What It's Like to Wear Auto-Lacing Nike Mags

Daniel Bai, @dannycoolb

What did you know about the Nike Mag before today?

I knew they were in Back to the Future and that they came out with ones earlier that weren’t self-lacing and that these were. I know that these are for the Michael J. Fox Foundation and it’s for a really great cause. Other than that, I just know it’s an iconic shoe.

Describe your experience.

It was incredible. I was really, really lucky to be able to try them on. The technology where it just adapts to your foot is just crazy. It’s cool that Nike was able to pioneer it and that it legitimately might be in shoes in the future.  

Daisha Garner, @daishaantoinette

What did you know about the Nike Mag before today?

Honestly, I saw in a Fabolous video. I knew the shoe was coming out, but I didn’t know it was going to be here in New York. I actually saw the email from Sole Collector yesterday and I had to go to see the exhibit.

Describe your experience.

Legendary. It felt like I was getting a massage on my feet.

Carlo Barrera, @Carlos.nos.s

What did you know about the Nike Mag before today?

I was a huge fan of Back to the Future. I read up on it from what came out in 2011 and what is about to come out. I literally had to see it to believe it and I saw something that I’ll probably never see again in my life. It was pretty awesome.

Describe your experience.

It felt surreal. It’s something you do everyday, get up and tie your shoes, and then to sit there and watch them lace up in front of you by themselves was pretty surreal.

Tasha Powel, @aurasofargone

What did you know about the Nike Mag before today?

It was a dope light-up shoe that was connected with Michael J. Fox for Parkinson’s Disease. Last time they released them through auction. I think a majority of the pairs went for like 7 racks, which was a great tool to raise money for Parkinson’s [research]. Besides that I know that it was from Back to the Future and that it wasn’t actually going to auto-lace.

Describe your experience.

It’s an experience that I didn’t think was ever going to happen. You put them on and it literally molds to your foot. It’s the perfect sneaker for fit. It’s not tight in an area and it’s lighter than you think it is. I wasn’t expecting that. I thought it was going to be heavier due to the battery and lights.

BA Gyamfi, @brokenbatteries

What did you know about the Nike Mag before today?

I knew about its significance in the movie Back to the Future and that it was a fictional shoe created to have a futuristic effect. When you think of the movie, you think of the shoes, the hoverboard, and the DeLorean.

Describe your experience.

I’m a sneakerhead and a lot of my favorite shoes are trainers. One of my favorite sneakers of all time is the Air Tech Challenge 3, and this feels like that times 150,000 + 2. It’s comfortable and I’m not exaggerating. If I could describe the experience in one word: magical.

Ron Zember, @zemberoni

What did you know about the Nike Mag before today?

I saw the movie when I was seven years old. It was the coolest thing ever. The shoes lit up and I imagined 30 years in the future where we’d have hoverboards and flying cars.

Describe your experience.

It seemed a little gimmicky at first, but you definitely feel like the laces adapt to your foot. If you can imagine the perfect fit, that’s what the shoe did. It adapted to the shape of my foot.

Ace Mendoza, @asapadez

What did you know about the Nike Mag before today?

I knew it from Back to the Future. I had the Pizza Hut sunglasses on. I knew how hyped they were and I feel like they’re even more hyped now.

Describe your experience.

It’s actually more comfortable than I thought. The shoe molds instantly to your foot. It looked pretty uncomfortable given the high top and all of that, but when you put them on it’s like walking on clouds. It was really futuristic.

Don Laxa, @donny_pangilinan

What did you know about the Nike Mag before today?

I just saw it everywhere online. People were hyping it so much. I didn’t believe it was possible to make something like this in my lifetime and the fact that I actually got to wear it is insane.

Describe your experience.

Seeing it in person is already an amazing experience. Wearing it firsthand and being only one of 100 people to do it was amazing. I’ll probably never forget this.

Jared Goldstein, @bigjared14

What did you know about the Nike Mag before today?

Man, I remember seeing them in Back to the Future when I was a kid and thinking, "Wow, those are absolutely incredible." The silhouette itself was so futuristic and out there. Flash forward to 2011 when Nike did the auction and I couldn't believe they came to life. I had a couple opportunities to get the 2011 version, but I never pulled the trigger. Someone offered to trade a pair for my Yeezy 2s. I should have done it. It was perfect when Nike unveiled the auto-lace version late last year on the exact day that they traveled into the future in the movie. Nike actualized their vision of what a shoe could look like and how it could function in 2015 and they were spot on.

Describe your experience.

The Mag perfectly molded to my feet. As the auto-lacing kicked in it wasn't too tight or too loose. It was just perfect. I think that this is without a doubt the future of shoe technology.

(photos by Joseph Sherman)