15 Facts You Should Know About the Nike MAG

10.) “Power laces!” came from the mind of Tinker Hatfield. Is there anything this man can’t do?

 

11.) Originally Marty McFly was not supposed to be the primary focus of the magnetic sneaker. Director Robert Zmeckis came up with Slamball, a game played in a magnetic field that generated anti-gravity. The athletes were supposed to wear them to play. However, due to cost and budget restraints all the focus was on Marty self-lacing them up.

 

12.) Only 11 pairs of original MAG’s were made for the movie. Designed to be worn only a handful of times most have not survived since the 1980’s. Nike ended up keeping two pairs that have mostly rotted away. Most others are lost (although not all).

13.) During the 2011 charity auction before pairs on eBay were sold, the first pair of Nike MAG’s went to British rapper Tinie Tempah. The cost to raise his internet cred, $37,500.

14.) In 2010 it was discovered that Tiffany Beers, Michael Friton, and Tinker Hatfield filed a patent on behalf of Nike for “an article of footwear with an automatic lacing system.” This was news that really got the sneaker world buzzing.

 

15.) Although Tinker was the original designer of the Nike MAG, Tiffany Beers was the main developer for the re-issue. She teamed up with engineers and worked in the shadows to get things like the LED system just right, along with nearly recreating the sneaker from scratch since the originals were rotting. For her hard work, she was the first one to unofficially unveil to them to the world at a Nike event. When asked about them her response was, “No comment.”

 

For more Nike MAG facts, check out 10 Things Back To The Future II Taught Us About Sneakers