Chad Cox has been a longtime member and supporter of Groover Labs. He is one of our first private office members. Chad recently launched a new tactical eyewear brand, METL Optix. We asked him a few questions about the product, his fulfillment process, and his experience as an Army Ranger. Read our discussion below!

Congratulations on the launch of METL Optix! Tell us about the product.

Thanks! METL Optix has been a fun project to be able to work on. I have some other eyewear projects I’m a part of – mostly in the software space – but found a little niche in the tactical eyewear world.

Tactical eyewear is basically safety eyewear for military, first responders, SWAT, and anyone who is in a tactical environment on a regular basis. This includes shooting sports like run and guns, three gun events, and others.

There are several tactical eyewear products, but most are limited in the prescriptions they can apply to their eyewear frames. The METL Optix line of tactical eyewear blends Z87+ safety lenses [this means they meet a higher impact standard than traditional glasses] in various tints/colors based on the tactical environment you happen to be in.

For instance, obviously, nighttime operations would require a different lens as opposed to daytime operations in, say, a desert environment. On top of that, we can provide those lenses in most eyeglass prescriptions. So, not only do you get the protection you need in lenses catered to the environment you’re in, you can see clearly with whatever prescription you happen to need. 

We noticed a trend with the model names of the available eyewear products. Can you elaborate?
Sure. As a former Army Ranger, I was taught a great deal about the lineage and history of the U.S. Army Rangers. Most of our frames are named in honor of historical figures in Ranger history dating all the way back to the French and Indian War.

How are you fulfilling product orders? Are you using Shopify? How has that process been?

Yes. We have a Shopify platform we use for e-commerce. Our frames are all made in Europe out of stainless steel. Our lenses are produced in the United States. Orders come in through our website and are fulfilled by an optical lab in the States. They keep an inventory of our frames and then insert the lenses based on the order. They then ship them to the end customer. So far the process has been good.

Speaking of product fulfillment, where can someone buy METL Optix Tactical Eyewear?

http://metloptix.com is the website to order from.

On the website, you can see a set of tactical glasses over another set of glasses--like a glasses insert. What's going on there?

Those are the Ma Deuce tactical eyewear platform. They allow for a multitude of lens variations based on your environment. The inserts can be clear, and the front lenses can be tinted. This allows the wearer to have a prescription in their sunwear-type frame one day and then they can take them out if they are wearing their contacts the next day. The system can also be configured to have clear safety lenses in the front and different tints with the inserts to match your current environment or needs.

What steps are you taking to reach your target audience? 

Currently, we are just doing A/B testing on different ads and ad networks to include social media. We have only been live for a little over a week, so we are still learning what works best.

What else do we need to know?

The METL Optix eyewear does not have to be just for tactical environments. I wear mine as sunglasses every day. I have some ranchers who want to test them out for us. They can be used by anyone who wants to, as we say at METL Optix, “Protect their eyeholes.”

And, finally, as a former Army Ranger, what made you think jumping out of a perfectly good airplane was a good idea?

Actually, I never really thought it was a good idea. But, it was part of the job description. I really enjoyed my first jump in Airborne School. My second jump was not that great. For those who don’t know, we only did static line jumps. So, basically, you hook up to a metal cable in the aircraft and then walk out.

The parachute opens automatically in about four seconds. Then you float to the ground with very little control in a sky filled with other jumpers.

On my second jump, I counted to about five and my chute had still not fully deployed.

When it did finally deploy, the opening shock of the parachute caused me to bite through my bottom lip. As I descended to the ground, I landed like a bag of potatoes – you don’t land on your feet with this type of parachute – and was dragged by the wind through, what I thought was a sticker bush.

On further examination, I realized that I was covered in ants. All ants in Georgia bite. So, I quickly began swatting myself and stripping off my clothes.

Now, keep in mind, Airborne school is coed.

So, here I was, standing in the middle of the drop zone, stripping my clothes off trying to get all the biting ants off of my body. I then hear an Airborne instructor scream over a bullhorn at me, “What are you doing, Airborne?”

I replied with an, “Ants, Sargeant Airborne!”

The instructor then just let me go on about my business. I ended up wandering back to our rally point covered in blood from biting through my lip and covered in quite a few welts from being attacked by ants.

Now, this has nothing to do with eyewear, but it’s a great story. Some people enjoy jumping out of planes. I just did it as part of my job.