Inventor Karl Müller III
Karl Müller III is the inventor of the kybun air-cushion technology and the founder of kybun AG, the company that manufactures kybun shoes.
The health-shoe pioneer
Karl Müller is a Swiss ETH engineer and movement scientist who developed the air-cushion technology to relieve musculoskeletal pain and improve mobility. He made the original discovery while walking in rice fields in Korea and has since dedicated his life to developing and refining the technology. Müller is a pioneer in the field of biomechanical research and has filed numerous patents for his inventions.
«I take joy in seeing people walk pain-free again thanks to my shoes. In the kybun shoe you don’t walk — you float. The walk-on-air feeling is unique.»
Karl Müller, Dipl. Ing. ETH, movement technologist
kybun should be preserved across generations
Karl Müller is a visionary of the shoe industry who has significantly influenced companies like Nike and Skechers.
In his eventful career he experienced many highs and lows. Today Karl Müller enjoys life as a self-sufficient farmer. He researches daily for new ways to enable people to move without pain.
Karl Müller’s discovery in the rice field
The basic principle in the shoe industry has long been that the shoe must support and guide the foot. Doctors still prescribe orthopedic insoles today for foot, knee, hip, and back problems. The root causes of these complaints, such as lack of strength, coordination, and mobility of the foot, are often not recognized and only the symptoms are treated.
From the rice-field principle to kybun
A strong foot is the solution to the most common back, hip, knee, vein, and foot problems, as well as for preventing overweight and falls in old age. Most musculoskeletal complaints begin in the foot. This can be illustrated schematically by two bottles (see illustration). When the bottle stands on its base, it is stable. As with a skyscraper, the foundation is the widest part and the construction narrows as it goes up.
The foundation must still be elastic and dynamic so that it can, for example, withstand an earthquake. As with a high-rise building, the foundation (the foot) must be the strongest component of the human body to remain in good condition for a long time. When the foot is weakened, the body reacts like a bottle standing on its cap. In this position the bottle is no longer stable. The same applies to the body. A weak foot leads to overload symptoms in all joints, e.g. in the sacroiliac joint (the connection point between the spine and the pelvis) and in the spine.
The elastic, springy kybun sole activates the entire foot musculature while walking. This is the most important prerequisite for a natural walking posture, because the foot, the foundation of the human body, must be dynamically strong to absorb shocks and guide the body into an upright posture.
Left: Unstable – feet and body weak
Right: Stable – strong, fast-acting feet
