Carmelo Anthony Dumbfounded With $1.8 Million EMV And 16 Percent Stock Increase For Saratoga Due To Ashton Hall Morning Routine

Prateek Singh | 27/03/2025
New York Knicks former player Carmelo Anthony sits courtside during the second half between the Villanova Wildcats and the Georgetown Hoyas at Madison Square Garden.

The internet is no stranger to bizarre trends, and often, someone captures the world’s attention with an unexpected routine or challenge. This time, it’s Ashton Hall, a former college football player turned fitness influencer, whose eccentric 4 AM morning routine has made him a viral sensation. The trend has gained so much traction that even NBA legend Carmelo Anthony was left dumbfounded by its impact.

What started as a single TikTok video has now generated $1.8 million in Earned Media Value (EMV) and boosted Saratoga sparkling water’s stock by 16%. EMV is a metric used to determine a brand’s exposure through unpaid media coverage.

So, the visibility that Hall gave to Saratoga sparkling water for free would’ve cost them $1.8 million if they used traditional methods of advertising. The numbers are simply staggering, and millions of social media users, including big brands, have jumped on the trend to capitalize. Melo is astonished by the impact one TikTok video has made.

When he was informed that Saratoga’s “stock went up 16% this week,” he said, “Are you sh*tting me?” But it’s not just the numbers that’s confusing the NBA legend. He also doesn’t understand why one would put a tape over their mouth. He said, “I’mma think somebody tryna kidnap me, man.” Melo did acknowledge that dipping face into the sparkling ice water is a healthy habit.

Despite that, the routine seemed a bit too staged to Melo. From waking up at 3:55 AM and dipping his face into sparkling ice water at precisely 5:49 AM to the workouts and journaling every day, Melo didn’t buy his claims. He said, “You do not have a lifestyle like this. You do not do this every day.” To his credit, Melo has never been a fan of early morning routines.

Carmelo Anthony doesn’t like waking up super early

In his nearly two-decade-long career, Melo took good care of his fitness and health. It allowed him to stay on top of his game for so long. However, he did it all on his own terms. He was never a fan of waking up too early and going for workouts. Despite being in the presence of the late, great Kobe Bryant, who was known for his strict early morning workouts, Melo maintained his distance.

The two spent some time together when they were roped in for the Redeem Team. Melo said, “Kobe was something totally different. Kobe was relentless. 4 o’clock in the morning, 6 o’clock in the morning… It worked for him… That’s what he needed to get the edge.”

“You look at the USA Team documentary, I said, ‘I’m not used to working out at 5:30 in the morning’.  Like that wasn’t me… I’m not relentless like that… I don’t want to challenge myself that hard, like I’m cool,” he concluded. While Kobe was a product of his work ethic and strict routines, Melo achieved all his success without aligning his day-to-day life with the likes of him.

Post Edited By: Karthik Raman
Carmelo Anthony

About the author

Avatar photo

Prateek Singh

Prateek is a Senior NBA Writer for The SportsRush. He has over 900 published articles under his name. Prateek merged his passion for writing and his love for the sport of basketball to make a career out of it. Other than basketball, he is also an ardent follower of the UFC and soccer. Apart from the world of sports, he has followed hip-hop religiously and often writes about the origins, evolution, and the biggest stars of the music genre.

Don’t miss these