This past year, I got the chance to go down to the Oakley headquarters in California to check out the re-issue of the infamous B-1B grip that Oakley was working on. While I was down there, I took the opportunity to put together a video giving a little history and background to the brand. Oakley is a company that does a billion dollars a year in sales, has stores all over the world, and has created some of the most iconic eyewear of my generation… and I’m pretty sure not many people know that Oakley started out by making BMX grips.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Mike Bell, a former AMA Supercross champion and employee of Oakley who started in 1985, to tell the story of how Oakley went from a small grip company to one of the biggest eyewear brands in the world.

Thanks to Brian Takumi, Mike Bell, Dylan Raldoff, and Mark Scurto for making this happen.

Filmed & Edited by Harrison Boyce

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blog.defgrip.net/2011/01/the-history-of-oakley