20/20: Why did Zyloware decide to venture into the world of sport protective eyewear?
JS: That is an excellent question. Approximately 30,000 sports-related eye injuries that are serious enough to end in a visit to the emergency room occur each year in the United States, and the majority happen to those under the age of 18. This is an exceptionally troubling number of seemingly preventable injuries. Over our 98 years of business in the eyewear industry, we at Zyloware remain passionate about helping people see a beautiful day every day. With that, Zyloware is strongly committed to helping reduce the risk of traumatic vision and head-related injuries. We created our Shaq Eye Gear Protector Collection to provide protective sport eyewear for people of all ages who want to help protect their vision during participation in sports and leisure time activities. Who better to bring awareness to the need for eye protection during sports than the “great protector” himself, Shaquille O’Neal?
What sets Shaq Eye Gear apart from its competitors?
Our Shaq Eye Gear Protector Collection is reliable, best-in-class protective sport eyewear designed to help protect the wearer’s eye and ocular region during sports. Its patented design is compliant with the newly published ASTM International ASTM F3164-19 and F803-19 standards for prescription and plano protective sport eyewear. Furthermore, our Shaq Eye Gear Protector product is tested and certified by an accredited independent testing laboratory for handball, racquetball, tennis, squash, badminton, soccer, basketball and football.
How do you plan to market Shaq Eye Gear to your customers’ patients?
As the weather turns warmer across the country coupled with our optimistic outlook that we are emerging out of this pandemic, we anticipate a progressive return to outdoor play by athletes of all ages. Just as people will look to government and CDC recommendations for guidance on ensuring a safe return to sports and physical activity, we will encourage them, especially parents, to talk with their eyecare professional about proper specific sport eyewear protection. Additionally, as the standards for eye protection continue to keep pace with the latest advancements in different rules, equipment and styles of play for specific sports, Zyloware will work closely with eyecare professionals to make sure their athletes have the proper protective eyewear for the sports they play. To help eyecare professionals educate parents, coaches, teachers, athletic trainers, and athletes of all ages and skill levels about the importance of proper sport eyewear protection, we have provided an educational grant to the International Sports Vision Association for Protect. Prevent. Play., a new patient education resource that can be found at www.sportsvision.pro/protectpreventplay.
