Useful Links and Referrals
These are links to outside websites. This is an eclectic mix of health and sports related businesses that I have personal experience with and believe in what they are doing personally or as a company.
Massage Therapy
Broadway Wellness A great selection of massage therapists
Homeopathy and Naturopathy
Dr. Kelly Fujibayashi Naturopathic Physician – Family Medicine
Broadway Wellness Two Naturopathic Doctors available
Pilates
Full Circle Pilates A great selection of Stott Pilates classes, instructors, and conductors
Ski Boots, skis, and Mountain Bikes
Fanatyk Co Custom Fit Ski Boots, Skis, Mountain Bikes
Cycling and Mountain Biking
Mighty Riders Road, mountain, and touring bikes; Bike fitting (Ed-who also happens to be an encyclopedia of all things bikes), and bike related things such as shoes and clothing also at their On the Rivet store
Bike Fitting Noa Deutsch is an excellent bike fitter among other things. You can also check out her website.
La Bicycletta Road Bikes, gear, fittings, free group rides
Shoes-Minimalist or barefoot- All zero drop or getting you there
Distance Runwear A great selection of zero drop, minimal drop, and varying stack heights for your running shoes (regular or trail) and people who know how to fit them and see if they are working for you while you are in the store. I went in to try a pair of Lems Primal 2’s (see below) for a pair kicks, I bought them and I went back and replaced my runners too. Two stores, one in Vancouver at Main and 32nd and one in North Van. I have sent a bunch of runners from my office there and they have all been impressed.
Carets Formal, classy, and barefoot- very well made dress shoes with traditional cobbler techniques; they look like they have a heel, but they don’t.. .they’re a barefoot shoe disguised as a traditional dress shoe… the heel is hollow and they’re super comfy!! I’ve met the founder/owner of the company and he brings integrity to his shoes.
Lems Shoes Minimalist, relaxed, and casual design-I love my Primal 2’s! My best casual barefoot/minimalist shoe since the Merrell Excursion, which is exctinct. If they made a leather version or a waterproof one, that would be truly awesome! I will definitely buy these again and I might even get a pair of the boots one day. Oh, and you can get these at Distance Runwear (see link above).
Camper These guys aren’t new and are apparently known for their funky designs. While most of their shoes don’t meet my shoe goals, their Peu shoe from their Iconic Line is absolutely great! The Peu Slastic model didn’t have the same quality feel, but the straight Peu is zero drop, barefoot design, in a smooth leather or suede finish shoe in different colours. I have the brown leather ones, I wear them at the office and walk to and from work ~18 blocks total a day, 3 days a week, all year long, in Vancouver, and their wear is phenomenal! Functional, attractive, and durable, seriously! One of the better soled shoes that I’ve owned.
Skora Minimalist running shoes with two different stack heights in their product line, I look forward to giving these a try. They have been going through a company restructuring and are hoping to have product again late 2017 (last I heard).
Women’s Boots-This, I have learned, deserves it’s own category. Sara loves boots, and while she was sad to let her hand-made leather boots go, we have put some work into finding boots that can work in Vancouver and Whistler while still being low-drop, low-stack height, and have flexible soles. So far they have all been waterproof too.
Helly Hansen The Skuld 4 boot. This series of boot has served us well and we have been very happy with the service from Helly Hansen in the Whistler Westin store especially (the other Whistler store is good too). Their a sailing company first, so they understand grip and function. Their other other boots have more drop and/or stiffer shanks/soles.
Bogs Check out their Summit series, they’re low drop, fairly mobile and waterproof. They used to have (2016) a series of leather boots with a similar sole and a nice/stylish leather upper, but they don’t seem to have them anymore so maybe keep an eye out for their return in in fall and winter. They definitely have a lot of footwear that has more drop and stiffer shank/soles, and they also look to have a bunch that look promising too.
Other
Realplans A website that plans your meals, ingredients, and shopping list depending on a big variety of dietary choices/restrictions and different types of food. Reasonably priced, haven’t tried it yet, but it makes a lot of sense if you don’t have time to put it all together, check it out!
Carina Organics Organic skin and body products in North Vancouver, they have a good Botanical Spray Deodorant and they can make their products sent free
NetworkSpinal
EpiEnergetics Personal and business growth and development
EpiEnergetics Foundation The research behind it all and outreach programs.
Donald Epstein (Developer of EpiEnergetics, NetworkSpinal, Network Spinal Analysis, Network Chiropractic, Somato Respiratory Integration, and Reorganizational Healing and Living)