Ludicrous Speed, Go!
Roshambo Eyewear making sports wraparound sunglasses was kind of always going to happen, and it's not a stretch to say that style frame is what planted the seed in young Scott's (Co-Founder / Chief Everything Officer) brain to start a sunglasses brand in the first place. Gather round friends, hear the tale of how a seemingly innocuous 13 year old birthday gift very, very, very slightly altered the course of eyewear history...
The year is 1995. Young Scott is turning 13 and wants nothing more than a pair of Oakley wrap around baseball shades for his birthday. Why? For no other reason other than his insanely more athletic, undeniably cooler, yet less attractive best friend (who is now a nearly 20 year veteran of the Navy SEALS - not kidding about the athletic and cool, too bad he's so unfortunate looking) already had a pair and played baseball like a junior high Bo Jackson, football like a junior high, well, Bo Jackson, and looked like a junior high Val Kilmer. Needless to say he was very popular with the 7th grade girls. Had to be the shades. Had to be.
Artfully constructed arguments as to why I deserved these needlessly expensive sunglasses ("pleassssssse Mom, Erik has them!!!") won the day, and on my 13th birthday, the Oakleys were mine. To the best of my recollection, they cost about $80 at the time, that is about $455 in today's dollars. Mom was concerned I would break them, I was concerned I might get too many secret admirer notes slipped into my backpack (1995 version of sliding into DMs).
When I wore those bad boys I felt like I could run through a brick wall, get the girl I was terrified of, and finally hit a curveball. None of those proved true, but the swag was real and it was magnificent. Black frames, (definitely not polarized) blue shield, Oakley logo painted on cheap (but expensive!) hard plastic was all it took. Until five days later when I sat on them on the bench (in between innings, not because I was a bench player...). In one awful snapping sound my sunglasses and my super powers were gone. Sampson's hair was cut. Superman's cape was ripped (I think I made that one up, I'm a Marvel guy).
Wipe your tears friends and don't feel too bad for junior high Scott; the good news: I also got my first two CDs that year (compact discs - a shiny circle that used to have music on it, but only about 12 songs for any kids reading this): Hootie & The Blowfish's Cracked Rear View and Green Day's Dookie. The seeds of a (unhealthily?) 90s pop culture obsessed eyewear entrepreneur were firmly planted. Pretty good haul for one birthday. I have spent all these years preparing to find the six-fingered man and kill him in a duel -- ah, sorry, saw Princess Bride on tv last night -- scratch that... I have spent all these years preparing for this moment and these shades.
And I have to say, we nailed it. Oakley can take a long walk off a short pier. Our version of the classic 90s sport wrap sunglasses I loved so much is like a 2023 Rivian at a used 2005 Tacoma price. Polarized shield? check. Our signature bendable frame to avoid breakage? Oh ya. Made in Italy like our infamous (Three Amigos!) flexible, bendable, virtually unbreakable collection? You better believe it. Funky Slip Grips to customize your very necessary pops of color? Heck to the ya. Not $455? Try $49. There's more, but I am out of quirky way to say "yes."
Long story short, I hope you love the Ludicrous Speed collection as much as I do and it inspires the same confidence, swag, and overall radness in you and your kiddos as it did in me back in the day, but without the breakage and price gouging.
