words_Jordan Hagedorn

Back in November, I flew to Denver to catch up with NBA Superstar Carmelo Anthony to chat about the Future Sole design competition, his new Jordan Melo M7 shoe, his experience with Eastbay and being a sneakerhead.

When I asked him about Eastbay, he said, “I’ve been dealing with Eastbay long before I even was with Brand Jordan. I used to run and make sure I got my Eastbay book, made sure I signed the catalog so they could get delivered to me, so I was always in tune with what Eastbay had going on.”

When discussing what he likes so much about Eastbay, he talked about the range of colors. “You can go to the stores and get a chance to get the same sneakers, same colors, but with Eastbay they have a variety of colors, colors that might not even hit stores. So it’s almost like special edition.”

I also asked him about shoes. He talked about how many pairs he owns and his love of sneakers. “I’m a sneaker collector. I have probably almost 1,500 – 1,600 pairs of sneakers. You go in my closet and you see sneakers from the early 90s, late 80s. Everybody who had their own sneaker I probably have in all the colors. I still have shoes I didn’t even wear in boxes and plastic. I just love sneakers. I love the art of designing sneakers.”