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Nick Bailey is a PhD research student based in the Engineering School at Southampton University studying the consequences for humanity of an asteroid impact.

He was inspired to return to the basics of human locomotion after going barefoot to toughen up his feet for a 65 mile charity walk across the South Downs.

Nick Bailey, shoeless in Prague

"One morning I woke up, didn't put shoes on and thought let's see if I can make it to my office, which was only five minutes away.  I made it there and then I thought 'I wonder if I can make it home again?' I did and then it went on through the week." Nick explains.

Shoeless in Prague

Nick gradually expanded his sphere of barefooting going full-time after ending up shoeless in Prague:

"I thought let's try flying barefoot. So I took off my shoes and popped them in my checked luggage.  When I got to Prague my bag didn't - it was two days before my bag turned up!"

Nick spent the next year barefoot and now only wears shoes occasionally.  He soon discovered that each barefooted journey was a new sensory adventure for his feet.

"You get texture, warmth, you can grip pavements with your toes, you can grip stairs and your toes get a full work out. Puddles are the best thing - it's like being a child again when you get wellies for the first time - I'll go out of my way to walk through them as they're so much fun."

Nick loves gardening barefoot

Nick even managed a trip to Washington DC during a bitterly cold March: "There was snow on the ground but I still managed to zoom around barefoot, sometimes it was quite painful but you get to the end of it and think YES!, it's a challenge and you've overcome it."

Putting your foot in it

You'd expect to get all sorts stuck to and in your natural wheels, but in over two years Nick has had very few injuries and only three bits of glass to deal with.  He's also discovered one of the best things about being barefoot is that people actually talk to you:

"I've always been slightly 'geeky' and therefore out of the standard mould - people do point at me and say - "You've got no shoes on!"

"But because you're different somehow you're approachable - even if it's just someone saying, 'Oh you've got no shoes on, what's it like?' which happens all the time when I'm out."

To keep his feet in top condition Nick has a nightly foot care and washing session where he enjoys watching the fascinating colours from a hard day on his feet wash down the plughole.

You can find out more about Nick and his barefoot adventures from his blog, Barefoot Bearded Geek.