Nearly 30 years ago in the film Back to the Future, Part II, Robert Zemeckis wowed us with visions of what 2015 would be like, from flying cars, to a fictional JAWS 19sequel and most notably a pair of kick ass self-lacing Nike sneakers, also known as Nike Mags. The shoe became the holy grail of kicks. Well, the future is officially here.
On October 4th, Nike and The Michael J. Fox Foundation announced the release of the 2016 Nike Mag — a limited-edition release of only 89 pairs available globally through an online draw. Why the exclusivity here? Well it’s not for any extra street cred, but rather to once again channel the excitement of the Nike Mag to raise awareness in the fight against Parkinson’s disease.
How It Started
You see, Nike first partnered with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2011. A version of the shoe was built for the Foundation and auctioned, raising nearly $10 million in 10 days — that’s serious coin, however, 100 percent of it went to fund Parkinson’s research. Last year, Nike actually delivered the first functional pair of Nike Mag shoes to Michael J. Fox. “Though it initially shared only a few seconds of screen time with Michael, the idea behind the Nike Mag unlocked something much bigger at Nike,” says Mark Parker, Chairman, President and CEO, NIKE, Inc. “It sent us down an uncharted path of innovation, but it also opened our eyes to our ability to fight some of the world’s biggest challenges. We feel privileged for the opportunity to raise even more awareness for the fight against Parkinson’s.”
