Our Story

Just a couple of brothers who were tired of their dogs barking.

Background

Mad Dog Barefoot was founded by me, Mason Madsen, and my twin brother Gabe. A couple of kids from a small town in Northern Wisconsin who made it to the highest levels of basketball — High Major D1, the NBA G League, and professionally overseas. But we aren't content just making it. We want to keep elevating and keep finding new ways to get better. At that level, you learn fast: every advantage matters.We obsessed over everything — training, nutrition, recovery, film. No stone unturned.

Back in college, we became increasingly interested in the barefoot movement. We started working out barefoot as much as possible and experimenting with minimalist shoes — strengthening our feet, attacking the root cause of so many common issues, and reconnecting with the only thing that actually connects us to the ground: our feet. The results were undeniable.

But we quickly realized we weren't getting the full benefit. Minimalist shoes without toe socks still left our toes cramped and restricted — defeating half the purpose. So we went looking for a performance toe sock that could actually keep up. We couldn't find one.

And the best part? You don't need minimalist shoes to feel the difference. Whatever you're already wearing, toe socks will change the way your feet perform inside them.

Obviously, you can't play basketball barefoot. But that doesn't mean you have to play disconnected. We kept searching for ways to correct our movement patterns and get back in touch with the way our feet were naturally designed to move — and that search led us to toe socks.

For the first time, our feet could move the way they were designed to. Locked in. Stable. Powerful. The difference was immediate and obvious: this is what every athlete needs.

The socks are just the beginning.

The Name

I've got to take a second to give Gabe all the credit for this one.

After weeks of struggling to name the company, the moment finally came from the most unexpected place. I was sitting in Sweden one night after practice. Gabe was in Sioux Falls. We hopped on to play Fortnite together — one of the ways we stayed connected and talked business. (The company gave us a great excuse to log so many hours, not gonna lie.)

As soon as I put my headset on, I heard Gabe say: “I've got it. Mad Dog Barefoot. Don't make your dogs mad.”

Instantly, I loved it. We spent the next minute just yelling — both of us knew we had it.

The name works on every level. “Mad” plays off our last name, Madsen. The “mad dog” nickname has been tossed around playfully in our family going all the way back to when our dad was young. And then there's the double meaning — your feet are your dogs, and for too long, we'd all been making our dogs mad by not treating them right.

No need for mad dogs anymore.

Wear Mad Dog Barefoot.