SOCIAL ADVOCATE, SURVIVOR AND SCHOLAR elody Wilson, known to most as Mel, created the Long Nail Beauties Association, working with Mr. Jonathan Fields more than a decade ago. A uniting catalyst for the social networking of women discovering others that indulged in the extreme nail genre. The forum was to create a platform for other ordinary working Mothers, sisters, and professionals within the community. It evolved into a forum where the men who appreciated and admired these women were often the ones to induct ladies into the community. As for her journey, Melody has been growing her nails to extreme lengths since she was 19 years old. Drawing inspiration from her Mother, Lee Redmond, Florence “Flo Jo” Griffith Joyner, and 90s vocalist of SWV Koko. Her positive experiences focus on her individualistic nature. For Melody, it allows her to express her uniqueness through the length, the colors, and the designs. The negative aspect is trying to find the time to do them because she is always busy. Her feelings about the X’treme Nailz Movement? She is glad to see wom46 •
TREME NAILS MAGAZINE
en are embracing the concept of extreme length nails without the varying stereotypes. Although we still have some ways to go. Those who continue to grow their nails to very extreme lengths still deal with the bullying stereotypes, reactions, and comments. Being familiar with her sentiments myself, we talked about the personal impact she has felt and witnessed as a participant/creator of an international forum like the Long Nail Beauties Association. It irritates her that people hate or discriminate against something they have so little knowledge of, or do not care for, or cannot do/or relate to. Women capable of growing extreme-length nails, while maintaining a flourishing livelihood should be highly commended. They exhibit the ability to do what many are not capable of doing, regardless of their lifestyle. More than a decade later, how does Melody Wilson feel about X’treme Nailz International establishing this platform for the X’treme Nailz Community? She thinks this is awesome and an accomplishment.
Seeing how the community has evolved and embraced by the entertainment industries has caused acceptance in our everyday social lives. It is amazing! She exclaimed. We intended to build a sisterhood among the sisters, along with a community of supporters. Mr. Fields and X’treme Nailz International is a HUGE respected voice in the community that I think can bring about the sisterhood. A beacon of support that we all seek and genuinely deserve. She went on to express. There are many sisters with extreme nails in the world, doing extraordinary things, not hindered by the growth of their nails, in any fashion. X’treme Nailz International is highlighting these special women of the LNB community Notably, the Entertainment Industry has embraced the new wave of X’treme Nailz styles. Curious about her response as an innovator and one of the initial creators of the forum. Melody explains that Entertainment embraced the “style” of extreme nails once entertainers started implementing it into their artistic creations, particularly in videos. She finds it quite strange, having lived so many years hearing
