In Robert Zemeckis’ “Back to the Future II”, Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly travels forward in time to the present to a small town in California on 21st October 2015.
Most of the high-tech items in the film are fictional, including the self-lacing Nike Mag shoes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28Wa5L-fkkM
However, those pair of futuristic shoes will soon become a reality.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) joined Nike in announcing the debut of the self-lacing Nike Mag shoes in spring 2016. In a coordinated effort, they also presented the first pair of the shoes to Michael J. Fox.
Legendary Nike shoe designer Tinker Hatfield apparently teased the special gift through a handwritten letter.
He told Fox:
We wanted you to be the first to receive a pair… In addition to your personal pair, we’re creating more pairs for support in aid of the Foundation in 2016.
Take a look at the letter below:
The letter I received from Tinker today. Thanks @Nike pic.twitter.com/UIolXrkUVC
— Michael J. Fox (@realmikefox) October 21, 2015
In a press statement, Nike, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Parker revealed that they “started creating something for fiction”. And now, they “turned it into fact”.
He added:
By imagining the future, we create it. Product that comes alive, with on-demand comfort and support when you need, product that senses you and adapts to you is right around the corner.
Through their official Twitter account, the MJFF posted a photo and a video of Fox trying on the very first pair of self-lacing Nike Mag sneakers.
Look at him!:
This is real. This is today. Coming spring 2016. cc: @RealMikeFox @Nike pic.twitter.com/KPswXNojvA
— michaeljfox.org (@MichaelJFoxOrg) October 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/MichaelJFoxOrg/status/656929718084739072
Nike and MJFF have previously collaborated to release 1,500 pairs of non-self-lacing version of the shoes in 20111.
A 10-day auction for the limited edition shoes was held by the renowned sports brand to benefit MJFF. The auction managed to raise more than USD9.4 million for MJFF. It helped speed their efforts to find a cure for Parkinson’s and drew critical awareness to the importance of Parkinson’s research.
It is unclear how many pairs of the 2015 Nike Mag will be made available, but the 2015 Nike Mag as a limited edition release that will only be available via auction, with all proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
The specific details on the auctions will be posted via Nike News and via Twitter @Nike in Spring 2016.
Meanwhile, the President of the United States Barack Obama turned out to be a “Back to the Future” fan too. In honour of #BTTFDAY, he reached out to Fox on Twitter and said:
Happy Back to the Future Day, @RealMikeFox! Ever think about the fact that we live in the future we dreamed of then? That's heavy, man.
— President Obama (@POTUS44) October 21, 2015
Fox seemed genuinely touched by this as he responded to his tweet by saying:
Mr. President, I never dreamed I'd be talking about the future with someone who's making History. https://t.co/i5swY8ksEB
— Michael J. Fox (@realmikefox) October 21, 2015
Awwww. Such cuteness! And those shoes. We desperately want a pair of those shoes. Who’s with us?
Sources: Nike, The Michael J. Fox Foundation.
