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A 37-year-old Dutch army veteran by the name of Anton Nootenboom just set a new world record after walking barefoot from Los Angeles to New York City in the span of 260 days, a journey that he completed this past weekend a day ahead of the NYC Marathon.
Anton Nootenboom goes by ‘the barefoot dutchman’ on social media and he embarked on this record-setting walk in order to raise awareness and money for men’s mental health which has historically received disproportionately less coverage and emphasis than mental health for women. During his 3,100 mile walk, he raised over $92,000 and saved 3,698 lives according to the count on his website, bravementalwalk.com.
As part of the world record attempt, he had to make the entire 3,100 mile trip completely barefoot.This meant he wasn’t allowed to wrap his toes in bandaids if (when) they got tore up. He had to remain 100% barefoot.
Walking Barefoot For Mental Health And A World Record
According to the New York Post, who was there on Saturday when Anton Nootenboom completed his journey, putting on socks and shoes was the very first thing he was looking forward to after the trip which began all the way back on February 17th of this year. Asked about his shoes and socks, Nootenboom told the Post “They’ll be there, right at the finish line. I almost forgot what it feels like.”
The Barefoot Dutchman chronicled his trip on social media. He has picked up nearly 800K followers on TikTok, 279K followers on Instagram, and 190K followers on Facebook over the course of his journey. Interestingly, his most popular video on TikTok throughout the entire journey came back in April, barely two months into his attempt, when he completed his first 1,000 kilometers:
His third-most popular video really showcases how special of an experience this was for him. That video racked up 1.8 million views and shows the kindness of all the people he met along the way:
A tagline on his website reads “The world record has been broken, but the mission continues. Let’s speak up, donate, and save lives.” And that really sums it up. He was out there to raise awareness for men’s mental health and funds for those in need, particularly for early mental health intervention so men in need can receive necessary help before it is too late.
He also shared his experience on Instagram here bak in March (see the caption):
It is hard to fathom what it was like to walk across the desert, mountains, through rain and scorching hot ground, all while barefoot. People in my life have always told me I have ‘Hobbit feet’ because I can withstand gravel and rocks and heat but I’m not sure I would make it a week in The West during the Summer. Here he is three months ago entering Kansas City:
Check out his website (link above) and his social media channels to learn more about his journey.