Over the holidays, Nike released the perfect gift for any sneaker lover. Jordan Brand, a division of Nike, Inc. that was inspired by the great athlete, Michael Jordan, announced the launch of the Jordan Melo M4, a shoe inspired by Team Jordan athlete, Carmelo Anthony. The shoe is designed to elevate Carmelo's performance for the 2007-2008 basketball season by improving his quickness and agility on the court.New York native, Carmelo Anthony, plays the position of small forward for the Denver Nuggets and the USA National Team. As a child, Carmelo, or Meloù as he is often called, lived in some of the roughest areas of New York and Baltimore, and started to use sports as a diversion to the day to day violence he had to witness. While still in high school, Melo was named to the McDonald's All-American Team. He went on to play one season at New York's Syracuse University, where he helped guide his team to their first NCAA tournament title in 2003. He decided to declare himself eligible for the 2003 NBA Draft, and on June 26, 2003 he was a first round pick by the Denver Nuggets. In 2004, he was chosen as a member of the 2004 USA Olympic basketball team. The team won a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In 2006, he was named co-captain of Team USA at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, where the team also won a bronze medal. Based on his performance at the championship, he was chosen as USA Basketball's Male Athlete of the Year. He went on to play for Team USA in the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, where he was the tournament's second-leading scorer.Even though Melo has only been playing professionally for a few short years, his consistent, outstanding performance on the court has earned him the respect of his peers and an ever growing fan base. It was Melo's athletic prowess that led Jordan Brand footwear designer, D'Wayne Edwards, to approach him after last basketball season and ask him what his goals were for next season. Through this discussion, Jordan Brand was able to outline Melo's goals for the 2007-2008 season in four separate parts: the first and second halves of the NBA season, the NBA Playoffs and the 2008 Summer Olympics. Based on those four areas, the Jordan Melo M4 is therefore designed to sustain speed, quickness and strength to operate at an All-Star level over an extended basketball season, and yet it is still stylish enough to wear off the court.In addition, the shoe is made to withstand heavy use through its improved technology, reduced weight, increased ankle support and an innovative compression sock that acts as another layer of support for all the running and dunking done on the court. D'Wayne Edwards also took inspiration from the Jaguar, a powerful, sleek, jungle cat and the high performance car, in order to put the finishing touches on the exterior design of the shoe. The bottom of the sole of the shoe is made for traction, much like the jungle cat's paws. The rest of the shoe is built like the luxury car, with lining foam to allow the foot to breathe and soft, inside cloth for maximum comfort during those long games. The naming of the shoe was also highly personalized to represent Melo. The M' in M4 stands for Melo and the 4' stands for his 4th shoe in the Jordan brand as well as his 4 tattoos that represent loyalty, dedication, respect and determination. As an extra added touch, the right and left shoe have the words Unoù and Cincoù on them, paying homage to Melo's Puerto Rican background and also referring to the numbers 1 and 5, from his Nuggets uniform, which is number 15.On Thanksgiving Day, Jordan Brand started an integrated marketing campaign that included a national television ad to support the shoe. The official tagline for the Jordan Melo M4 campaign is I Know I Canù and refers to Melo's commitment to preparing for the new season and his dedication to making the 2007-2008 basketball season his best yet. The Melo M4 launched nationally on December 1, 2007 for the retail price of $120. For more information about the Jordan Brand and the Melo M4, check out www.Jumpman23.com.With a sleek, flexible design made to help one of today's top athletes maximize his performance, we here at Young Hollywood think that this new sneaker is the perfect way to improve the performance of the athlete in your family!

SHARE: