This may be the single greatest thing to happen to my generation. I’ve been waiting since 1989 for Nike to come through with the power lacing high-tops Marty McFly wore in Back to the Future II. It’s been teased a lot over the years but…the future is now. Sorta.

I give you the Nike MAG, a replica of the sneakers from Back to the Future II. One catch, they don’t actually power-lace, they only look like the real deal and light up. They also aren’t designed or intended for normal wear and use as footwear. Still interested? If you aren’t rich, you probably aren’t going to get a pair. Not because they are so expensive to produce but because these babies are incredibly limited in quantity and are being auctioned off on Ebay instead of sold in stores. Don’t yell foul just yet – the proceeds from the sales of the Nike Mags are going entirely to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

“It’s about time,” reads the Foundations’ website. “For 22 years they have existed only in the year 2015 on Marty McFly’s feet. Today they finally become a reality. Famed Nike designer Tinker Hatfield and footwear innovator Tiffany Beers have returned to recreate the footwear legend. Based on an original movie prop used in Back to the Future Part II, the 2011 Nike MAG shoes have been rebuilt to the exact specifications of the originals. It features an electroluminescent outsole, space-age materials and a rechargeable internal battery good for 3,000 hours.”

Starting today, 150 pairs of 2011 Nike MAG shoes will be auctioned on eBay and the fact that they aren’t quite the futuristic item we’d like them to be hasn’t dampened anyones mood. As of publishing this piece, a pair of size 11s are going for $75,100. Holy. Crap. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these shoes went upwards of $100,000 when all is said and done. (See the full list here) UPDATE: Those size 11s have now been bumped down to $8,200 and a size 10 is in the lead with $11,100. I wonder if those bidders didn’t initially read the fine print of them not actually being power laces and they let them out of the bids.Bidding is still restricted to pre-qualified bidders only.

The Foundation is also using the Back to the Future auction to help meet the $50-million Brin Wojcicki Challenge. “Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, and his wife Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of personal genetics company 23andMe, are matching up to $50 million in funds raised by the Foundation between now and December 31, 2012. Net proceeds from the 2011 MAG auctions on eBay will be matched, so please bid generously,” asks the Foundation. Indeed they are.

Even if the shoes won’t tie by themselves, this was still a great idea to raise money. My only problem is there aren’t any women’s sizes. Not that I could afford a pair anyway but my tiny feet aren’t fitting in a men’s 7, which is the smallest they’re offering, 13 is the largest. Guess I’ll just wait for my hoverboard. The real one Mattel.

Christopher Lloyd never ages, I swear to god.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 8th, 2011 at 11:55 pm and is filed under Announcements, Fandom, Movies, News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.