Adidas Eyewear

Whether it's basketball in a nearby playground, softball in a local park, skiing in the Colorado Rockies or biking the back-mountain trails of Utah, there is truly no way to accurately comprehend the elements, environments and experiences of sport without actually being there.

Much like their counterparts in the athletic shoe, equipment and apparel arenas, sport eyewear companies have negotiated arrangements with professional and Olympic athletes and teams. In exchange for complimentary eyewear and other support activities, the manufacturers have the right to use the "endorsements" of the sports celebrities in any marketing and advertising materials. The result, of course, is instant credibility among consumers.

At certain companies, athletes are actually directly involved in product development. Melissa Walker, marketing and promotions manager at Adidas (a division of Silhouette Optical), says the company's stable of athletes is literally its "initial testing ground." The athletes are interviewed about what they need and want from sports eyewear and the Adidas R&D team "goes to the drawing board to design eyewear based on those specs." Walker adds that the company credits many of the marathon runners they sponsor with helping to develop its Gazzle collection. Similarly, companies such as Revo (race car driver Scott Pruett helped design the Icon) and Rudy Project (cyclist Jan Ullrich and world champion cross-country skier Stefania Belmondo were involved in the development of Noosa) say professional athletes have been instrumental in the design process.

"You can test these products thoroughly in the factory, but you won't know that the temples pinch a little bit behind the ear until you get the eyewear on a living, breathing athlete," notes Adidas' Walker.

"That's why we get the athletes involved in product development and why we get their comments on how and why our products work in all of our promotional materials."

Manufacturers also test the impact resistance of their lens products by hurling objects at the proprietary lens surface from a variety of angles and distances to see how it holds up. (They also launch projectiles at various parts of the frame to measure material durability.) Design people have been known to intentionally sit on and/or step on finished prototypes to ensure survival in a variety of "accidents."Despite all of these activities, however, most manufacturers are quick to point out that nothing matches the real-world examination of a professional athlete. As sports eyewear wearers become more tech savvy and concerned about performance, the more vital the trials and "testimonials" of these athletes will become to both the manufacturers and dispensers selling the products.

Reprinted Courtesy 20/20 magazine