John Kim 
On the eve of his much-anticipated match-up with the New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets superstar and Brooklyn-born Carmelo Anthony sat down with Sneaker News after a team practice to discuss his brand new signature shoe with Jordan Brand, the Jordan Melo M7. Passionate energy has been one of Carmelo Anthony’s calling cards throughout his career, whether it be about his hometown roots, family and loved ones, his teammates and professional success, and particularly his signature line of footwear with Jordan Brand. Now seven deep into the Jordan Melo sneaker legacy, the Melo M7 is on the brink of writing another sensational chapter in Carmelo’s growing legacy; the deceptively lightweight construction combined with unique pairings of materials like Foamposite and patent leather result in arguably the best Jordan Melo design yet, with top-notch on-court performance as well as an off-the-court lifestyle appeal to boot. Continue reading for a Sneaker News Exclusive interview with Carmelo Anthony to find out more about the Jordan Melo M7.
Sneaker News: Melo, let’s get right into your new shoe, the Melo M7.
Carmelo Anthony: Oh alright, yeah.
SN: You clearly know a lot about the shoe and obviously you’re very involved in the design. How much input did you actually have in the design of the M7?
CA: Yeah, man. I’m there from day one. I think a lot of people, you know, misinterpret when someone says they have their own shoe and that they design their own shoe. From day one, i’m there, from giving them the ideas to what’s influencing me at that time, whether it’s a car, clothes, whether it’s a handbag, or anything. You know, i’m there from day one.
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SN: Going from the M6 to the M7, what specifically did you want to change – is there something you wanted to add or subtract?
CA: Well, for this one, the M7, I wanted to use new materials. I wanted to try multiple materials on one shoe, whereas before in the past it’s just been one material. Basically, when we were building the shoe and trying to use all these materials and technology that’s going into it, we’re still trying to make the shoe as light as possible.
SN: Speaking on the style of the shoe, the M6 was a bit more lifestyle-based, with midsole stitching like the Air Force 1, while the M7 is clearly more of an aggressive basketball shoe. Is there a reason for the switch?
CA: I think it’s just the timing and the way everything’s going. Like for this one, I wanted to give it more Lifestyle materials, with the patent leather and Foamposite – you know, that’s really hot right now. I wanted to put these lifestyle materials into a basketball shoe, and it obviously worked because the feedback i’ve been getting has been great.
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SN: Speaking on the colorways of the M7, you mentioned one in particular that’s inspired by a certain classic basketball shoe from the 90’s (the Air Foamposite One) as well as the Varsity Red ‘Cranberry’. So far, which M7 colorway is your favorite, and why?
CA: I like the Cranberry, man. The Cranberry with that black? That’s my favorite.
SN: People seem to love it.
CA: Yeah man, I like that one a lot. With patent leather and Foamposite, you can really do a lot, you know, as far as the colors and all.
SN: So with these ‘old-school’ colorways and popular materials from the past, the M7 is somewhat ‘Retro’ inspired.
CA: Yeah! I mean with the materials you can say it’s retro inspired, but in the end it’s an all-new design.
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SN: Right. And even with the oval-shaped visible Air unit, that’s very mid-90’s basketball and such, and it’s the first Jordan Melo shoe with visible Air since the Melo 5.5. Is there a reason you went with visible Air?
CA: We wanted to go back and add the visible Air to it. You can’t see all of it but there’s a lot more Air to it than you see on the heel.
SN: Let’s talk about the China Jade colorway that released a few weeks ago. Was that something you came up with or did the design team come up with that idea?
CA: They came at me with that idea, but that Jade colorway was just IN right now over there in China! I didn’t really understand what the whole thing was about until I actually went over there to film my movie. I saw everybody with the Jade bracelets and all that green, and when I came back, they came at me with that Jade package for the China Edition.
SN: And with the Jade stone being so deeply rooted into Chinese tradition, the colorway was a clear reach-out to them.
CA: Right. Definitely.
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SN: One more question regarding colorways – you think we’ll see an orange and blue M7?
CA: (Laughs) I don’t know.You gotta ask him (points to Jordan Brand representative). That’s all him (laughs). But I think all the colorways that everyone knows about are all of them.
SN: How about an upcoming limited or Quickstrike release?
CA: Maybe. Maybe another one IF I make the All-Star Game. I don’t know, i’ve been hurt lately (laughs).
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SN: Moving on to the culture of Air Jordans, many of the most popular colorways are attributed to some historic event in MJ’s career, like the ‘Last Shot’ and the Air Jordan XIV or the ‘Flu Game’ and the XII. What’s your single most memorable moment in the NBA, and what shoes were you wearing at that time?
CA: Hmm. My favorite moment? (Takes a few seconds to think) Probably…Game 3 of the Playoffs against the Mavericks, second round, two years ago against Dallas, when I hit that game-winner. I was wearing – I want to say – the Melo M5.
SN: I was thinking when you dropped 50 on the Knicks, or even the MVP for the Rookie-Sophomore Game in 2005 in Denver.
CA: Yeah! The Rookie-Sophomore Game MVP was great, but I was wearing Air Jordans at that time, the one with the strap. It was the Air Jordan XX. I had sky-blue and white 20s on.
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SN: With the marketing for the Melo M7, you had the dramatic and somewhat serious commercial with ‘Do Whatever It Takes’, and then you had that Twitter scavenger hunt Giveaway which touched on the sneaker sub-culture angle, and of course ‘Ball Talk’ with Lewis Campbell. When you did ‘Ball Talk’, were you given a ‘heads up’ of any kind, or were you just blindsided by the whole thing?
CA: (Laughs) Well, with the Lewis Campbell thing, I had NO idea. I just walked in, thinking I was going to do a regular interview. And it was…HIM.
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SN: You looked visually disturbed at some points, especially during his victory dance.
CA: (Laughs) Yeah, I had absolutely no clue what he was talking about, and that, I think, is what made it more intriguing. For the ‘Do Whatever It Takes’ commercial, I already knew about that so I had a blast doing shooting that. The twitter giveaway – my assistant came up with that idea. She was just like “We gotta do a giveaway!” so we did the scavenger hunt. It was great.
SN: It must have been great working with Brett Ratner?
CA: Nah, Brett didn’t do this one! He was supposed to but he did an Oreo commercial instead. With Shaq and Payton.
SN: Carmelo, thanks for your time. The Melo M7 looks great.
CA: Thanks, I appreciate it.
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