I am an older Australian 70+ and I recall my mother saying to me in my twenties “you are too old to be running around with no shoes on” but when my child started school (mid 70s) they informed me that the children were encouraged to remove their shoes at recess (playtime back then) and climb the equipment because it stimulated their senses and encouraged brain activity.

My maternal grandmother was indigenous. To me, walking on the ground gives me a connection and recharges me. This land really is alive and will love you if you love it back. I think also, because most of us live either by the ocean or within an an hours drive of it we have a better connection to the land. Subconsciously we feel better walking as nature intended.

nothing better than walking into a air conditioned shopping center barefoot on a 40+ deg day and feeling the cold tiled or concrete floor.

As an Aussie, I can affirm that I spend around 80 to 90% of my life barefoot. I only put on shoes when I absolutely have too, and even then if I can wear sandals, that's my preference. And I live one of the colder parts of Australia. That being said, most people do still wear shoes, most of the time. It's usually in Summer that the shoes tend to come off.

I’m Aussie and living here for 60 years but I have to say thongs or sandals are normal especially in Queensland but not barefoot unless you are at the beach or in cafes near a beach. I also lived in Sydney for 58 years and I have rarely seen people barefoot in the cities.

I’m an Aussie in Brisbane and yes totally believe in Earthing/Grounding (read about it) If you’re ever feeling bla or down, try it. Go outside and put your feet on the grass, go for a walk barefoot and trust your brain is reset. I think that’s why Aussie’s are a happy cruisy nation 🙃

I've been a barefoot baby for decades, but I will say it's not as common now as it was when I was a kid. This is particularly true in Tasmania, IME. I was walking home in winter when a friend stopped to give me a lift. They said that they knew it was me because nobody else would be walking barefoot in winter in Hobart ... In NSW, I had an Aboriginal woman call me an honorary blackfella because she'd never seen another white woman go barefoot so much in the city.

If I could get away with being barefoot all the time, I would definitely do it. I’m always barefoot at home, in the garden, beach, lake, camping etc. As a concession to people’s sensibilities I wear shoes/thongs everywhere else 😂✌🏼

I constantly loose my shoes around the house as I always take them off somewhere in the house! In the 1960’s & 1970’s I went barefoot when ever and where ever I could! The main reason to wear shoes is for protection & of course fashion! 😂

I am An Aussie and work in an office setting and there is a huge percentage of my co workers that while they are at their desks they will be bare foot while they work, but put on slip on shoes when they leave their desks.

The first thing I do when I get home from work is get barefoot. Most Aussie kids of my generation (Boomer) grew up with the joys of bindie pricks, bitumen blisters, bee stings and stubbed big toes, all inflicted onto our bare feet during summer holidays and weekends. Life was good!

It's spiritually grounding yourself when you walk barefoot on the earth or in the sand. . Look into it ♥️

My son did a gap year in the UK The first thing he did upon returning to Oz mid December, picked him up from the airport, brought him home. Shoes and socks off, he ran around barefoot, utter bliss etched on his face. He said “ good to be home, only in Australia can you do this! “

I had not realised until I was an adult that the reason we went barefoot as children most of the time in the 1950s was because our parents would have been hard-pressed to have kept us permanently shod (we didn’t think we were poor - very few families had much disposable income). Just buying us new school shoes at the beginning of each school year let our parents skip 2-3 over summer size changes. Even when we had school shoes we were expected to take them off and put them in our school bags if it was raining. Primary schools allowed girls to go unshod until they were 10 and boys until they were 12.

i went barefoot as a child as often as possible. lived near the beach. feet toughen up. i'm 75 and i still go barefoot at home. i do wear footwear rest of the time, but cant wait to free the tootsies as soon as i get home.

I’ve lived in Perth since 1988 from the UK and it always amused me seeing people jumping out of their cars at service stations barefoot, but it’s not as common these days, I must admit I live in my thongs 🇦🇺

as an aussies my record is nearly 9 years without wearing shoes , summer and winter .broken only by a family wedding . back to nearly 4 years barefoot since .

I would just like to say, I am Aussie and I wear shoes. As a matter of fact, I remember putting some on 4 or 5 weeks ago. So there....

My sister & I used to go bare foot to the creek & she’d walk along easily when I was struggling to walk on prickles & rocks. It was like she had asbestos feet. I’d say to her how are you able to walk on this ground- she just kept walking.🇦🇺

Nothing better than feeling the sand or lush grass under your feet! There's a certain comfort or feeling of calm and grounding about it, especially after being trapped in shoes at work all day. I'm from North Qld and go barefoot every chance I get! It's good for the soul!

Ryan, my earliest memory is living right on the sand dunes at Aspendale beach on the bay in Melbourne, and I was SO SO proud that I could walk across the HOT sand, and I was only 2 years old! I've loved going barefoot around the place all my life. When shoes are appropriate, no problem, I'll wear shoes. Xx

Around beaches I agree most of us don’t wear shoes and on the odd occasion in the suburbs you might see someone No wearing shoes. However it’s rare to see outside of the beachside suburbs

Not really sure the words Australian and etiquette should even go together 🤣🤣🤣

My mother told me that I would not only refuse to wear shoes but getting me into any clothes apart from a pair of togs (bathers) was an ongoing struggle and I only started to comply when I went to school. My first real and vivid memory when I was 4 is going to work with my dad who was a bricklayer, and the site was full of dangers at every turn but there I was in my bathers running around just having fun surrounded by hard working men. We lived in the western suburbs of Sydney where there were still pockets of bush with a creek running through it and we would swim naked in that cool, clear water. This was in the late1940's/50's but all that is gone now. The creek and the bush have both disappeared, replaced by housing. The Nanny State adept at telling people how to live their lives would now not allow any of the activities I have described. Progress is a funny beast with a forked tongue and eyes that look in all directions at the same time but still giving off the appearance of a cuddly koala.

I love walking barefoot in the warmer weather. It’s just more convenient however I do have to wash my feet more often. It’s hilarious when I go for a pedicure it takes a lot longer to do than usual

I walked barefoot from my hotel room to a fancy dress party in one of the ballrooms of a casino in Las Vegas. I walked through the gaming floor, past the lobby and up some escalators and the looks of shock and horror I got from my American friends when I told them was a surprise.

I grew up in the blue mountains and my friends and I would always walk barefoot through the bush. I often wore shoes in town but it was still fairly common for me to go out without them. Maybe I have to run to the shops to get something or pick up some food and I wont bother putting shoes on. I turned up to a dominoes to pick up a pizza and there were a few other people there without shoes.

I grew up in Sydney now in Canberra ! I never wear shoes unless absolutely necessary

Barefoot going to school or just out playing with friends is common in the more rural and tropical areas of Australia, as it is in NZ. This is particularly the case with younger boys, up to 11 or 12. The same is true of South Africa, where we played barefoot rugger at school. Of course, few kids wear shoes in much of the world, incl African and Asian countries and large areas of S America and the Caribbean. Even at my junior prep in England, most boys were barefoot in the dorms. It is great to shed shoes after entering the house. You should try it!

I've run through long grass like that barefoot. The trick is to go in groups and have a decent stick to smack at the grass around you because most snakes are sensitive to vibrations, and will run away from something like that. What you really wanna watch out for are ticks.

Hey there Ryan. You have some great videos on Australian culture. I feel you need to come here for yourself and see exactly what goes on here in this lucky country. Yes we work hard and play hard. And some of us don't wear shoes sometimes but good luck getting intoI to a local pub for lunch near the beach without shoes. Start a fund-raiser or something... Ryan is coming to Australia... just a thought.. James

Friends visit from Germany and they are used to wearing shoes constantly at home. The barefoot thing here was a huge culture shock that they found super weird. But now when they are here they slowly adapt due to the warmer climate and by the time they have to don their shoes to go home again, they always feel like they ‘are putting their feet back in prison” because of how tight and unnatural their usual daily footwear for Germany now feels. Foot freedom forever Down Under!

Most of us grew up running around barefoot , our soles are as tough as old leather, we could walk across Bindieyes and four corner jacks without flinching. We learnt how to hustle across burning hot asphalt and loose gravel without it bothering us. #Aussielife

Happy Australia Day Ryan. It's a day where barbies will be cranking, alcohol galore, cars and people covered in Australian memorabilia, some of it just hilarious and yes, a lot of bare feet along with some cricket and Lamb. We'd love to see to visit where you would feel like you're part of the Aussie Family because you take the time to understand and appreciate our laid back larrikinism. And last but not least, it's a day of singing many of the external Aussie Anthems. So have a great day and hopefully you'll find yourself on a journey to Oz. Hooray!

I grew up on a farm and was forever running around barefoot. My mum would freak out whenever I would walk over to the other side of the farm with no gum boots on. Still walk as much as possible barefoot. Grounding for the soul.

I grew up in Coffs Harbour which had an awesome beach culture. Sand and surf isn’t conducive to wearing shoes. I was either barefoot on and around the beach, or wearing thongs. Away from the beach, I would have appropriate footwear depending on the occasion. Living in a city away from the beach, always barefoot at home and remove shoes at the park if running around with our pooch. Barefoot at friends, if swimming in the pool/barbecue etc. but wouldn’t dream of walking around any shops barefoot. I would feel quite uncomfortable.

In Australia most people don't walk barefoot when out in public

I find it so funny that this is a whole cultural shock for everyone 🤣 I am aussie and I still can't believe people actually made an episode on BBC about why we go barefoot 🙃 And also that english has evolved so much that this video has inspired Ryan to make shoes an object of symbolism.

That woman with the glasses is what my mum would call a wowser.

I’m in far North Queensland near the Daintree and I often go barefoot to shops and around the place! Also love driving barefoot.. when the roads too hot I just wear thongs

I love driving barefoot. Gives your feet and brain much better feedback to feel the pressure you put on the pedals plus in hot weather or rainy weather it's nice to cool down or to keep feet dry and no squishy soaked shoes.

It amuses me when people complain that it is disgusting to walk around in a supermarket with bare feet, complaining about the germs they are spreading. You know if there is muck on your feet far more readily than on the bottoms of your shoes

In South Australia in the desert areas you don't go barefoot because they have a prickle with 3 points so one of them is always facing upwards.

I'm Australian, I live in Melbourne & I don't walk around barefoot at all ! I'd be worried about what I might step on or germs lol 🤣

Walk around Melbourne city for example and you might find the odd person going barefoot. The emphasis is on “odd.” People/families going shopping, business people etc most people are not going around barefoot. Different if you’re talking about seaside areas. Someone is at the beach and needs to go to a nearby shop, then it’s more common. There will always be exceptions but they are not the rule.

aussie here, im always barefoot at home and in the backyard/front yard. we also have shops at the end of our street and around the corner and whenever i go down there i usually go down barefoot and nobody bats an eye. it just feels right.

Going barefoot is much more common in Queensland. Some say it the weather, others say it is the fact Queenslanders cannot tie shoe laces. This struggle with the complexities of clothing is the reason why shirts with buttons are so rare in the state.

I remember as a school kid, lunch time we would take off socks n shoes and play. As children we played barefoot, at home we were barefoot. If it rained, we went barefoot, and didn't ruin our shoes. We live on the coast, I was born in the 60's, And still prefer to be barefoot.

im mid 50's and i didnt think about it until now. im probably barefoot more often than not especially at home but i do wear thongs to go to shops and occasionally shoes for the minimal trips to the office or restaurant or some environment i think there might be a chance i might step on something sharp but growing up in the bush as a kid i rarely wore shoes , even on a 40 degree day but we normally would run across the road to next footpath because the tar was too hot and would stick to your feet. even to this day if out on any sort of bush walk or park the things come off

Gee when I was a kid, we always went barefoot, even in the middle of summer when it was so hot you left feet marks in the asphalt on the road. The first thing most Aussies do when they get home is take off their shoes and go barefoot around the house. My mum said she could always tell who was home by the shoes at the front door. PS it strengthens your immune system to go barefoot and walking around without shoes is called grounding, which is also good for your whole body and mental well being. So now you know why Aussies are so laid back.

This is pretty funny as I live in southern Victoria where it gets cold, and we are farmers so there are lots of times we do NOT go barefoot! However, I am virtually always barefoot around the house and garden. I think that bare feet are far more common at the beach and north of where I live in Victoria! Queensland's Sunshine Coast where there are lots of beaches is a more of barefoot place.

Our ancestors were barefooted, Islanders go barefoot, as a kid my entire Summer holidays were barefoot.I turn 68 this year and still walk around the house and property barefoot.It is %*&"#$ natural to be barefoot and feels comfortable.

I was a bare foot kid but not so much as an adult. I'm bare foot most of the time inside the house though, all year round. Going to a supermarket in the city with bare feet is weird and you would be called a Bogan! But if you live close to the beach it's pretty much acceptable. Just don't wear socks with sandals or thongs. That's never ok anywhere or anytime!

I guess I'd be opposed to going barefoot in some places, but, personally, I love being barefoot as often as I can.

I'm in my 60's now & am so sad that my feet have become so weak as whenever I walk barefoot now I feel every little prickle, stone, etc. When I was younger I could run on a dirt road or rocky paddock. Wish I could get my asbestos feet back! Best wishes from Australia 🇦🇺 ❤

As a child I grew up on a farm and only ever wore shoes or boots when I had to. Nothing changed. I’m now 60 years old and still spend 95% of the time barefooted 👣

I was really getting into the barefoot groove at about age 13. Loved it, felt very comfortable and free. But my uncle saw me walking around like that and put an end to it. Definite buzzkill

Yep, agreed, she's a total buzzkill! Going barefoot is great for your health, physically, emotionally and mentally, because it connects you to the energies of the earth. I never wear shoes if I don't have to. By the way, walking on those grids is like getting a free massage 😅🤣 Plus, it's a welcome change from walking on a hot pavement, to cold metal in an air conditioned shopping centre. Most city folk don't do it and coming from the tropics, our sand still doesn't seem to get as hot as it does in SA. I never wore shoes so much in my life, until I lived there. But the locals could handle it, while I was like a jumping spider everywhere we went.

We wore no shoes growing up in the bush - you quickly learnt to identify where the catsheads were growing (you might know them as caltrop or stickers - a tetrahedron shaped seed with deadly spikes that will pierce your very soul). It was just more comfortable.

"well I don't like you!" love it! great call mate

what are shoes? we dont have them in australia i have never heard of them before also from not wearing shoes for a long time we get used to hot concrete and dont feel it anymore. also lots of aussies live really close to the beach and so i barely wear shoes outside and plus when i do i wear thongs. but for school we need to wear enclosed shoes and get a uniform infringement

Only 2 places I don't wear shoes. Around the house or by the pool/ocean. Living in Sydney I never see people without shoes except at a pool or beach. Definitely not barefoot on the grass, too many bindis

Nearly all work place's you have to wear shoes, but, as soon as you knock off work you kick off your mallee roots and enjoy the feeling and the best Aussie line. She'll be right mate.

I lost it when you brought up the escalator cause I've done that multiple times and even other Aussies look at me like I'm a weirdo hahaha

It's rare you see anyone wondering around barefoot in shops here in Oz. People wear shoes because they have some pride in themselves. Yes we go barefoot at home, down the park, on the beach, at the pool, etc. We don't wander the streets barefoot, the ground is too bloody hot. But as a child of the sixties, most of the kids went to school barefoot because parents simply could not afford shoes.

Going around town shoeless is restricted to kids and bogans. (Shops on an esplanade get pass because the beach is less than 20m away. If folks really knew how the roll-cages and trolleys at your local woolies track through the blood in the butchers and the milk spills in the fridge and then all over the floor they might be less inclined to go shoeless at the shops. But then again, anyone who is fine going shoeless everywhere probably doesn't care about clean feet or clean floors.

Growing up in the Northern Territory it was rare for me to have shoes on. I could easily run across gravel and rough terrain without feeling a thing.

Growing up I was always barefoot but these days not so much, however the first thing I do when I get home after work or being out is kick of my shoes. 3 years again I moved from a house with a backyard full of grass to an apartment with nothing but pavers and I have to say I miss my routine of sipping my coffee or drink at night while standing barefoot on the grass. It was just so relaxing while staring at the stars and unwinding from the day, it’s hard to explain the wave of relaxation that flows through you. so I’m about to move from South Australia (SA) to Queensland (QLD) and I have grass at my new property and I honestly have to say I CAN’T wait to wiggle my toes into the grass. ❤

I am an Aussie who loves going bare-foot. I don't know why I love feeling the ground under my feet. I do have some slip-ons in the car to wear whilst shopping etc. Most of us don't go barefoot everywhere. Ironically, it is best to wear shoes in the bush, and sometimes the sand at the beach is just too hot not to wear thongs.

I'm 57 never wear shoes if I can get away with it. It's more popular in beach side suburbs. It's coming back in because it's very beneficial for your nerves and grounding to feel the earth beneath your feet. I actually saw a promo for it at my GP (doctor) last week. Everyone should give it a go, just not near an ant nest.

A friend told me years ago that we must touch the Earth with our bare feat every day. To draw energy from the Earth 😊🌏🪐🙏🌕🐦🇦🇺🌸🩱⛱️🤽🦋🏡🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

As an Australian citizen I would absolutely agree without this

Gday, I’m in my 60’s n hate wearing shoes. I couldn’t give a fiddlers fart who doesn’t like it. It’s a great grounding. Plus us Aussies are a tuff race.

It seems as children we tend to go barefoot and I suppose this makes the bottom of out feet a bit like leather. My husband was English and one our jokes was: when he used to say "I'm an Aussie" my answer was always "you're not Australian until you can walk on the hot tarmac barefoot!".

Earthing is great! We should do it every day. The second I hit the door at home my shoes come off but otherwise for me it’s just at the beach or the shops near the beach.

ARRGGH!! IM AUSTRALIAN!!!!!!

Going barefoot is mainly in Summer. It's to hot to cover your feet. Thongs are fine but not as comfortable as barefeet

This video completely overlooks the bindi menace.

I’m Australian, I live in the tropics. Where I live there are brown snakes, black snakes, carpet snakes, pythons, loads of lizards, ants, AND in summer/the wet season it’s bloody hot. We also have some of the most vicious weeds anywhere (try stepping on a 3 cornered Jack). I don’t go anywhere without shoes, runners, gum boots, sandals or at the very least thongs/flip flops. As an aside, when I fly international, it horrifies me when I see someone on the aircraft going to use the toilets barefoot, ewwwww🤢🤮!

My mum never wore shoes, her feet were like rocks because of it. I loved her free spirit and miss her every day. I wear shoes but not always. Nothing feels better than bare feet.

Where just so layed back and we don't give a crap. Plus the grounds pretty clean compared to other parts of the world. We have built in shoes underneath from walking barefoot all the time. When it's hot we increase speed and tippy toes lol

6:09 New Australian word break: she's not a "buzzkill", she's a "wowzer". 👍

I've turned into a soft foot as I've aged, but I had no issue going about barefoot when I was younger. I don't wear shoes around the house or garden either, unless it's particularly cold, and I've got house shoes for inside the house not *street shoes*.

6:56 Once I saw an Aussie walking on a rocky beach with barefoot. She looked so pleasant I tried it myself. In a few minutes I realized how coarse the rock was and how painful it was walking on that. I was barely able to walk back to my shoes 😅

Two words: Dog Poo. Oh... also; rocks, buzzies, spiders, jack jumpers... Emu Poo? 😆

Thanks for the light hearted content

Nothing more relaxing that giving you feet a good scrub after a day of barefooting.

I'm with you Ryan! Shoes make my feet feel constricted and through our feet we can develop a more accurate sense of the world around us. The first thing I do when I get home from work is take off my shoes and socks, and the feeling of relief is always amazing! I will spend the majority of my time barefoot from September to May (spring, summer and autumn in Australia, for those who need clarification). On a really hot day, it feels like a kind of torture to cover my feet in shoes and socks. I must admit though, I don't feel quite comfortable going out in public in bare feet, and have only done it very rarely. Sandals are the best.

Nana told us we get vitamins from the earth. I wear shoes now. I do not wear them at the Gold Class Cinema when I lay down with my pillow and blanket. I do sit up when they bring dinner and drinks but I don’t put my shoes on.

I'm laughing because I am watching this barefoot, and I do go to the shops barefoot at times, I think the lady from the Australian School of Etiquette is a buzz kill too 😅😅

It's like gardening. A connection with the earth. Really good for stress release.

I used to go barefoot all the time. Occasionally still do. Depends on where and why. I used to live in a coastal beach town when i was growing up and unless i was going into a club or pub i was always barefoot. Keeps you down to earth. Also unless you live in certain areas the ground is fairly clean. You don't have broken bottles and needles laying around ect.

i have walked bare foot on tared road and cinderd soil. i have glass in my fet like shrapnel. its just a thing we do

Growing up I’d go barefoot around my neighbour hood to the creek , bike riding , playing cricket to the local deli but not like a shopping centre . You see it around near the beach at the shops\cafes etc . Bare feet at home all the time , absolutely…it’s the first thing to come off 😝

Being barefoot brings you back down to earth , it’s a great way to get in touch with nature . And it helps harden your feet .

There were signs put on the doors at the local pubs , no shirt , no shoes , no booze 🍻

Being Australian, the main reason why most people don't wear shoes is almost always because it is too hot to wear them. Feet and hands always get hot before the rest of the body does and as a result help to cool the body down when exposed to the elements. Over time you can walk over coarse gravel without it affecting you as the soles of your feet will toughen up. The added bonus of going barefoot is you can feel everything beneath your feet and you can tell the temperature of the soil. Over 50 degrees C in full sun the soil burns your feet and cannot be walked on. That's why shoes and thongs were made. Shoes for roads and thongs for beaches.

This ‘Australians not wearing shoes’ is the latest bulldust inhabiting the internet. Near or on the beach - probably. In a park or on a picnic - maybe. In towns or cities - RARELY! How on earth do these things take off like this?

im 62 and when I was younger I loved walking around with no shoes on or just thongs (flip flops) Lots of stubbed toes, Now I prefer boots, runners or shoes. I still love to see anyone not wearing shoes. It does not worry me one bit. I think it is still cool and free. I think it is an Aussie statement "stuff what people think". Aussie Jim.

Yup I walk around my office barefoot. In a previous job it wouldn't have been ok. But I don't work there any longer