I got molded for my racing boots!

I just got my boots molded by Aaron. I'm very grateful that he was able to accomodate me because he's flying out to his European racing adventure this week, and we managed to get mold socks from Sergio at the 11th hour after a bit of a scramble. I've been really nervous about the whole process of getting custom boots because of the various people I know or have chatted with who had problems with theirs after paying a hefty amount for them. The worst thing for me would be to get these and then being in pain when I'm skating. I know I don't have stock feet however (flat footed!), so I knew that customs would be the route I had to go eventually. Fortunately both Travis and Morgan had theirs molded by Aaron and they had nothing but very positive things to say about their experience, so it was good to know I was in good hands.

The process was actually much simpler than I had imagined. For some reason I thought it would be more like the days back in the fine art studio in the basement of Ontario Hall at Queen's where we made body-casts out of bags of plaster and burlap. I honestly imagined that I would be sitting there for an hour waiting for plaster to set! Aaron wrapped my feet in seran wrap, and he rolled on the "mold sock" which he had heated in the oven, guided me into position on top of the footbeds which we pulled out of my rollerblades, sprayed it with water and held it in position while it set very quickly, and then cut me out of them (everyone who gets molded needs to have those plastic strips to make the slices easy and painless). I tried my best to keep my toes relaxed and not curled at all. The process wasn't stressful at all and actually kind of fun.

My molded feet are sitting on the table right now and I'm reminded of the joke about dirty socks that stand up on their own. That is what they look like to me. It's neat to look at your feet like that and it's cool to think that they will be making boots that are meant to fit me exactly. I've never had anything custom made like that before... I wonder if this is what getting measured and fitted for a custom made suit in Hong Kong was like for Mike when we visited there half a decade ago. Knowing that you are having something created specifically for you and your body's unique shape with all of it's individual idiosyncrasies.

The next step is contacting Glenn, putting the order in and then having them shipped to China! I will be getting the Bont Apache with 13" frame and 100 wheels.

I've been really wanting to get my racing boots for close to two years now, and I'm really happy to be finally taking the plunge and excited at the idea of getting them.