Wiley X – Recession Proof Eyewear

“Wiley X is really about versatility, and it is one of the few brands
that can meet occupational safety requirements while being cool enough
and functional enough for outdoor sports and just hanging out. Andrew
has really helped us bring the versatility story to life in a very
authentic way.” – Mike Smith, Partner at Sasquatch Advertising.

In early February I shot a third campaign for California-based WileyX Eyewear. Another fun shoot with a client whose products I actually use.

We shot for a week in my old hood, Tucson and Phoenix Arizona. I brought my crew from Atlanta:

At the Denver Airport: Left, John Kelso, pro skater, pro punk rocker, pro-beard. Right: Sharif Hassan – the Egyptian MacGuyver.

The theme for this campaign was “Recession Proof Eyewear,” i.e. shades that can be worn for work, play and hanging out. All the product we shot this year, from performance cycling blades to bubble shades meets ANSI standards for safety. So you can throw away that box of cheap throwaway safety glasses youd never be caught dead in without a hard hat.

So for this concept, we shot four different models in three different scenarios each: recreational, occupational, and lifestyle. Since a lot of the sunglasses are multi-purpose (thats the whole point), we also needed to get each permutation shot with 2 or 3 different glasses. So we were looking at like 48 different shots. I knew that math degree would come in handy some day.

Luckily Art Director, Matt Graff from Sasquatch was on location, to keep the math straight and to provide, well, art direction.

Total Airheads. Matt Graff of Sasquatch Ads, left, and the crew stoke up on Sour Cherry and Green Apple at the Mastercraft facility in Phoenix.

We were joined by stylist/MUA Valerie Badalian from Tucson. We also worked with Set/Prop coordinator Maggie Macfarland and had locaton help from Jason Mullins and my good friends at Rocks and Ropes Climbing Gym, Ed Foster at La Suprema Bikes, and Luke Bertelsen at Contact Climbing Holds. Peter Catalanotte and The folks at the Tucson Film Office went out of their way to get us last-minute permits and location advice. Mastercraft of Arizona provided a sick new wakeboat for the shoot.

Some behind the scenes shots: