Bills WR Mack Hollins is an eight-year NFL veteran, Super Bowl champion and one of the most interesting people in the league.
Let him give TikTok Tutorials on dancing and housekeeping, making his way to the end zone or say what he thinks about NFL Network’s “GMFB,” Hollins’ personality always shines through. And even though he wears Jordan 1 cleats on the court, Hollins does almost everything else without shoes on his feet.
In recent years, Hollins has made a conscious choice to go barefoot in his daily life, opting to go shoeless and sock-free while working out, traveling to games, warming up, walking in public and, yes, during instructional TikTok videos.
There’s a method behind Hollins’ perceived madness. The 30-year-old attributed the lifestyle change to Muscle Therapies in Melbourne, Australiaa group that takes a holistic approach to exercise rehabilitation.
Ahead of Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season, The Jugo Mobile spoke with MMT senior bodybuilders Aaron Kiegaldie and Marcus “Ninja” Sinfield for a better understanding of Hollins’ journey and how choosing to go barefoot benefited his NFL career.
Why does Mack Hollins walk barefoot?
Simply put, Hollins goes barefoot because of the health benefits and durability on the football field.
Hollins’ relationship with MMT began in 2019 when he was contemplating retirement due to groin issues that were preventing him from playing. With the help of his partner, Hollins found a video of Ninja working on Kiegaldie’s groin and knew it was the type of treatment needed for his ongoing issues.
A connection was made and Hollins began to see results, which led to a working relationship between him and the MMT duo, who flew to the US for more hands-on work, a process that highlighted the importance of training barefoot.
Ninja explained the benefits of working barefoot through the prism of proper landing and force absorption.
Our feet have a lot of nerve endings that send information to our brain about how we’re moving. Often when we’re moving, we land on our heels. So when we’re barefoot, we get the information that we’re not landing properly, that we’re not overcoming these breaking forces properly. We should be like a suspension rather than a hammer. That gives you information about what’s pure. We want to get back to pure biomechanics because that’s the most efficient biomechanics.
In addition to the biomechanics of force absorption, Ninja added that barefoot movements teach the body how to properly sprint, change direction, accelerate and decelerate.
By teaching these movements correctly, the risk of soft tissue injuries on the playing field is reduced.
Since establishing a relationship in 2019, Hollins has been taking time out of his schedule to train in Australia and the MMT duo has been traveling to the United States to work with Hollins, Kiegaldie explained. This offseason, Hollins’ work has included barefoot deadlifts, squats, sprints and more.
Their approach goes beyond the physical, tapping into the mental, spiritual, emotional and psychological elements of the process, Ninja and Kiegaldie said. The duo praised Hollins’ commitment on those fronts, adding that he has never missed a session in their five-plus years of working together.
It’s hard to deny Hollins’ buy-in, as he proudly sports jerseys that read “Free Your Feet” in all caps during pregame warmups. The 30-year-old talks the talk and, literally, walks the walk.
As Hollins’ barefoot lifestyle continues to make headlines throughout the 2024 season, don’t lose sight of the fact that that lifestyle has also impacted his ability to make plays.
