A woman who has chosen to ditch shoes for good and even hiked Snowdon without anything on her feet - has told how she still has to her trainers on for trips to the supermarket after ASDA staff were displeased with the sight of her toes.
El Robertson from Bristol, started her barefoot journey a year ago and now vows to never buy a pair of shoes again, claiming they're unnatural. The 25-year-old has dubbed shoes 'foot prisons' and claims she finds it 'liberating' to go without - and even leaves her feet in better condition. El, who was always barefoot as a child, said: "Going barefoot was an awakening of how I should be and how well it works for me.
"I feel like it is quite misunderstood as people always tell me how it's dangerous and irresponsible. Although I feel more secure and confident without shoes on, I'm also able to get proper feedback from the ground.
"My feet are a lot more grippy than shoes on the rocky ground. I always almost go barefoot."
El does own a few pairs of trainers if she needs to look nice for an occasion, but for every day, she'll either wear her barefoot shoes - which are 'minimalist' shoes that often fit each individual toe - or go entirely barefoot.
When she's out hiking in the countryside she nearly always barefoot, along with foraging in the woods and on grass - and will drive without shoes.
But she says she has been asked by supermarket staff to wear shoes in-store.
El added: "When I go supermarket shopping I have to wear shoes though as shops don't like me in there barefoot.
"I have been into my local ASDA and have been asked to leave and put shoes on. I think the bottom of my feet are probably cleaner than what's on the bottom of some people's shoes but they are allowed to wear shoes.
"I don't feel embarrassed but I think other people don't like it, maybe some don't like seeing my toes when food shopping."
Making the change to barefoot shoes a year ago, El now calls regular shoes 'foot prisons' and vows to never buy another pair of shoes again.
She says she noticed drastic changes in the appearance of her feet since letting them free.
"I don't think I will buy another regular pair of shoes again," El added.
"When you look at most people's feet, their little toes are so curled in and it's not natural, it's what shoes have done to people's feet.
"When I stopped wearing shoes, my feet widened and my toes now have gaps in between each of them, because I was a barefoot kid anyway I have always had wide feet but the main thing is how my toes have spread apart, there is also a big pad of muscle in the arch and mine is now a thick strong muscle.
"The skin on the bottom of our feet is so thick, so piercing skin is rare in the woods but in cities, there might be things to cut you.
"I stood on a thumb tack once which was really painful. I think I could walk over a small amount of glass but I try and be sensible.
"I've not had one blister since going barefoot and I never get hotspots on my feet, only when I put shoes on now I get hotspots. Blisters, arch support and ankle support is a thing of the past.
"I find it very liberating, I enjoy to shock and impress people and by being barefoot it's the easiest way to do that. Also the confidence it's giving me in my own feet is unbelievable.
"I believe I could walk almost anywhere barefoot. There is nothing I can't walk on now barefoot and if I'm in woods, I use pinecones as foot rollers and massagers."
Posting about her barefoot journey on her Youtube channel 'Els Ventures', El has even impressively climbed Mount Snowdon barefoot, and has received a huge mix of responses with some cheering her on and some telling her she is irresponsible.
"Some people are impressed and cheering me on but I definitely feel a bit of an oddball," she admits.
"Some people tell me I'm stupid and irresponsible, especially when I was climbing Snowdon by one of the most dangerous routes. On the day I was even nervous about doing it barefoot but when I was up there I was confident and knew it was a good idea.
"Shoes to most people are most important when doing a climb but I don't believe it, I think I'm perfectly safe as I wouldn't have done it barefoot without doing it first in shoes it was my fifth time doing it so I knew what I was in for and was fine.
"It could be tiring and it can be painful at times as it was a rocky path, but I'm confident in my bare feet and I love pushing myself to these challenges.
"When I was transitioning from normal shoes to barefoot it was tricky. My feet were used to being tightly constrained and having thick soles on my shoes so my muscles have to adjust to walking like that but it's not the anatomically correct way to walk.
"Wearing shoes affects your knees, spine and neck so when did the first hike barefoot I couldn’t walk for three days after as my feet weren't ready for it.
"Want to share how it has changed my life as it has had such a positive impact on me and I want people to try and make decisions about their bodies for themselves.
"I don't blindly follow social norms, if it is sensible then I will follow it but I try to think about the things and assumptions people make for us and how we should live our lives.
"I feel like we should make decisions for ourselves rather than being told what to do by following someone else's opinion."
* This headline has been updated to correct that El was not banned from ASDA but was asked to leave a store.
