Steven Sashen is the CEO of Xero Shoes.

Xero Shoes is a type and brand of lightweight minimalist footwear for walking, running, and athletics, the footwear has thin and flexible soles that are contoured to the shape of the human foot. Xero Shoes was featured on ABC's Shark Tank and gained success after the show's appearance.

A high-school sprinter, Steven Sashen got back into the sport after a 30-year break. However, after two years of injury-prone competition, he joined a local barefoot running club in Boulder, CO at the suggestion of a friend who gave him a copy of Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. As a result of running barefoot, his gait changed and injuries abated.

Sashen wanted to continue the barefoot experience in areas which required foot covering, so he developed his own modern huarache-style sandal similar to those worn by the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico’s Copper Canyon, consisting of a thin rubber sole sourced from Vibram in Italy and nylon-polypropylene laces (this original style is now sold as the Xero Shoes "Cherry" in the classic kit).

The Xero Shoes have been my favorite minimalist shoes and shoes in general. I learned a lot speaking with Steven the first time so I was glad to be able share some of the information he shared with me.