I’m a ‘barefooter’ – I get in trouble in stores but footwear isn’t natural
She figures she's free to be barefoot anywhere that a sign doesn't ban it, but it's caused problems.
"I just really consider myself an everyday barefooter, a relatable one, because I'm not living in extreme cold or hiking up mountains," she said.
Mara, 30, spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun about going barefoot as a mother of five.
"Since I was a kid, I've always enjoyed being barefoot," the Texas resident said.
"As I got older, I realized it was more socially unacceptable to not wear shoes."
In 2022, Mara made the decision to "go full-time and give up on shoes."
read more: going barefoot
"At first, it was scary to go out in public and know that people are looking at you. Then I just built up thick skin, you know, literally and figuratively," she joked.
"I was able to just do it and not care what anybody thinks."
Mara summed up the initial reaction of her friends and family as one of confusion.
"Everybody just asked, 'Are you sure? That's gross, that's weird,'" she said.
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She recalled them asking her if she could go into stores without getting in trouble.
Mara did her homework, noting the entry requirements for the public spaces she frequented.
"I read a lot of the signs beforehand. So in hardware stores, it's posted, [that] you have to wear shoes, but a lot of other places, like a grocery store, they don't have any signage saying it is required," she said.
"I always pay attention to that because I don't want to get any businesses in trouble and I don't want to get in trouble myself."
Mara revealed that she has had trouble before despite no signage requiring her to wear shoes.
"It was a bookstore, which was so weird to me," she said.
"I went into Barnes & Noble and sometimes if they don't have anything posted, I'll just ask [what their policy is].
At the California airport they said it was the policy when walking on and off the airplane that you had to wear shoes
Mara
"They said I couldn't be in there barefoot because they had another person walking barefoot, and they tracked mud everywhere and left footprints."
Another time she had an issue was when she was taking a domestic flight from California to Texas.
"I usually pack [a pair] in a carrier just in case, but I didn't [that time], and at the California airport they said it was the policy when walking on and off the airplane that you had to wear shoes," she explained.
"So that's a lesson learned, I will bring shoes with me to the airport because that was stressful, I thought I wasn't going to be able to fly."
While she has had countless conversations with employees about her barefooting lifestyle, Mara said no stranger has ever broached the subject.
However, that doesn't mean her unique lifestyle goes unnoticed in public.
"I watch people double-take or look back," she said.
Some of Mara's children have also embraced barefooting in public, particularly her eldest.
"She loves to be barefoot, she's 11 and she'll go barefoot in stores or barefoot wherever she can," she said.
"That's cool for me because she's embracing something that I enjoy but I don't think all of my kids will follow that lifestyle."
Shoes are bulky, I trip over my own feet more when I wear shoes just because it's not natural.
Mara
Mara even saved some of her favorite pairs of shoes for when her children are older.
"I donated a bunch because they were just gathering dust," she said.
"I have my pair of flip-flops that I'll wear out on hot days, and then a pair of close-toed shoes that's pretty much it."
Mara recently purchased a pair of heels for a friend's wedding, which she quickly discarded once she hit the dancefloor on the big day.
She described the physical changes she has noticed since she embarked on her barefoot lifestyle.
"I feel like my feet have just been stronger and I felt more balanced," she said.
"Shoes are bulky, I trip over my own feet more when I wear shoes just because it's not natural.
"It's just this added weight and you have shoes like heels, they're just heavy."
As well as having more ease while walking, Mara said she is now more aware of her surroundings as she keeps an eye out for any potential hazards.
According to Mara, the most common misconception is that she might injure herself.
"I guess people just think it's unsafe, they just always think you're going to step on a needle or in some glass.
"That's the thing people get hung up on and it's just not a common thing that I see on the ground."
She explained that she keeps a pair of flip-flops in her car, despite driving barefoot, in case she is involved in a wreck that would require her to step over broken glass.
Her flip-flops also help her combat scalding sidewalks during the hot Texas summers.
Mara has been documenting her barefoot journey on her TikTok account @TheAmazingMara, where she's building a following with her "relatable" content.
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"I just really consider myself an everyday barefooter, a relatable one, because I'm not living in extreme cold or hiking up mountains," she said.
"I'm just doing daily things like going to the grocery store or going on a walk, nothing extravagant [just showing] it's still doable in a city."
