Masai Barefoot Technology

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MBT label
MBT shoe

Masai Barefoot Technology ( MBT , German Massai Barefoot Technology ), also known under the label Swiss Masai , is the brand name for the floor construction of footwear from the manufacturer Masai Group International in Winterthur . The company filed for bankruptcy in May 2012.

Mode of action

A characteristic of the MBT is a convex sole shape that is rounded in the running direction with an inserted heel soft part (the "Masai sensor"). Due to the shoe bottom construction, which is deliberately made soft and "wobbly", the foot loses the hold that is characteristic of physiological locomotion. This affects larger parts of the holding and supporting muscles because the body has to be actively kept in balance. According to the manufacturer, this is intended to improve coordination and stress additional parts of the skeletal muscles.

Areas of application and training

Model: M. Walk Men , Gr. 43 (used)

To ensure proper use, a voucher system was used until the end of 2008. Each pair purchased was accompanied by a voucher for a one-hour briefing from an instructor (specially trained people from medical professions, often physiotherapists; never an MBT dealer). As of 2009, the voucher system was no longer used. Instead, the company increasingly used information brochures and DVDs. In addition, the specialist salespeople have received more training.

Walking and running in MBT shoes requires practice and is only suitable for level surfaces because uneven natural surfaces (forest path) increase the risk of shoe-related injury. Performance-related, fast continuous running leads to an unergonomic and clumsy appearance. The reason for this is the different sequence of movements required in MBT shoes: the leg movement that mainly occurs in a pendulum-like manner from the knee joint. When running faster, on the other hand, the hip flexor muscles are used more, the legs are raised more, and the steps are more expansive: a sequence of movements that cannot be carried out harmoniously with the MBT construction.

Therefore, MBT did not recommend jogging, but rather a "slow running" adapted to the requirements of the shoe. This is characterized by a more upright posture and smaller steps with a higher step frequency. According to Masai Barefoot Technology, long-distance runner B. Hollywood ran 900 miles in 22 days in an MBT. In addition to various training courses for instructors, specialist dealer seminars and trainer courses for "Masai Walking" are also offered. For a fee, the manufacturer also trains shoe repairers ( shoemakers ) in the repair of MBT shoes.

production

The soft heel part, because it consists of an open-cell foam material, can soak up when it comes into contact with moisture. In the care instructions, the buyer is advised not to let salt, fat, fertilizer, protein or blood as well as “aggressive liquids” come into contact with the sole structure. These and other care instructions are linked to the fact that the statutory warranty can only be granted if they are complied with. If shoemaker to the material of the insole are asked to specify "cardboard". A look under the loose insoles proves this: There is impregnated cardboard there - even for the layperson.

Since 2009, MBT has offered the so-called "Dual Board" sole construction as an alternative to the "old Integrated Shank" construction. The new construction combines the "shank", which is responsible for the stability of the sole, with the insole. Therefore, there are no longer any insoles made of “cardboard” in the newer models.

The production locations (South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and China) require questions about an appropriate price-performance ratio. The fit (gradation jumps between the specified shoe sizes , adherence to the insole size in relation to the specified length size and the size ratios of individual upper parts) raise questions regarding the technical competence of the developers and shoe manufacturers. When the Deutsche Schuhfachschule examined MBT shoes, it accordingly uncovered several shoe technology contradictions and questionable issues.

Health effects

MBT shoes are very controversial not only because of their appearance, but also from a shoe-technical point of view and in particular because of the health effects that they are supposed to achieve.

In 2003, a sports medicine study by the University of Tübingen attempted to find out whether an improvement in coordination skills could be ascertained after six weeks of neuromuscular training when a test group also trained with MBT in addition to standardized training and came to the conclusion: “There was no significant improvement in coordination skills the test group (with MBT) versus the control group (without MBT) ”. In conclusion, the scientists said: "In addition, targeted analyzes [...] are necessary in order to prove [...] training effects through therapy devices such as Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT)."

A study carried out at the University of Freiburg in 2008 compared the regular wearing of MBT shoes for eight weeks with sensorimotor training that was also carried out four times a week for eight weeks. The authors come to the conclusion: “Overall, the results indicate that the significant functional adjustments after sensorimotor training can also be achieved by wearing MBT shoes. However, both the extent of the training-related function adjustment and the dynamics are less pronounced. "

In the meantime, retail marketing is also moving away from overly exaggerated advertising promises. The website of a specialist shop compares the shoes with sports equipment with reference to the manufacturer's advertising and explains: "It's like high-heeled shoes: If you wear them all the time, you get bad feet but every now and then is OK." A clear promise of an expected benefit the shoes are missing there, however.

Other aspects

Under cold ambient conditions, wearers of MBT shoes tend to have warm feet than wearers of comparable footwear with a normal shoe bottom, because the higher muscle activity, caused by the compensatory movements in the MBT shoe, ensures better blood circulation in the feet.

Because of the production in the Far East, critics raise questions about social and labor law conditions and compliance with environmental protection standards. According to its own information, MBT has submitted to a code of conduct in the area of ​​environmental and social issues.

Naming convention

The shoes intentionally cause instability in walking and standing. Therefore, the wearer straightens the upper part of the body in a reflective manner in order to keep the center of gravity as perpendicular as possible over the point of step and to maintain balance. This upright posture of the upper body, which is characteristic of a healthy posture and, among other things, also characteristic of the Kenyan tribe of the Maasai , led to the word "Masai" in the name.

However, the word barefoot is misleading because these footwear does the exact opposite of going barefoot. With the help of the foot skeleton, consisting of 26 bones with its many joint surfaces and muscles, the human being is able to perfectly compensate for the finest unevenness with the feet alone through proprioceptive perception of the ground, without the rest of the body being required for this. The Maasai are a good example of this because this tribe moves barefoot.

The meaning of the word "physiological" is understood by the manufacturer in a very idiosyncratic definition that even contradicts the general explanations of these two terms: "MBT is the first physiological footwear - that is, footwear that has a positive influence on the entire body." it on the site. The word physiological is used here in the sense of not pathological, hence healthy. The former logo signature “physiological footwear” was replaced in 2009 by the advertising slogan “The anti-shoe”. This should highlight the special properties of the shoe.

History, development

The inventor of the system, the Swiss engineer Karl Müller , had back problems which he was able to improve during a stay of several years in Asia by taking regular walks on the extremely soft soils of the rice fields. Inspired by this, he developed a shoe for himself that turned hard, flat floors into soft, "uneven" floors. This prototype led to commercial marketing in 1996.

Occasionally there is irritation about the origin of the invention, which the African ethnic group of the Maasai claims for itself. Accordingly, where traditionally no shoes are worn, old car tires had to be used to avoid injuries due to lack of money, which gave the shoe its round shape. Their "tire shoes" are u. a. through sporting events such as B. the London Marathon became known in western culture. However, there is apparently no evidence for a connection between the “Maasai tires” and the MBT shoes, as it is sometimes assumed, or that Müller might have known about the Maasai shoes during his stay in Asia.

The first shoe generation did not have a paragraph , whereby the carrier to a digitigrade transition was forced. The second generation followed in 2000, filling the “gap” under the heel with a rounded, open-pored foam wedge. As a result, the shoe no longer had such an exotic look. In 2004 the third generation finally came, in which the thickness of the sole was noticeably reduced. While the previous generations looked extremely bulky and were therefore noticeable, this no longer applies to this generation to this extent. Some models of the latest, fourth generation have a differently designed heel / heel area: If there was previously a similarity to a rolled heel, these new models are more similar to a wing heel, with the support (the "wing") in the outer (lateral) sole area is placed.

In 2004, investors acquired a minority stake of 20 percent in the marketing and sales company. Until September 2006, Müller still held 80 percent of the company, which employs around 200 people, including 50 at the headquarters in Roggwil in Thurgau . But because his partners wanted to stick with the round sole, Karl Müller separated from MBT in 2006. Until September 2007, the majority of shares in MBT were held by the shareholders Klaus Heidegger, Norbert Kraihamer (MBT CEO; previously headed the international expansion of Red Bull for 11 years) and Hermann Oberschneider (a sports and tourism entrepreneur from Austria). The Boston investment company Berkshire Partners LLC announced at the beginning of July 2007 that it had invested capital in the Masai Group International (according to MBT spokesman Thomas Haunsperger, Berkshire holds around 20 percent of the company). In quarter IV / 2007 the Austrian Hermann Oberschneider joined the company as a partner and managing director.

If Müller's focus was on the health aspect of shoes, Heidegger, who lives in the USA, wants to turn the brand into a lifestyle product, according to a report by Facts Online (see web link) - a description that company representatives describe as a “misunderstanding”. However, he has announced that he will make MBT one of the ten largest shoe manufacturers in the world by 2011. According to Heidegger, the brand development as a premium product will concentrate in the next few years on Switzerland, Germany, England, Austria and the USA, where 85 percent of sales are generated. The remaining 15 countries, in which MBT is already sold, should keep the status quo; further expansion should not take place for the time being. The target group is still women over 40. Since it was founded in 1998, around 4.5 million pairs of shoes had been sold worldwide until mid-2007.

Bankruptcy and sale of MBT

The company reported its excessive indebtedness to the District Court of Winterthur and was dissolved as bankrupt on May 9, 2012. As a result, the Asian investor Andy Chaw wanted to buy the Massai Group International (MGI) and in a first step acquired the European distribution warehouse in Luxembourg (380,000 pairs of shoes) and the production tools, but not yet the trademark rights. With a legal complaint, Karl Müller , who still has an exclusive right to distribute the shoes in Korea, stopped the sale of MBT assets. He wanted to buy back the patents and market rights. According to media reports, the sale of MBT assets and all trademark rights to Andy Chaw was confirmed by the third instance of the competent courts in June 2013.

Competitive products

In the meantime, several MBT patents have expired, especially the patent for the main feature: the convex basic shape of the shoe bottom.

Footwear concepts similar to MBT shoes or based on the theory behind them are now also available from Mephisto (“Sano”), Finn Comfort (“Finnamic”), from the German brands Chung Shi and Solidus (“Solifit” collection) by the Herges shoe factory (“LaStrada” collection) and Ryn from South Korea. The WalkMaxx brand can be found in discounters and at the Weltbild book chain . With the “FitFlop” shoes for women, fashion-oriented summer shoes are now also on the market with an idea that is similar in approach and that promises a “workout in passing” with a “slightly de-stable sole” (the manufacturer's quote) .

Web links

Commons : Masai Barefoot Technology  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Andreas Möckli: Swiss shoe company MBT at the end. Tages-Anzeiger from May 10, 2012.
  2. ↑ Masai Marketing & Trading AG: Endurance training. In: MBT in Sport. Prevention. Training. Regeneration. Rehabilitation No. 1, 2009, p. 12.
  3. ↑ Masai Marketing & Trading AG: Care instructions. In: The revolution continues. No. 2, 2009, p. 40.
  4. ↑ Masai Marketing & Trading AG: MBT sole constructions. In: The revolution continues. No. 2, 2009, p. 8.
  5. ↑ C. Beyerlein: Effects of a neuromuscular training on the coordination ability after rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament, taking into account the Masai barefoot technology. In: Physiotherapy - magazine for physiotherapists. No. 56, 2009, pp. 1610-1627.
  6. ↑ K. Korsten, G. Mornieux, N. walter, A. Gollhofer: Are there alternatives to sensorimotor training. In: Swiss journal for "Sports Medicine and Sports Traumatology". No. 56, 2008, pp. 150-155.
  7. ↑ Daldosch specialist shop: Can you always wear functional shoes like MBT? ( Memento of the original from November 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.daldosch.at
  8. ↑ Corporate Social Responsibility ( Memento of December 3, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on November 12, 2007)
  9. ↑ BM Nigg, S. Hintzen, R. Ferberer: Effect of an unstable shoe construction on lower extremity gait characteristics. In: Clinical Biomechanics. No. 21, 2006, pp. 82-88.
  10. ^ P. New, J. Pearce: The Effects of Masai Barefoot Technology Footwear on Posture: An experimental designed study. In: Physiotherapy Research International. No. 12, 2007, p. 202.
  11. ↑ From Flamingo Lake to the Volcano of the Gods - A Safari Adventure in Tanzania. A film by Werner Zeppenfeld. WDR television, January 7, 2012, 3:40 pm
  12. ↑ Jasmin Fischer: London marathon on tire soles - six Maasai warriors from Tanzania took part in the London marathon. They made it to the finish line with shoes made from old car tires. Westdeutsche Zeitung online, April 13, 2008
  13. ↑ Example for the assumption of a connection: The appropriation of the Maasai sandal on “Ethno :: log”, March 5, 2007
  14. ↑ Press reports on MBT and Müller (PDF; 16.7 MB), kybun.ch, see interview, 2nd report
  15. ↑ MBT inventor Karl Müller presents the kyBoot. Retrieved April 30, 2019 . , on kybun.ch
  16. ↑ Press reports (PDF; 16.7 MB). kybun.ch, see Article 2
  17. ↑ Press reports (PDF; 16.7 MB). kybun.ch, see No. 2, interview
  18. ↑ Roland Lambert: "I know where and how it's going" (PDF; 2.8 MB) St. Galler Tagblatt dated October 9, 2012. Retrieved on October 12, 2012
  19. ↑ MBT: Karl Müller fails in federal court. Toggenburger Tagblatt, June 26, 2013