Welcome to MH Voices!
Through MH Voices’ “In Her Shoes” Series, we will be highlighting women from all walks of life with their own visions to change the world for the better, literally from her own shoes.
Our first in this series will be Dr.Mika Hayashi, the founder of MIKA HAYASHI. We will be publishing articles interviewing her on what inspires her and what keeps her going!
“Placeholder quote goes here.”
Eiko: The brand MIKA HAYASHI is finally launched! I think it would inspire so many entrepreneurs to know what initially motivated you to start the shoe brand?
Mika: Sure. My initial inspiration goes back many years - it was during my 3rd-year as a medical student. Since I have flat feet, I always wondered why my feet got tired so easily when I walked - I was a young swimmer and long distance runner. After I learned about the lower extremity anatomy and biomechanics at podiatry school in NYC on how to prevent those problems, I just felt that I must share what I learned with other people!
So during my 3rd year winter break, without sleeping much, I remember vividly learning how to make a website by myself, signed up for 1&1.com server, typing “coding” using a DIY website - it was non-stop night and day. I then finally published my first website called “Foot Care Center Online” to increase awareness for people but no one saw it at that time!
Eiko: So before you were designing shoes, your initial passion was to share what you learned about podiatry - and you turned to building a website!
Mika: I guess I was desperate to share what I was learning with others but I didn’t know how. I cried by myself for starting this without thinking of how to get my audience - but years later, many of the pages I created at the time were used for our office website when our office opened, so my time wasn’t completely wasted after all which was great!
Eiko: So how did this experience lead to you ultimately starting to design your own shoes?
Mika: I like to apply what I learned to practical things, so I started sketching my dream heels for the summer. The reason why I came up with open mules/sandals first was because that was the hardest type to fix - making sandals comfortable is very difficult.
If it’s closed shoes, like sneakers or your dress shoes, your foot doctor will recommend and put orthotics or over the counter arch support. And you can get some comfort. After patients get educated that having an arch is important, they will come and say “what about the summer?” That part, no doctor has nailed it and they always say, wear those shoes only occasionally or recommend open arch-embedded sandals like Birkenstocks or Crocs etc. I just thought there was a hypocrisy or discrepancy here. It didn’t make sense!
During my time as a medical student, I used to walk and window shop at department stores to see if anything I imagined was out there. And I was also dreaming that someday I will come up with my own invention and I will bring a revolution to the existing shoes like what Steve Job did in the digital industry.
Eiko: A revolution! I love how you thought of tackling the problem from the most difficult one. Your vision really began during medical school and what a journey that is. It’s really a testament to the strength of your passion. I am sure we will see sandals in the line up of the MIKA HAYASHI brand in the very near future!
To be continued… In the next article, we will learn about how being in NYC inspired her to start the brand!
