The Nike MAG is a limited editionshoe created by Nike Inc. It is a replica of a shoe featured in the motion picture, Back to the FuturePart II. The Nike Mag was originally released for sale in 2011 and again in 2016. Both launches were of limited quantities. The 2011 release was limited to 1,500 pairs, while the 2016 release was limited to 89 pairs.
History
Back to the Future, in a trilogy of films, was a box office success. In 1989, Nike Inc. designer Tinker Hatfield was asked to create a shoe for the second installment of the series, which was partly set in the then-futuristic year of 2015. The shoe had features such as light-up panels and self-fastening laces.
Redesign
Over 15 years later, an online petition that asked for the return of the shoes caught the attention of Tinker Hatfield. He and footwear innovator Tiffany Beers worked on the redesign for approximately six years and had to restart about three times. After thousands of hours of work, the shoes were a replica of the 1989 Nike MAG worn by Marty McFly. The shoes feature an electroluminescent out-sole, space age materials, and a rechargeable internal battery good for 3,000 hours. They are the first rechargeable pair of footwear by Nike. Power laces, a prominent feature of the shoe in the film, are not present.
Durability
Nike has stated Mag is not meant for heavy activity and should not be worn for recreational purposes. They were produced mostly for display.
2011 release
A limited quantity of 1,500 pairs were auctioned on eBay on September 8, 2011 and proceeds were being dedicated to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's disease research. Online sales of the shoe ranged between US$2,300 and US$9,959. 10 additional pairs, packaged in presentation boxes, were sold exclusively by Nike at live auctions around the world, for a total of 1,510 pairs. A total of US$4.7 million was raised from the online auctions. Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, and his wifeAnne Wojcicki agreed to match all donations of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, up to US$5 million up to the end of 2011. This brought the total proceeds from the online auctions to US$9.4 million.
2016 release
On October 21, 2015, which is the same date Marty McFly visited the future in Back to the Future Part II, Nike unveiled a self-lacing version of the Nike Mag which was scheduled to go on sale March 20, 2016. The release was delayed to October 4, 2016. Michael J. Fox was the first to get the shoes from Nike in October 2015. On October 4, 2016 Nike opened a raffle for the Nike Mag where anyone could purchase a ticket for $10, but the raffle was limited to 89 pairs. All proceeds would be donated to Parkinson's research. Nike raised $6.75 million for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
