A shoe changed Cinderella's life, Michael too

You probably know the Air Jordans, I've already told you about them and how my teenage son succumbed to their siren-like charms.

Well, after seeing the 'Air' movie, it's even clearer to me that these shoes changed the basketball shoe industry for the worse.

I'm not going to tell you the movie, just two things:

• At that time Nike was nobody in the basketball world

• The details that made the difference between making a functional or an aesthetic shoe

Keep the latter.

When Nike is designing the first prototype of Air shoes to show them to Jordan, they hesitate between making a functional shoe, that is to say, a shoe that would not hinder or squeeze Michael's feet, or an aesthetic shoe.

As Nike was desperate, they opted for beauty, aesthetics, and made a first spectacular prototype that caught Jordan's attention.

And when they are presenting it to him, they tell him:

Don't worry Michael, we'll make them lower for you, we'll remove the cushioning and we'll use the shape of your feet.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

What Nike's chief designer tells Jordan is that they are going to make him what we now call minimalist shoes.

• Low-cut, so as not to interfere with your ankle movements

• Without cushioning and with few layers, so that he can feel the ground and not lose stabilit

• With the shape of his feet, wider at the front than at the back, so as not to spoil his toes.

And there's more, Jordan wants them to be made of leather, a natural material that yields with use, allowing the shoes to become a glove.

That's it, all clear.

For Michael, minimalist shoes.

For you, to sell them, very nice shoes, but as bad for your feet as a toothache in the middle of the night.

If you are like Michael Jordan, who cares more about the health of your feet, than how pretty they are, you will do well to look for minimalist shoes.

The ones I recommend you can use them to go to the gym, do calisthenics, crossfit and, why not, play basketball.

• Vapor Glove 6 for women

• Vapor Glove 6 for men

And if you want them for their aesthetics, but that still take care of your feet like Jordan's, these ones:

• Groundies Tallin for men

• Groundies Nova for woman

Health starts with your feet

Antonio Caballo