The Wild True Story of How Michael J. Fox’s Favorite Nikes Became Marty McFly’s Shoes in BACK TO THE FUTURE
Marty McFly’s Back to the Future look consisted of the red vest (Life Preserver), denim jacket, jeans, and of course, those classic white Nikes. Well, it turns out that those sneakers weren’t picked by the costume department or Nike’s marketing team.
The sneakers were straight out of Michael J. Fox’s own closet, and getting them into the movie turned out to be way more complicated than you would expect.
In his new memoir Future Boy, Fox dives into all kinds of behind-the-scenes stories from Back to the Future, from his chaotic schedule juggling Family Ties to his misadventures in the DeLorean. But, one of the most entertaining reveals is how Marty McFly’s Nikes became part of film history completely by accident.
As Fox tells it:
“I brought a dash of my own style to Marty McFly — his Nike shoes were mine. On the day of the Malibu fitting, the costume department realized that in their rush to gather everything needed for the lead actor switch and revised look, they had left Marty’s shoes back at the soundstage. I arrived at the meeting wearing my favorite Nikes, a pair of no-frills white Bruins with a red logo.”
If you remember, Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty and even filmed for almost two months before Fox came in as his replacement. When Fox joined the production, things were moving fast as he was filming Family Ties during the day and Back to the Future at night.
So when the costume department forgot the shoes, Fox simply offered up his own pair of well-worn Nike Bruins. They turned out to be a perfect fit for the character.
Fox remembered how ideal they were for the role, explaining:
“I was due to begin filming as the new Marty in two days, but Deborah Scott ran into another problem: She needed multiple pairs of sneakers in the wardrobe closet, backups in case any were soiled or ruined during production.
“Unfortunately, my Nike Bruins were not in stock anywhere. Deborah reached out to Executive Producer Frank Marshall, who called the only source he knew – the manager at the Nike store in Westwood.
“He confirmed that the shoes were impossible to find; in fact, the company no longer made that style.”
Now production had a real problem. They needed several pairs of the same sneakers, but the model had been discontinued. That’s when producer Frank Marshall took things to another level. He started calling Nike directly to see if they could somehow recreate Fox’s favorite kicks.
That call led him to Pam McConnell, who happened to be running Nike’s brand-new product placement department in Portland. Fox recounts what happened next:
“Frank called Pam, explained the dilemma, and boldly asked if Nike could make the shoes for them. ‘We can’t pay you any money,’ Frank added, as if she needed further encouragement to hang up on him.
“What happened next is kind of insane. Pam did not laugh or slam the phone down. Instead, she calmly replied, ‘Don’t worry. How many do you need?’ Frank doubled the number Deborah asked for: ‘I need twenty pairs by next week.’ ‘Done.’”
And just like that, Nike made it happen. Within a week, Fox had his signature white-and-red Bruins ready to go… twenty pairs of them. What started as an on-the-spot improvisation became one of the defining parts of Marty McFly’s look and a subtle piece of Back to the Future’s pop culture legacy.
It’s kind of poetic that Fox’s personal style ended up influencing one of cinema’s most recognizable characters, and Nike clearly saw the value in that connection.
Decades later, the company would lean into the franchise again by bringing Marty’s futuristic power-lace sneakers from Back to the Future Part II to life in 2015.
From a forgotten pair of shoes to a global sneaker icon, it’s a reminder that sometimes the coolest parts of movie history happen completely by accident.