Meet the Saskatoon men who walk around barefoot or bare-legged — even if it's –31
On a Wednesday morning when an extreme cold warning had everyone around him bundled up in layer upon layer in downtown Saskatoon, Fred Chlan strode barefoot across a frozen sidewalk.
Standing nearby as a light wind made the –31 C feel like –41, Kody Manson was wearing a light jacket, T-shirt, shorts and sneakers.
It wasn't a coincidence — the two men were in the area for a requested interview with CBC Saskatoon Morning — but the clothing they were wearing was not for show.
It's their standard winter wear.
The two are known to turn heads for their unique takes on what is acceptable to wear as temperatures dip into what many, including Environment Canada, consider dangerous territory.
For Manson, the outerwear includes no pants. For Chlan, it's no shoes.
They both get weird looks, offhand comments and nicknames (Manson's is "shorts guy"), but only one of them has found themselves with no service.
Chlan has been declined from businesses for not wearing shoes. He's also had 911 called on him for reports of an unstable man walking towards a grocery store.
What about frostbite?
Going barefoot is not for beginners, Chlan said.
He acknowledges that there is a tingly, painful feeling in the extremities when they're not getting enough blood. The way to prevent that, he says, is to fight the fear and tell yourself the following:
"Oh, blood has to run through fingers and toes."
But if someone is feeling that pain, they should get indoors, he said.
"I can actually breathe this thing out and I can stretch that heat that's going into the toes."
An act of defiance against pants
Manson's mentality is quite different from Chlan's. When Manson gets up in the morning and puts on shorts, it's an act of defiance against pants.
"I've been a solid six-foot-four since I was twelve, with a tiny waist, so pants have never really quite fit," Manson said.
His commitment to wearing shorts year-round started when he moved from his remote home community in 2011 and started going to the University of Saskatchewan.
Now removed from the risk of getting stranded on a highway or the winter-wear guidelines he faced when travelling on the school bus, he has the freedom to leave pants behind.
But sometimes pants win. When he's outdoors in the cold for more than an hour, or doing something he deems dangerous, he puts on a pair.
Chlan, too, has his limits. When it gets below –45, he says, his feet crack so he puts on a pair of boots. The other limit is societal: he carries flip-flops or boots to slip on if he's at a place that won't allow him to go barefoot.
He started going barefoot about 14 years ago.
"I like that feeling — you know that feeling in the forest, on the beach? — and then, I mean, just kick your shoes off and then just walk through fresh snow. That's really fun," he said.
Admittedly, he said, part of it was a "look at me kind of thing."
Going barefoot full-time was a slow build for Chlan. At first, the kung fu instructor would go barefoot wearing a sarong to start his car.
His full commitment started one day when his car wouldn't start and he ended up outdoors in –40 C weather for more than seven minutes.
It was a mental challenge for him that gives him a childlike sense of exhilaration.
"This was a nice way just to have a little fun and be a little reckless," Chlan said.
Want to try?
Manson said grit and determination are key to the no-pants life.
Starting his car on those days that dip into temperatures that feel like –50 or –60 can put him in a place where he questions everything.
"You start really wondering, 'Why am I doing something wrong?' But then this is just kind of the life you put yourself into and it's just kind of another day," he said.
Chlan has some bold advice for people interested in his choice.
"Naked snow angels is a good way to start, probably, at about ... zero or minus five, just jump out there and away you go," he said.
"We're kind of caught up in a lot of this in our heads type of thing. And the benefits are that, yeah, you're quite relaxed with people."
