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Electric Sunglasses
Three friends by the names of Bruce Beach,
Kip Arnette, and Mike Carter set out to
launch a new sunglass eyewear company called
Electric Visual in January of 2000. These
friends had spent eight years designing and
marketing for another eyewear company, and
Bruce and Kip decided that after eight years
they had the expertise and motivation to
start their own eyewear company. They
enlisted their friend Mike Carter to do the
marketing strategy, and the team was off and
running. The plan was to design designer
sunglasses that were high tech and
fashionable. The company was off to a
running start but suffered a number of
setbacks…which almost killed the company
before it had barely gotten off the ground.
Production delays, a number of economical
disasters that included the stock market
tumbling down, the whole sordid 9/11
business, and several other problems nearly
killed the fledgling company. Imagine all of
these things taking place in the first year
and a half of starting a business. It would
be exceedingly rough don’t you think?
But, in spite of all the setbacks and having
a very shaky start, Electric kept the faith
and pushed on, determined to establish
themselves as a major contender and leader
in the sunglasses/eyewear market. The
Electrics marketing foundation became well
established and soon enlisted a truly
awesome team of incredible athletes. The
formation of this great atheletic team
happened rather quickly and the team seemed
naturally tailored for the wild
rollercoaster ride of experiences to come.
Using the different personalities of the
team for inspiration for Electric’s design
ideas…product ideas started flowing like
water. Frame designs like the Noise and Flux
came out practically overnight on top of the
first three product releases.
The next couple of years flew by with
increased demand for Electric’s innovative
sunglasses. All of the difficulties were
overcome and a the team roster boasted some
of the best guys in skateboarding. The
original team consisted of four guys…Luke
Egan, Mike Todd, Peter Line, and Bam Margera
and still does. These guys are still on top
of their game and are an inspriration for
other skaters all over the world. Their
atheletic skills and the foresight of
Electrics marketing helped make Electric the
leader it is today. Electric still recuits
new people to their team, but the same
standards apply; that the people have talent
and the drive that will keep them on the
Electric team roster 5, 6, or more years
from the time they join the Electric team.
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