MBT Women's Kaya Mary Jane Flat

At MBT we don't believe in shoes. We believe in footwear that makes you better from the ground up.



MBT: The idea of Physiological Footwear
MBT, Masai Barefoot Technology, was invented by Swiss engineer Karl Mueller. During a visit to Korea he made the startling discovery that walking barefoot over paddy fields alleviated his back pain. Back in Switzerland, Mueller began to develop a footwear technology that would make the natural instability of soft ground such as Korean paddy fields or the East African savannah accessible also to those, who have to walk on hard surfaces. In 1996, after years spent on research and development, Masai Barefoot Technology was mature enough to be launched on the market. MBTs are now available in over twenty countries, and approximately one million pairs of this revolutionary footwear technology are sold every year.

How the anti-shoe is pro-body:
Because of the specially designed sole, wearing MBTs significantly improves your gait and posture and relieves pressure on your joints and back. It also exercises a large number of muscles, whether you’re walking or standing. This, in turn, stimulates your metabolism, burns extra calories and speeds up muscle regeneration. In addition, MBTs can have a firming effect on abdominal, leg and buttock muscles.

The key to MBT is its patented sole structure.
The Shank, PU Midsole with Pivot and the Masai Sensor create a soft surface that is akin to walking barefoot on springy moss or on a sandy beach. This creates a natural instability underfoot, which activates the supporting muscle system and has positive effects on the entire body.

Wearing MBT mimicks walking on soft, natural ground.
When the heel strikes, the heel sinks into the ground and the body has to stabilize. When the foot rolls forward, there is a controlled rolling over the balancing area towards the ball of the foot. The toe rolls off (without pressure).

MBT technology mimicks walking in barefeet.

The Anti-Shoe

MBT would like to help people all over the world lead a healthier, more active and happier life. MBT is convinced that human fitness and health are significantly influenced by the way we walk – this conviction has already been substantiated objectively by many scientific studies.

MBT therefore attempts to awaken and strengthen the awareness of physiologically correct walking among people world-wide by disseminating the idea and concept of MBT physiological footwear. The benefits of physiologically correct walking can thus be made available to as many people as possible all over the world, in a straightforward and uncomplicated way.

MBT's Patented Sole Technology

The Lasting Board binds the upper and lower parts of MBTs together.

The Shank provides firmness to the sole and also ensures the foot’s natural rolling movement and optimizes pressure distribution over the whole sole.

The PU Midsole with Pivot triggers an active rolling movement and exercises a large number of stabilizing muscles throughout the entire body when walking or standing.

The Masai Sensor creates natural instability, to which the body responds with increased muscle activity.

The rubber Outsole protects the Midsole.