No, not the market tanking again. That’s old news. Big news if you haven’t heard! You can see the AP report here!
Recently you saw the shoes, but now you can buy Michael J Fox’s hoverboard used in Back to the Future II & III.
I have always wanted one of these in the worst way. I was tempted to steal one when I was younger. I was in line for the Back to the Future ride at Universal Studios or whichever park it was. There was a few sitting around as props. I wanted to grab one and run. It looks like I could’ve saved myself over $30,000. It’s more likely that I saved myself from getting kicked out of the park and not to mention a ass beating from my dad though.
Yesterday, I wrote about the McFly 2015 Nikes seen in Back to the Future II. There’s been a lot of hype surrounding these works of art. Now a prototype of the real shoes seen in the movie have hit eBay. The catch is that you can only have one of them.
This is IT. The one and only original prototype of the Nike shoes Michael J. Fox wore in the movie Back To the Future II. You are bidding on a single shoe, not a pair. The shoe was designed as a working model, not a practical shoe, although it can be worn. It was worn once to the premiere of the movie in Beaverton, Oregon, and again by Michael J. Fox in Hollywood at a test fitting.
Back in 1989 I worked in the Nike Sport Research Lab as the Electronics Technician. The original BTF2 shoes for the movie were built by hand in the Nike Sample Room, and I was the one who designed and installed the electronics for them.
The lights in the side of the midsole and the Nike logo on the ankle strap are electro-luminescent panels, and there is an array of six randomly flashing LEDs on the side of the heel that were never visible in the movie
They were originally called “Slamball Shoes,” and that’s what most people called them around Nike. There was supposed to have been a scene in the movie in which Marty plays Slamball, a game like 3D racquetball where the participants wear magnetic shoes which allow them to climb up the walls. That scene was never shot because the cost of building a huge room on gimbals to create the effect was too great.
The REAL name of the shoes in Marty McFly’s world of 2015 was the “Nike Mag” because of their magnetic properties, and that’s what is molded in the back of the heel.
The shoe is in “good” condition for what it is, but since the polyurethane midsole and fabric body of the shoe were simply spray-painted in the suggested color, some of the paint has flaked off over time. The LEDs, the E-L panel on the ankle strap, and one of the two E-L panels on the midsole still work. The other midsole panel comes on if you flex the shoe slightly. I originally thought I could get away with a rigid connection between those two panels, but it turned out that the flexing of the shoe during wear broke the connection. It might be fixable with some delicate surgery, but I never had the guts to try it.The included power/electronics pack is hard-wired to the shoe, and requires two 9 volt batteries to operate.
I believe the shoe was built as a men’s size 9, although I couldn’t swear to it. It is whatever size Fox was at the time.
The shoe comes with a color photocopy of the original design drawing by Nike’s Tinker Hatfield (the designer of all of the Air Jordans, among many other things).
I’m happy to provide any more information I can, or additional photos you might like.
There you have it. You can have a piece of movie/sneaker history if you have a couple thousand dollars lying around. If you do get it, you have to decide what to wear on the other foot. Happy bidding!
Nike will soon unveil the Hyperdunk 2015. “Originally seen in the 1980’s movie Back to the Future II, the Nike’s seen on the feet of hoverboard flying Marty McFly would serve as a fictional peek into what Nike would have up its sleeve in 2015. This in turn would pique Eric Avar’s interest and incorporate extensively into the Hyperdunk.” I remember seeing these on screen. My eyes lit up. This was even before my shoe habit.
Recently, a pair of of these Nikes were up for auction on eBay. Unfortunately, they were not authentic. They looked pretty good though:
An online petition has been going on for years, requesting that Nike produced these beautiful shoes. I have definitely signed it. I encourage everyone to sign it. Even if you don’t want a pair for yourself, you’d be helping out a good cause. Help those of us who want a pair for our very own. Nike, make these shoes!
On a side note, when I was younger we visited Universal Studios where I rode, Back to the Future the ride. They had several hoverboards set up as props around the line. I was so tempted to just grab one and run for my life. I wish someone would make some hoverboards.
