No other futuristic film has captured our hearts as much as 1985’s Back To The Future. The 1989 sequel showed Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, in the year 2015 riding a wheel-free anti-gravity skateboard, the hoverboard, while wearing self-lacing high-cut kicks, which was soon dubbed by fans as “the greatest shoe never made.”

In September 2011, the shoe finally came to life. The Nike Mag is a near replica of the original pair that Michael wore in the film, down to the LED panel in the sole and electroluminescent logo in the strap. It’s too bad that the self-lacing technology didn’t make it, despite Nike filing for an automatic lacing system in 2009. But don’t worry, the makers of the shoe reassured fans, “It’s not 2015 yet,” hinting a 2.0 version of Nike Mag.

On September 18, 1500 pairs of Nike Mag were auctioned off on eBay. All net proceeds of the 10-day auction went directly to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which funds research and awareness about Parkinson’s disease. The 50-year-old actor has been battling the disease since 1991.

All 1500 pairs were purchased by collectors, fans, supporters and sneakerheads worldwide. I was fortunate enough to see a legitimate pair in person. Chups Shop showed off their pairs of Nike Mag at last weekend’s Sole Slam Manila, a convention of sneakerheads in the Philippines.

I gawked at the P320,000 reselling price tag and decided that I’ll invest in original DVDs of Back To The Future instead. Now if only a skateboard company would patent a hoverboard…

December 16, 2011