In the 88th year of the last century, the video of Michael Jackson for his song “Smooth Criminal” was released. And the singer’s fans were surprised not so much by the song itself, as by the star’s dance moves. At one point he decided to overcome the force of gravity and leaned forward as much as 45 degrees, without bending his body or even shaking. When the excitement subsided, many thought that Jackson was being held down by cables.
But Michael decided to warm up interest in his person and surprise his fans even more. He demonstrated his stunt live, at one of his concerts. And no cables around the star were noticeable. But how did the common man manage it?
The mystery of the tilt was revealed later. It turned out that the trick was performed thanks to a special invention created by Michael himself in collaboration with two other creative people. The performer was fixed on the surface thanks to special shoes.
The stunt shoes looked quite ordinary and stood out only with a rather thick heel, although Michael Jackson was always famous for his love of original footwear. But the particular shoes concealed a secret. Their heels had triangular recesses on the sole side. There were special hooks, which were pulled out of the stage at the right moment and almost “fixed” the singer, so he could bend over and show the audience the wonders of antigravity.
By the way, in ’93 Michael and his assistant inventors got a patent for their unique shoes.
Jackson surprised his fans with the stunt until ’96. That year Michael came on tour to Russia and performed in the capital. He was going to do the trick again, but something went wrong. The peg didn’t lock properly, and it broke. And Jackson fell, but fortunately he wasn’t seriously injured.
After the concert, the broken shoes and the fixation went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Moscow and remained there until his death. And then they at one of the auctions went under the hammer for a fabulous 600 thousand dollars.
