Michael J. Fox showed up on The Late Show with David Letterman last night to officially announce the Nike Air Mag (aka the Back to the Future shoes). It’s Marty McFly himself, ladies and gentlemen!
It’s heartbreaking to see the effect Parkinson’s has on his body — especially since he’s one of my all time boyhood idols — but it’s the truth, Parkinson’s disease is not a walk in the park. If you want to help contribute to the research of curing Parkinson’s Disease, the Nike Air Mags are being auctioned via eBay right now. Some pairs went for as high as $US75,000 — so it’s obviously not for everyone — but all the proceeds are going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. If you have the money, it’s a really great cause. You already know it’s a really great shoe. [Nikemag.eBay.com]
EckyThump
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 9:15 AMSaw this article yesterday and was dismayed at the price being paid for them, but now I see that they are making money for Parkinsons Research, I understand what it’s all about. Jesus, I hope they find a cure for that soon, I would hate to end up like that poor bugger!
D.C.
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 1:08 PMI read his biography(s) last month and freakin’ love MJF, last thing he wants to be is a victim. Awesome how he’s on the front lines of fighting this thing.
paul
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 6:44 PMthey are beautiful, i want them so badly. nike has to make more, for the charity
Otacon
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 7:24 PMWoah, I didn’t realise it had affected MJF that much.
Graeme
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 10:58 PMI’ve seen him on a few things over the years and that’s the *best* I’ve seen him by a long way. His autobiography is excellent (I’ve read it and listened to the audio version and I’d heartily recommend both) and he mentions that he takes medication to calm things down considerably before going on TV, but it has some serious side effect which means he doesn’t take them often.
Steve
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 4:01 PMWow… I hadn’t seen him in years and had no idea how serious it was. It’s easy to mock ultra collectors shelling out $75,000 for sneakers (ie. Turtle from Entourage), but it goes to a good cause.
Makes you really question the holier-than-thou attitude of the religious and political right, who demonise stem cell research.
ALex
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 6:08 PMMy Dad has Parkinsons. I’ll probably get it too, if something else doesn’t get me first. yeah.
Nice shoes.
olearymo
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 9:10 AMFrom what I’ve read, MJF’s appearance and movements are partly due to the Parkinson’s, and partly due to medication side-effects.
I believe I read a quote from him about having to find the right ‘balance’ – too little medication and the Parkinson’s symptoms are too bad, and too much/wrong medication, and the side effects are too bad.
It seems mundane but a lot of the process of dealing with a chronic/debilitating condition is simply management. Management of time, medication, etc. But the silver lining is that that management gives you power over the condition. A real feeling of control. That’s very important.
On a side, note, oh my god Letterman looks awful. Did he just age 70 years in the past five?
Ash
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 10:32 AMMJF’s such a nice guy. Its so sad that he has to suffer with this disease. I would have loved to have still seen him acting in movies and know that he would have given Tom Hanks a bit of a run for his money.
MDolley
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 8:59 AMYou mean enjoy your $75000 shoes and the knowledge that you have in some way helped end this horrible condition and made the world a better place?
They aren’t shoes, they are a bonus for people lucky and generous enough to be able to try and make a difference.