Nike Sending First 'Back to the Future' Self-Tying Shoes to Michael J. Fox

Nike says that the future is here.

ByABC News
October 21, 2015, 4:32 PM

— -- Nike says that the future is here. The first person to receive a pair of the company's "Back to the Future" self-lacing shoes is the franchise's star Michael J. Fox, according to a Nike designer.

Nike shoe designer Tinker Hatfield sent Fox a letter today that stated, "As the first, most celebrated wearer" of the Nike Mag shoes, "we wanted you to be the first to receive a living pair," according to a tweet from the actor.

Nike said today in a statement that it "reinvented the conventional lacing system, integrating it into an inimitable design that became an enduring beacon of popular culture."

“We started creating something for fiction and we turned it into fact, inventing a new technology that will benefit all athletes," Nike president and CEO Mark Parker said in a statement today. The company said the 2015 Nike Mag is a limited edition release and will only be available via auction, with all proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Additional details will be released in the spring, Nike said.

Earlier today, a spokesman for Nike would only say that a pair of the self-lacing Nike Mag shoes worn by Marty McFly in the 1989 film "Back to the Future II" is in New York City today -- but declined to comment further.

"If my calculations are correct...your pair should be with you shortly," Hatfield wrote in the letter to Fox. Hatfield write that Nike is creating "more pairs for support in aid of the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2016."

In the film, McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, travels 30 years into the future to today's date: Oct. 21, 2015. There, he discovers hoverboards, flying card and self-lacing sneakers.

Yesterday, Nike's official Twitter account tweeted at Michael J. Fox, "See you tomorrow."

Earlier this year, Nike filed a patent for a "power lace." And in 2009, Nike filed a patent for what it called an "Automatic Lacing System." A year later, an amateur investor created self-tightening laces, originally intended to help the elderly or disabled, through Kickstarter.

PHOTO: A general view of atmosphere as a pair of Nike limited edition sneakers are auctioned off at the Nike MAG Berlin auction at the Delight Studios on Sept. 17, 2011 in Berlin.
A general view of atmosphere as a pair of Nike limited edition sneakers are auctioned off at the Nike MAG Berlin auction at the Delight Studios on Sept. 17, 2011 in Berlin.

In 2011, Nike auctioned 1,500 pairs of Nike Air Mag shoes on eBay after which $4.7 million in proceeds went to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research.

Other companies are joining the frenzy over today's milestone date. Ride-service company Lyft is offering New Yorkers free DeLorean rides around the city.

Pepsi introduced "Pepsi Perfect," a soda featured in the film.

PHOTO: Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly rides a hoverboard in "Back to the Future II."
Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly rides a hoverboard in "Back to the Future II."

USA Today recreated the front cover that was featured in the movie, though technically the newspaper is featured on October 22.