Houston Chronicle Sunday

DeLorean has busy schedule due to film’s anniversar­y year

- HEIDI VAN HORNE

Not too long ago, band front man and performer Ryan “Rakoon” Martin let me show off his unique rides to my readers, including his custom wrapped Rakoon touring van and his original DeLorean. These days, the DeLorean that he bought to satisfy his own nostalgic love of the film “Back to the Future” has a busy work schedule of its own. Martin has completely fixed up his DeLorean into a perfect working replica of the iconic time traveling car of the future from the 1980s blockbuste­r film series (minus the time travel capabiliti­es), and soon after it became clear he wasn’t the only one with the desire to revive the classic Michael J. Fox films. Celebratin­g the 30th anniversar­y of the film’s release in July of 1985, Marty McFly, Doc and the DeLorean have been back on everyone’s radar as of late, and Martin and his unique car have been enjoying the ride.

Martin now rents the show-stopping and beloved quirk of a car out for events in the Los Angeles area and the timing has been perfect (if you can pardon the pun.) He’s staying busy renting to groups and clients for special events, including kid’s parties and pro photo shoots — though, likely, at the former the parents are getting an even bigger kick out of the time machine’s arrival than the children.

Famous fans

The stars of the film have become fans of the Rakoon to the Future DeLorean, too, with both Christophe­r Lloyd, who played Doc, and Lea Thompson — Lorraine Baines McFly in the movie series — posing with it at events and profession­al shoots. Martin and his famous ride were hired to appear at an event with Lloyd for a fundraiser for the Santa Barbara Police, and Thompson got another ride in the time traveler during her “Back to the Future” dance with partner Artem Chigvintse­v during her lauded appearance on the recent season of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Time traveling date

In addition to the film’s anniversar­y, several versions of the car’s time traveling dates have circulated the Internet in the past few years, falsely claiming that day to be the day Marty went to the future. Even internet hoax-busting site Snopes. com weighed in to clarify that the actual date on the car’s time traveling clock is October 21, 2015.

In the limelight

Martin still works steadily as an actor and performing with his band as Rakoon, but he is enjoying the futuristic cars’ return to the limelight during the film’s anniversar­y year, and is filling up his calendar with events. California-based Martin and his DeLorean are available for hire, though I’d guess that if you are looking to book it for the official October 21st movie date anniversar­y from within the film, you just might need to find your own time machine to the past to make the reservatio­n.

You can find more about Rakoon and the Rakoon to the Future DeLorean Time Machine online in Facebook, Instagram and Twitter; as well as at the official website at www.rakoontoth­efuture.com.

 ?? Photo courtesy of Cynthia Smalley ??
Photo courtesy of Cynthia Smalley
 ?? Photo by Ryan “Rakoon” Martin ?? Ryan “Rakoon” Martin (performer/owner of Rakoon to the Future) and Christophe­r “Doc” Lloyd.
Photo by Ryan “Rakoon” Martin Ryan “Rakoon” Martin (performer/owner of Rakoon to the Future) and Christophe­r “Doc” Lloyd.
 ?? Photo by Ryan “Rakoon” Martin ?? Lea Thompson — Lorraine Baines McFly in the movie series — and the Rakoon to the Future DeLorean.
Photo by Ryan “Rakoon” Martin Lea Thompson — Lorraine Baines McFly in the movie series — and the Rakoon to the Future DeLorean.
 ?? Photo courtesy of ABC ?? Lea Thompson and partner Artem Chigvintse­v with the DeLorean on “Dancing with the Stars”
Photo courtesy of ABC Lea Thompson and partner Artem Chigvintse­v with the DeLorean on “Dancing with the Stars”
 ?? Photo by Ryan “Rakoon” Martin ?? The DeLorean was rented for a Santa Barbara police fundraiser. Christophe­r Lloyd takes the driver’s seat.
Photo by Ryan “Rakoon” Martin The DeLorean was rented for a Santa Barbara police fundraiser. Christophe­r Lloyd takes the driver’s seat.
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