Close WindowBROOKLYN TEEN TO MEET NEW YORK KNICKS POWER FORWARD DAVID LEE AT LOCAL ATHLETE’S FOOT STORE
NEW YORK, October 26, 2007 – 18 year-old Brian Shea is ready to demonstrate that he can work hard, and play hard. A freshman recruit for the Brooklyn College basketball team, he wants to earn his place on the team while maintaining a GPA of at least 3.0 and becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. Brian eloquently expressed these goals in his written entry to The Athlete’s Foot (TAF) In My Shoes contest and was named a regional winner. As part of his prize, Brian will have the opportunity to learn from another basketball player who has worked hard to reach his goals – New York Knicks forward David Lee. Shea will meet Lee at The Athlete’s Foot at 1053-1055 Liberty Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11208, on Thursday, November 8th.
“The goal of the In My Shoes campaign is to help young athletes in their quest to achieve their goals and perform at their highest level,” commented Robert W. D’Loren, President and CEO of NexCen Brands, Inc., parent company of TAF. “Through our network of local TAF franchises, we are thrilled to provide everyday athletes like Brian the opportunity to meet pros who can provide insight on what it takes to succeed.”
Brian’s winning entry stressed his commitment to success on and off the court. He pledged to take school seriously, stating that “gaining an education is a privilege that many do not have, and I refuse to waste it.” The athlete vowed to make his coach proud that he recruited him for his team and expressed his refusal to make excuses, and his commitment to exceed expectations and “never settle for satisfactory.”
“Being able to speak with a professional basketball player about how to achieve my goals and aspirations is an opportunity that doesn’t happen everyday,” said Brian upon receiving notification that he had won the regional meet-and-greet. “I’m very excited to learn about David’s journey to reaching his goals and how he made the leap from high school to college to professional ball.”
As a high-school baler, Lee was named McDonald’s All-American his senior year. To achieve that status, he overcame an early obstacle: a broken left arm. As a natural leftie, Lee trained himself to be ambidextrous and played with his right hand, a skill he still relies on today. After high school, Lee played for four years at the University of Florida. Lee was installed as the Knicks' starting small forward for a stretch of 13 games in December 2005 and January 2006 and his career highs with the Knicks include 23 points and 20 rebounds each occurring in a single game. On February 16, 2007, Lee, was named the Most Valuable Player in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge, finishing with 30 points on 14 of 14 shooting from the field and 11 rebounds.
The two basketball players will meet on Thursday, November 8th, at the Athlete’s Foot store located at 1053-1055 Liberty Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11208. There, Lee will sign autographs for the public from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. and will meet Brian and present him with a gift card prize from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. There is a cost of $30 per autograph for members of the public.
“It’s always a pleasure to bring two passionate athletes together to ‘talk shop’ and learn from each other,” said Harry Malhotra, franchisee of The Athlete’s Foot. “Providing the athletes in my community with the tools they need to succeed is one of the highlights of owning a TAF franchise."
The TAF In My Shoes campaign, which the retailer launched in late July invited students ages 13 to 18 nationwide to submit written or video (YouTube) entries stating their performance goals for the new school year. Local winners, selected from participating TAF stores, will receive a $75 TAF gift card.
In addition to the New York event with David Lee, nine other regional winners will meet pro athletes from their communities, including:
- Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis
- Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward
- Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle
- Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn
- Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley
- Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna
- Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Reggie Brown
- Houston Texans running back Ahman Green
- New Orleans Saints receiver Marques Colston
One national winner will have a one-on-one coaching session with one of the hottest professional athletes in the country. The winner and athlete will be announced by late October.
The Athlete’s Foot is thrilled to contribute 10% of the proceeds from the memorabilia sales at each regional meet-and-greet to The Achilles Track Club’s (ATC) Achilles Kids program (www.achillestrackclub.org), which enables young people with all types of disabilities to participate in mainstream athletics, to promote personal achievement, enhanced self esteem and the lowering of barriers between people.
About The Athlete’s Foot (www.theathletesfoot.com)
The Athlete's Foot® (TAF) is the world's first franchisor of athletic footwear stores and is recognized today as the world leader in athletic footwear franchising. Robert and David Lando opened the first The Athlete's Foot store in 1971 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first athletic footwear specialty store of its kind in the United States. Soon thereafter, TAF began franchising domestically, with the first franchise store opening in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The first international franchise store opened in 1978 in Adelaide, Australia, the beginning of TAF’s expansion into over 45 countries. In June, 2007, NexCen Brands launched a global re-branding effort for TAF. Plans for reinvigorating the 36 year-old brand include an innovative new modular merchandising system, new in-store design, a modernized company logo, and a line of TAF branded apparel.
About NexCen Brands, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXC) (www.nexcenbrands.com)
NexCen Brands, Inc. is the premier 21st century brand acquisition and management company focused on assembling a diversified portfolio of intellectual property-centric companies operating in the consumer branded products and franchise industries. The Company owns, licenses, franchises and markets a growing portfolio of consumer and franchise brands including The Athlete's Foot®, Bill Blass®, MaggieMoo's®, Marble Slab Creamery®, Pretzel Time®, Pretzelmaker® and Waverly®. The Company licenses and franchises its brands to a network of leading retailers, manufacturers and franchisees that includes every major segment of retail distribution from the luxury market to the mass market in the U.S. and in over 50 countries around the world, and consists of more than 1,500 franchised stores. NexCen, through its information technology, franchisee support systems and advertising, marketing and public relations team, markets its brands to continually drive greater consumer awareness and brand equity for each of its brands. NexCen touches nearly every aspect of a consumer's lifestyle from the food they eat to the furnishings in their homes and the clothes and footwear they purchase.
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