These bizarre Nike slides look strange, but those 22 nubs are there for a reason

Okay, where should I start? Because we need to talk about this shoe for a moment. Just for a second: when you see this new Nike Mind 001 for the first time, what goes through your mind? Not: oh, what a cool new sports shoe technology, right?

Rather: uhhh... what. is. thisagain?

A kind of futuristic slipper with a noticeably thick sole and underneath a whole collection of round nubs. Not just any nubs, by the way: there are 22 individually moving nubs. And there’s a special idea behind it.

No, this is not an ordinary slipper

No, we see that. Whahahahha. Okay, this Nike Mind 001 is not intended as a sports shoe for your next run. Nike designed this beautiful slipper for the moments before and after exercising. Okeeee.

So as a kind of transition shoe that you put on before you train or play a match, when you’re not yet in your sports shoes. Or just afterwards, when your feet and mind need something different.

But why? I looked that up, of course. Nike developed this Mind 001 from what Nike also calls Mind Science. This looks at how movement and sensory stimuli affect how you feel and how aware you are of your body.

And that’s where those 22 bizarre rolling nubs come into play.

Those 22 nubs are exactly the whole idea

Under the shoe are 22 small foam nubs that can all move independently of each other. With every step, they apply pressure and stimuli to different spots on the bottom of your feet.

Because your foot soles are full of sensory receptors. They continuously send information to your brain about pressure, movement, touch, and where your body is located.

With this, Nike is trying to create a smart physical and mental stimulus. Because while walking on these gigantic UFOs, those nubs provide all kinds of stimuli. This stimulates your senses and leads to greater awareness of your body and your surroundings.

In other words: you are literally walking on 22 small, round, moving stimuli.

What should your brain actually do with those 22 nubs?

I looked all of this up for you. Nike says that the 22 moving pressure points are not just randomly distributed over the sole. They are anatomically mapped and intended to stimulate different sensory receptors under the foot.

According to Nike, scientific research has shown that this stimulation activates sensory areas in the brain. The idea is that the extra stimuli under your feet make you more aware of your body and your surroundings. Nike says this can help athletes feel focused, calm, and more present while exercising.

By the way, that’s different from saying that the shoe automatically makes you perform better. The Mind 001 is primarily designed to create a sensory experience that helps you transition into or out of your sports moment. Joe Joe.

And no, this has nothing to do with foot reflexology

You might immediately think of foot reflexology with all those pressure points under your feet. It is assumed that certain zones on your foot correspond to specific organs or body parts. By massaging or stimulating such a spot, you could theoretically influence the corresponding body part.

That sounds interesting, but for those specific connections between foot points and organs, there is no convincing scientific evidence. The nubs under the Nike Mind 001 are therefore not intended to ‘control’ your liver, stomach, or other organs.

What is certain is that your feet play an important role in how your brain processes information about your body and the ground. Your foot soles contain an incredible number of sensory receptors. Every step provides your brain with information about pressure, movement, balance, and touch.

And that’s exactly what Nike builds on.

It feels a bit like walking on bubble wrap

Because people who have tested the Nike Mind 001 describe the feeling under their feet as surprisingly good and sometimes even a bit strange. Because of those moving nubs, every step feels different than on a flat sole. Some testers even compare it to walking on bubble wrap. That sounds delightful.

The idea is in any case that you feel more of what happens under your feet while walking. And Nike sees that as a way to bring your attention to the here and now.

Does this shoe actually make you more focused?

Well, not so fast.

Nike has researched this technology and says that the stimulation under the feet activates certain sensory areas in the brain. Nike has developed these Mind products for years and tested them with athletes.

But wait, that doesn’t automatically mean that after ten minutes of walking on these gigantic UFO slippers with wheels, you suddenly become some kind of zen master who has the calm to rake Japanese gardens.

That this technology activates sensory brain areas does not automatically prove that you will perform better because of it. Nike primarily presents it as a way to stimulate your senses and help you feel more focused, calm, and present.

Nike is just experimenting with what happens when you consciously use your feet as a source of sensory stimuli. Ugly or not, I want to try them. How about you?

And honestly: we can't even call it ugly anymore

Yeah no, this goes beyond ugly. Who designs this? Also rare.

But maybe: the more you know about the design, the more logical it becomes. That thick sole is not to fly away, but to stimulate your feet in a very different way. With 22 meager, rolling wellness knobs under your feet, it doesn’t exactly feel like a designer shoe.

Let’s see it as a new form of technology. I can’t make more of it.

This Nike Mind 001 costs €89.99 and comes in various colors. So you don’t have to be a top athlete right away. In fact, you don’t really have to exercise with them at all. That’s something for me. And also something different from the standard. sneaker trend.

You just have to dare to walk in them. Before or after exercising.

Do you dare?

Source: Nike