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On an epic 3,100-mile walk across the US, ‘Barefoot Dutchman’ delivers a message for struggling men

And according to Anton Nootenboom, walking 3,100 miles in bare feet isn't the bravest part

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Chris Dillmann
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Anton Nootenboom, of the Netherlands, who goes by the 'Barefoot Dutchman,' walks along the Gore Creek Trail Saturday near East Vail. Nootenboom is walking across the country to raise awareness and funds for men's mental health.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

How do you walk 3,100 miles across the United States? For Dutch citizen Anton Nootenboom, it’s a journey he is taking one step at a time — all without shoes on his feet.

Nootenboom, also known as the “Barefoot Dutchman,” is walking from Los Angeles to New York to raise awareness and funds for men’s mental health. He chose to walk the entire country barefoot because of the challenge it poses, including opting to take a route through the Rocky Mountains and Eagle County.

“Sometimes picking a harder way makes your life easier, as weird as that may sound,” he said during a recent interview with the Vail Daily. “I thought if there’s one place I hope to create some positive change and start this ripple effect of breaking that stigma, it’s here in the States.”

Globally, Nootenboom said one man ends his life by suicide every minute, while in the United States, on average, a man takes his life every 14 minutes. The suicide rates among veterans are even higher.

“Here in the States, it’s exceptionally high,” he said.

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Nootenboom said he’s trying to raise awareness for men’s mental health by taking on a challenge most could never imagine.

He started his walk in Santa Monica in February and hopes to reach Times Square in Manhattan by October. Not only is he walking the whole way barefoot, but Nootenboom said he won’t wear socks or shoes until he reaches his goal.

“There’s so much in between that could happen, but I just want to get to New York before winter starts,” he said.

Anton Nootenboom walks along the Eagle Valley Trail on Friday in Avon. During the day, Nootenboom covered around 26 miles walking through Eagle County.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

‘Doing the hard thing makes life go easy’

The hardest part so far has been the Mojave Desert with bare rocks feeling like Legos underfoot and route adjustments. The barren landscape took a toll on his feet.

He said the scenic vistas and the smooth paths of Eagle County have been a welcome change.

“I’m flying over these bike lanes,” Nootenboom said last week. “I’m living the dream right now. It feels like a magic carpet on my feet compared to what I’ve walked on before.”

His love for nature and the desire to see wildlife that he normally wouldn’t see, such as bears and moose, has given him a deep appreciation for the beauty of the mountains.

Anton Nootenboom takes video for social media in the rain Friday while moving through Vail Village. He said the area reminds him of a European ski town, with an American touch.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

“It feels like I’m in Switzerland or Austria, with an American touch,” he said. “It’s (barefoot) something very out of the ordinary and challenging that does the trick to get the attention to get the awareness.”

Nootenboom said he wants to change the perspective and stigma surrounding men’s mental health. Doing his walk barefoot helps spark the conversation of wanting men to feel brave, and speaking up is brave he said. He credits the human body and mind as being capable of so much more than they get credit for. He didn’t do any training or practice to prepare for this journey.

Nootenboom is trying to average six to nine hours of walking per day. On harder sections, he was going slower, traveling less than 10 miles a day. But traveling through Eagle County, he was able to walk 26 miles in a day from Wolcott to Vail.

“Doing the hard thing makes life go easy,” he said. “When you get comfortable with the uncomfortable, life becomes easy.”

Anton Nootenboom, who goes by the “Barefoot Dutchman,” walks through Avon on Friday. Nootenboom is making a 3,100-mile journey across the country.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

Crossing the mountains in May poses some notable challenges. Between the possibility of snow and route choices, Nootenboom plans to take things as they come. That includes trying to get access to walk through the Eisenhower Tunnel — otherwise, he’ll have to go over Loveland Pass, which will add days to his journey.

“I’m going to take it day by day and surprise by surprise,” he said. “There is always a solution.”

The start of a long journey

Nootenboom’s journey began far before he decided to start trekking across places without shoes to deal with his mental health issues. He served in the Dutch Army for 10 years, logging three tours in Afghanistan, but he said it wasn’t the combat that caused his mental health to decline.

During his decade of service, he said all he needed to think about was “dressing up like a bush.” But after he got out of the army, a life that had been about achieving goals had been taken away, stripping him of his identity.

Anton Nootenboom exits his tent after waking up Saturday near East Vail. Even when he’s sleeping, Nootenboom said he will not wear socks. He’ll only put something on his feet when his journey from Los Angeles to New York is complete
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

He moved to Australia and had hopes of traveling the world, but the pressure of life started catching up with him. At the time, he said he had the mindset that men don’t cry and that he should just deal with it by sweeping his thoughts and feelings under the rug.

It wasn’t until he was standing on the edge of a cliff in Sydney that he realized he didn’t actually want to die.

 “Luckily I scared myself in that moment, I stumbled back and that was the start of my healing process without knowing it yet,” Nootenboom said.

He started seeing a mental health and spiritual coach with the help of a friend from The Netherlands, which gave him the building blocks to change. Most importantly, he said he finally began to talk about what he was going through.

Anton Nootenboom’s feet show the wear and tear of walking across the country as he walks barefoot through Avon on Friday.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

Walking the beach every day talking to the same people, they’d ask how he was doing and he would say he was fine. But he wasn’t.

“Then I realized, why am I lying to people that are genuinely asking how I’m doing?” he said. “And every time I shared how I was actually doing, I realized I’m not alone.”

The revelation that he wasn’t by himself made him recognize that if others could come out, he could, too. He began working on what he calls his mental fitness. People work on their physical fitness at the gym or through daily exercise, but he realized they also need to work out their brains as well.

Anton Nootenboom warms his feet Saturday in East Vail. Nootenboom camps where he can while on his journey.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

“We still have this belief that it’s a weakness to speak up, show emotion and be vulnerable,” Nootenboom said. “I want to break that stigma. I want to show it’s courageous, it’s brave.”

Nootenboom attributes mental health problems associated with men and how it translates to women, affecting them more because men can’t handle their problems. Those problems can influence women, resulting in a higher depression rate for women, yet a lower suicide rate, he said. It’s a statistic he claims shows women have been able to be stronger than men regarding emotional awareness.

‘Follow the Dutchman’

Nootenboom became the first person to trek to Mount Everest Base camp barefoot, then earned entry into the Guinness Book of World Records by walking across Australia barefoot, covering about 1,876 miles in 163 days. After that feat, he said he would never do anything like that again.

But there he was last week, walking through Eagle County while trying to cover 3,100 miles across the United States barefoot, all while hoping to cause a ripple effect of positive change with each step.

While walking across the desert in Utah, Nootenboom met Chris Edwards. Edwards was so inspired that he is now helping Nootenboom on his journey.

Anton Nootenboom, of the Netherlands, who goes by the “Barefoot Dutchman,” continues his journey Friday in Avon.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

Edwards said he was traveling in his van and followed his gut feeling to the town of Hanksville. Seeing Nootenboom’s van, he said he was drawn like a magnet to it. After sparking up a conversation, Edwards kicked off his flip-flops and walked 2 miles barefoot with Nootenboom. But when the pain got too intense, he put his sandals back on and walked another 2 miles with Nootenboom.

The two parted ways and that night, Edwards was writing in his journal chronicling the experience yet couldn’t shake the message. A voice in his head said, “Follow the Dutchman.” Edwards said at the time, he was battling his own demons while struggling to open up and be brave — the exact message Nootenboom was trying to pass along.

“This is the lesson I needed right when I needed it,” Edwards said.

He said he felt an obligation to make sure Nootenboom got through his state.

“I just don’t want him dying in my state,” Edwards said.

Anton Nootenboom plans the next section of his route Saturday near East Vail. Logistics play a large roll in his journey, including where to stop to go to the bathroom, eat and sleep.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

But after crossing into Colorado, Edwards stayed in tow with the next goal of getting Nootenboom to Grand Junction. Taking a little break to go home and tie up his life, the two are still traveling together.

“So here I am almost a month later just making sure this guy makes it,” Edwards said. “I don’t know how long I’m going to go, but that’s the plan now — is follow the Dutchman.”

Having walked with him only a minuscule amount of time, Edwards said he knows how much each step hurts and wants to help in whatever way he can.

“I know every single step hurts him so what can I do to help relieve that,” Edwards said. “Every single step I can tell hurts.”

Nootenboom also has had help from his girlfriend, who went on holiday to refresh, but will meet back up with him on May 30 in Denver. It’s the support of people that Nootenboom said is the only way that makes this journey possible.

Nootenboom and Edwards say there are so many logistics that go into such a journey — from where to camp, where to get food, and even public toilets. Also, the costs for such a journey are not cheap. Gas, food and lodging all add up — which is why getting sponsors is crucial.

Ironically, Nootenboom’s largest sponsor is a footwear company called Barebarics.

“It’s a full-time job helping,” Edwards said. “It’s a lot of work.”

But Nootenboom said the costs and pain are all worth it because he can spread the message and help as many people as possible. With funds raised at Bravementalk.com, he will use donations to help benefit Movember, the leading charity helping to change the face of men’s health.

Anton Nootenboom moves along the Eagle Valley Trail in Avon on Friday.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

Reactions from people so far have been nothing but positive, he said. Many people stop along the way and talk with him. There have also been plenty of free lunches, free places to stay and free showers and other gestures, big and small. Nootenboom’s encounters with law enforcement have been helpful when people call the police not knowing what he is doing. This leads to Nootenboom explaining to officers his goals, which often leads to them saying they will look out for him and help in any way possible.

Nootenboom says the whole thing is very unconventional, but whatever it takes to get his message out is all that matters.

“People are wondering if I might have mental health issues walking barefoot across the country, fair enough, I get that,” Nootenboom said. “It’s the barefoot thing that does the trick to get the attention.”

To help and follow The Barefoot Dutchman’s journey, follow him @thebarefoot_dutchman and BraveMenTalk.com.

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