words_Nick DePaula

This Saturday, May 29th, to help celebrate Carmelo Anthony’s 26th birthday, Jordan Brand will launch the Future Sole Jordan Melo M6 on Eastbay.com, marking the first time that a shoe in conjunction with the rapidly evolving Future Sole Design Competition will be made available.

For Austin Jermacans, a 17 year-old from Reading, Pennsylvania, winning the 2009 Future Sole Jordan Finals last year was only the beginning of his already accelerated design career, as he was then given the opportunity to refine his final entry into a full-fledged signature model that would go on to be worn by Denver Nuggets star and Future Sole partner Carmelo Anthony.

A new take on the original high performing Jordan Melo M6, created by Jordan Brand Designer II Justin Taylor, the Future Sole iteration designed by Jermacans would go on to take on a more lifestyle-inspired approach touching back to Melo’s more matured tastes and style. In working closely with “JT” as a mentor, Austin was able to get feedback and insights directly from Carmelo Anthony and polish his design into a sneaker deemed worthy for production by Jordan Brand. Surely presenting the final version to Melo in person was an experience he’ll never forget.

Sole Collector caught up with Jordan Brand Design Director and Future Sole founder D’Wayne Edwards to learn all about the path and journey of Austin Jermacans in the latest edition of the Sole Collector Video Series. Learn all about what inspired Edwards to launch the annual design competition, and how Austin Jermacans went from teen-aged aspiring designer to landing his very first manufactured sneaker design on the feet of Carmelo Anthony.

For more info, please visit FutureSole.com