Hal,I think that a "real" barefooters is super tough on every surface (and I underline every).

The question is that for "barefooters" is mean a girls (but for a men will be the same) that go always barefeet,but is not specified on what kind of surface.

If a girls walk always barefeet but only on quite easy/smooth surface her soles does not build the needed endurance (callous but also soles muscle) to walk on very hard surface (sharp gravel,rock,thorns...).
But we will enjoy her anyway...

^ I agree that a girl's soles will build up if she walks on gravel a lot -- but what I was trying to say is that even some part-time barefooter (who basically never walk on rough surfaces) can master walking on gravel without any problems, whereas some tough barefooters (like Katja or Shirin, who are basically barefoot 24/7) find gravel uncomfortable (but have no problem with broken glass on the street or burning cigarettes).

I think I will add the video of Janne to my store soon ;-)

Very strange,maybe is due to different posture,feet conformation,weight/sole surface ratio or so on...maybe a doctor will be able to explain it better...or maybe no one can explain...

I'm waiting every day for the video of Janne,thanks for the answer.

Every person is different in how their soles adapt to the environment. I had on ex-girlfriend who had very thick callouses, like Rashida. Another had very leather like tough soles and I've met girls who had smooth soles and none of them had any problems or discomfort on very hot pavement, glass, etc. These were all in Greenwich Village (NYC) and there are many pieces of small glass, cobble stones, concrete and asphalt surfaces. There are also metal grates which get very hot in the summer.

Everyone is different is pretty much the way to sum it up.

...

You're completely right, Hal.
Many many factors contribute to "barefooting toughness", let's call it this way.
With my gilfriend we've tried to examine the matter 'til the deepest, during those years.
But it's so complicate and composite that ... we call it "the Gift".
And it probably really is - a gift -.
What we're sure about, is that we can't identify a "SINGLE LINE" of strenght in naked soles, but at least three ones: we use to call it resistance to BLOWS, PRESSURE, and PUNCTURES.
To be more clear, you can associate the first situation to RUNNING (on sharp stones), the second to WALKING AND CLIMBING, the third to ... resist when you encounter something that can wound you.

The "Nora and Elsa" famous clip ) shows for example that Elsa - who surely DOES have "the gift"! - is unapproachable for Nora in walking/climbing (pressure), while Nora can ... TRY to stay with her when running (BLOWS). That means: yes, for Nora running barefoot is easier than walking (!).

Probably, the structure of the bare foot itself hardly can have all of the three lines of strenghts at the same time.

My girl, for example, innately INVULNERABLE to blows and ... SUPERHUMAN on pressure (really), had her weak spot on punctures. Thorns could make her vacillating in a manner that we always considered unacceptable.

So, after more than one year focused on that "weak" (...) spot, she can run for several minutes on sharp gravel with up to five thumbtacks planted in the same bare sole, without even vacillating. But, unexpectedly, she can't do all of the same things (superhuman ones, I repeat it) she was able to do two years ago, when called to cope with pressure.

That, to say the truth, is a very bad thing. Because among the "three lines" pressure is BY FAAAAAAR the most important, as it's related to ... simply "mount on every thing on the ground".

She says "to build strenghts on thorns my bare foot has learned to accept that my sole can be penetrated, so now I'm a little bit less able to leave out pressure sources!".

Well, that's my contribute to "theory of barefooting", haha.

And.. Katja still remains a little mistery, a VERY INTERESTING mistery to me, because she... is so vulnerable!
I've never seen someone so much at the mercy of the ground loving so much to stay barefoot!
Leaving apart any speech about masochism (ANY barefooter has a microscopic masochistic part inside of her/him, so it can't make the difference imho), it would be an incredibly interesting subject to see from her own voice.

Bye,

Flowwer

PS: anything on the line with ELSA?

Katja is a mystery..she is also, in my opinion, the most truly beautiful of all of Hal's lovely girls. She's a natural barefoot spirit, even if she does seem so vulnerable..she nevertheless seems like as natural a barefooter as any of the other girls..and that dreadlocked "hippie" image intrigues the hell out of me..I wonder what her role in life is..how she lives...oblivious to the conventions of society that demands the wearing of shoes. She seems as comfortable and natural a barefoot spirit as I've seen yet....and I can't wait for Hal to post more pictures of her and tell what she's like in real life. She's cinematically gorgeous and sensual at the same time.

Thanks for the great comment -- you really seem to like her

Cheers,
-Hal-

Some misteries are better kept secret :-)

She's a wondergul girl indeed, a miracle of nature.

Thanks, Katja, for sharing your beauty with us, and thanks, Hal, for capturing it with your lens, passion and fine art.

Yes, thank you Hal, you are indeed an artist..and quite conspicuous amongst all your peers in this forum.