Nike Releases Self-Tying Shoes for Back to the Future Day
This past Wednesday, Oct. 21, was no ordinary Wednesday . If you have seen the 1989 film Back to the Future II, you would agree that this was a once in a lifetime day.
If you have never seen the movie, don’t worry, we’ll catch you up.
Back to the Future is a classic movie trilogy. These films tell the story of teenager Marty McFly and his time traveling quests with Dr. Emmett Brown, aka “Doc.” In the sequel to the first film, McFly and Doc travel into the future. To be exact: Wednesday, October 21, 2015.
Last Wednesday, you couldn’t go to any television or social media platform without being informed about “Back to the Future Day.” People were either posting about their favorite parts from the trilogy or dressing up as their favorite character from the films. Later on that night, Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show featured Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, who play McFly and Doc in the Back to the Future series.
To top it off, Nike had a special announcement planned that would change the world of shoe wear forever. The night before Oct. 21, Nike tweeted at Fox’s personal twitter account with this message:
Could Nike really have made the famous “self-tying” shoes that were shown in the 1989 sci-fi film?
As if things couldn’t get any more exciting, Fox then tweeted this photo of a letter that was sent to him by shoe designer Tinker Hatefield. He then added, “Thanks Nike.”
The name of these shoes is the 2015 Nike Mags. Even though Fox was the first one to wear a living pair, other people can wear these shoes too. The shoes are scheduled for a limited release and will be auctioned off. All of the money that these auctions collect will go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. This foundation’s main goal is furthering Parkinson’s research.
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1992. He then created the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000. This is a disease where victims have a disorder in their central nervous system that affects their motor skills. People who have Parkinson’s are seen to have “tremors” where their limbs are moving involuntarily; amongst other signs and symptoms.
Self-tying shoes like the 2015 Nike Mags could be very beneficial for people like Fox who suffer from Parkinson’s or even the elderly who have trouble doing simple tasks like tying one’s shoes.
Here is a video of Fox trying on his pair of Nike Mags.
So, even if the film didn’t correctly predict a Cub’s World Series win (almost), hover boards that are accessible to the general public, or Jaws 19 (thank the Lord), these self-tying shoes are just enough to get us excited about the future.
As Marty McFly would say, “This is heavy.”
Sources: ABC News, National Parkinsons Foundation
