he walks on average 12 miles per day it should take more than 250 days. Will he need to speed up to avoid winter or will he be done before then?
His feet are also getting beaten up because of all the cracks in the road and small rocks that have gone unnoticed by his eyes and hurt him. He also needed to walk early in the morning or during the night because some places in the US are in the desert and it gets too hot to walk.
If you want to help this cause, you can donate on his site or follow his social media platform. The Barefoot Dutchman’s site: https://us.movember.com/story/the-barefoot-dutchman-walking-barefoot-across-america-for-mental-health
