Aftenposten (English)

Monday January 10 2005

Barefoot by choice for 15 years

A Norwegian furniture maker has begun his 15th year of going barefoot, even when there's snow on the ground. A bet he placed with his brother in the summer of 1990 has simply turned into a way of life.

Terje Gordon Jensen, age 30, started going without shoes as a teenager, after making a wager with his brother. The bet was over who could (or would) go around barefoot the longest. His brother lost.

"Now I think it's terrible to wear shoes," Jensen told radio station P4. "I struggle just to try getting them on."

Jensen, who lives in the southern coastal town of Kristiansand, doesn't face many challenges in the summertime. But he keeps going barefoot even when the autumnand winter set in.

"When my feet get wet, it can get cold," Jensen allowed. "But if I'm just going to be outside for a short while, it doesn't matter how cold it is."

He also says he manages to tackle snow and ice in his bare feet, as long as he's not outside too long. He has put on shoes twice this winter, but only as a last resort.

Jensen said he's been stopped by police, who've questioned him over his bare feet, and he often attracts stares and comments from the general public. That hasn't made him change his habit. Wearing shoes, he claims, "is like trying to work with gloves on."