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A developing niche in the optical marketplace, sports eyewear is sold based on its
performance in the activities and environments in which it is used. Due in part
perhaps to the proliferation of resources for participatory-sports enthusiasts both
in print media and on the Internet, patients and customers looking into sports eyewear
today arrive in the dispensary armed with more knowledge and technical information
than ever before.
Several companies also conduct wind-tunnel testing to ensure that products withstand
extreme wind conditions. According to product manager Jeff Gilberti, Smith Sport
Optics (a division of SÃ filo) performs wind-tunnel testing on all its products,
using a facility at a nearby university. To test the eyewear for both mountain and
road cycling, a rider fitted with test eyewear is placed in the wind tunnel and
tests are performed on different types of cycles.
Nothing captures the pioneer spirit of professional snowboarder Tina Basich more
than her daily jaunts through the snowy mountain trails near her Utah home.
For Basich, being first is nothing new. Growing up in Northern California in the
mid-1980s, she and her compatriots (including younger brother Mike) were at the
forefront of the snowboarding phenomenon in the United States. Once cast off the
mountain slopes in favor of skiers, Basich and her cohorts literally paved?or "shred,"
to use a boarding term?the way for the scores of board fanatics that followed.
"Out there is where I feel my best. It?s you and nature. Alone. Nothing beats
the feeling of being the first person to hit that fresh powder,"
Basich explains.
"It?s a weird feeling," Basich says of her popularity and status within the sport.
"Kids see the videos and the magazine covers and they want to live the dream."
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All of this is what makes it paramount for dispensers selling sports eyewear to
get "on board" with Basich?s rapidly growing sport.
Today, it is becoming more and more likely that a dispensary?s younger patients
will want to emulate athletes such as Basich?in her clothing and eyewear styles?than
even more commercially exposed athletes such as Michael Jordan. That?s why sports
eyewear companies such as SmithSport, which signed Basich to a sponsorship deal
in 1990, have looked to sign "alternative" sport athletes such as skiers, snowboarders,
cyclists, surfers and skateboarders as the ?90s draw to a close.
"Smith was one of my first sponsors and their support has been key for me, especially
being in a growing sport and being a woman," Basich says. "I feel like I have a
great rapport with them. I wear their product everyday. Their goggles have become
a vital part of my equipment because they make it easier to see, no matter what
the weather conditions."
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Reprinted Courtesy 20/20 magazine
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