Knicks' Carmelo works to expand his brand
Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony poses during a photo shoot. (June 6, 2011) Credit: Craig Ruttle
Carmelo Anthony's basketball season has been over for more than a month, but that doesn't mean the Knicks forward hasn't been working up an impressive sweat.
Just ask the makeup stylist in the white dress with the green stiletto heels whose job it was to repeatedly wipe and powder his face during an eight-hour photo shoot Monday in Chelsea. Or any of the other two dozen or so people on hand who were helping him shoot a print campaign for Johnson Product's Ultra Sheen Men.
While the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks are getting ready for Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Anthony is working on making the most of his first offseason as a Knick, expanding his brand beyond the basketball court.
"I never want to be categorized as an athlete or an NBA player," Anthony said during a break in the photo shoot. "I want to reach out and touch a lot of people."
Anthony was traded to the Knicks in February, and he readily admits that the opportunity to expand his brand by living in a big market like New York was a major reason he pushed for the Nuggets to make the deal. In addition to the Ultra Sheen Men campaign, Anthony is getting ready to launch a new Nike sneaker Friday, appear in the Puerto Rican Day parade this weekend, go on a four-city publicity tour for the shoe in China and build a new basketball court for kids in Puerto Rico.
He says he likes to take a break from basketball and typically doesn't get back to working out until July. He did watch all of Game 1 of the NBA Finals and parts of Games 2 and 3, but it doesn't sound as though he's joined those Knicks fans who are panicked at the prospect of having to face a powerhouse Miami franchise for years to come.
"I don't have a problem with people talking about Miami and a dynasty," he said.
"They have three of the best players in the game right now. But there's room for everybody. We're building. We're not there . . . The way I look at it is we're trying to build a house into a big mansion. It's going to take some time, but we're going in the right direction."
