Local High School Athlete to Meet New Orleans Saint Marques Colston at the Athlete's Foot

NEW ORLEANS, LA--(Marketwire - October 18, 2007) - Most athletes undergo extreme conditions to become the best at their game. For 15-year-old Orleans Parrish resident Todd Crawford, Hurricane Katrina was the most extreme experience he could ever imagine that would make him a better football player. In the aftermath of the storm, Todd and his family temporarily relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, where Todd had to learn a new system of football, new plays, new players and new coaches. Todd is a sophomore cornerback at McCain Secondary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, and attributes his football improvements to his hard work, perseverance and to the time he spent in a new town learning a different style of football. Now, with the help of The Athlete's Foot (TAF), Todd will meet another athlete who shares his strong work ethic. On Tuesday, October 23 from 6-8 p.m., Todd will be awarded the regional prize of The Athlete's Foot "In My Shoes" contest and will spend quality time with New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston.

"The 'In My Shoes' contest rewards young athletes who have set performance goals for the school year by pairing them with a professional athlete who shares their commitment to achieving excellence," commented Robert W. D'Loren, President and CEO of NexCen Brands, Inc., parent company of TAF. "As our regional winner, Todd did an excellent job of expressing his desire to perform at his highest level. We are delighted that, through the local Athlete's Foot franchise in his community, we are able to introduce him to a local athlete who shares a commitment to excellence."

In 2006, Todd's first game as a freshman on the varsity team was also the first football game for the school since Hurricane Katrina. Todd remembers that game vividly and says he will "never forget the feeling of accomplishment and the feeling of having persevered to be in an even better place today." In the future, Todd is hoping his hard work will enable him to play sports at a collegiate level and possibly even at the professional level. Aside from football, Todd has interests in architecture and his favorite subjects in school are chemistry and geometry. Currently, Todd is focusing on football, but he is looking forward to trying out for the basketball team this winter.

"I'm a big football fan and I'm really excited to meet Marques Colston," commented Todd when notified of his prize. "I want to ask Marques what he thinks the biggest difference between this year's Saint's team is versus last year's, and I can't wait to talk to him about what it takes to become a professional football player."

Colston exemplifies how hard work pays off. During his 2006 rookie season, Colston turned in a banner season where he was considered nationally as one of the NFL's unexpected standouts. In 2006, Colston recorded 70 receptions, led all NFL rookies with a team-high 1,038 receiving yards and received Rookie of the Year honors. He is the only rookie in New Orleans Saint's history to go more than 1,000 yards receiving -- an NFL-best for first-year players last season.

Todd Crawford and Marques Colston will meet on Tuesday, October 23, at The Athlete's Foot store located at the Riverland Shopping Center at 1420 W. Airline Hwy in Laplace, LA. There, Colston will make a public appearance and sign autographs from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. and will meet Todd to learn more about his goals and present him with a gift card prize from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m.

"We are extremely pleased to unite Todd, a passionate Saints football fan, with another dedicated athlete, Marques Colston, at our TAF store," said Danica Francois, franchisee, The Athlete's Foot. "One of the greatest benefits of owning a TAF store is connecting with our community and helping our customers to reach their performance goals."

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 Orleans event with Marques Colston, nine other regional winners have won the opportunity to meet pro athletes from their communities, including:

-- Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle

-- New York Knicks forward David Lee

-- Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn

-- Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Reggie Brown

-- Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna

-- Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward

-- Houston Texans running back Ahman Green

-- Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley

One national winner will have a one-on-one coaching session with one of the top professional athletes in the country. The winner and athlete will be announced by late October.

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 to 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 and 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.