When the year rolled over into 2015, Back to the Future fans everywhere were more than a little disappointed that a future of hoverboards for every teenager on the block willing to wear fluorescent clothing didn’t come to fruition.
But prominent YouTube magician and prankster Rahat stunned people in a local park by stepping onto an ordinary-looking skateboard deck and lifting half a foot off the ground.
Dressed in an orange puffy vest as an homage to Marty McFly, Rahat approached several people in the park and asked if they could watch him test his hoverboard to tell him how high he got. Most of them warily agreed, only to be blown away when Rahat actually appeared to hover on the board.
One viewer was so baffled that he ran up to the spot where Rahat levitated and prodded the ground with his foot, trying to figure out what had happened. Another viewer asked if she was seeing him levitate because she smoked that morning. When she asked for Rahat’s Instagram handle, he replied “Marty McFly.”
Another, less-impressed, viewer lectured Rahat on proper hoverboard form, telling him he needed to do a better job balancing his weight so he didn’t wobble, but almost every person Rahat pranked believed he was floating in the air.
At the beginning of the video, Rahat explains that the stunt is a combination of a magician’s levitation trick and a hoverboard attached to his feet, but he seems to have no intention to go into specifics.
The video, which was posted on Feb. 4, is already approaching one million views. Rahat’s Youtube channel, MagicofRahat, has over three million subscribers who tune in for his illusion-related public pranks.
“This is the future of magic,” notes magician and mentalist Kevin Viner, Owner of Kevin Viner Entertainment. “In the past, you had to have a live touring show or major television spot to be seen. Now, with YouTube, it’s nice to see so many magicians with creative voices get recognized. When there is a good idea, we can easily share it with the world!”
It’s too bad the hoverboard is a prank. There are plenty of 80s and 90s kids who’d love to get their hands — or their feet — on the real deal.