Right Place, Right Time

Hunters HD Gold & Optical Prescription Lab

Jake Martens, DMM, L5050

Standing under the pavilion at a match in Florida, a guy in some yellow 70’s shades walked up and stuck out his hand to introduce himself, “Hi, I’m Brian Conley from Hunters HD Gold. I would like to do more with USPSA.”

Normally, in my usually cheerful and approachable demeanor during a Nationals Championship when a thousand things are happening at once, I would have exchanged business cards and waited to see if this person followed up. However, this was definitely a “Right Place, Right Time” situation.

Growing up, I would get up early on Saturday mornings to catch wrestling on TV. This was pre-WWF and WWE, wrestling from Memphis with guys like Bill Dundee, Jerry Lawler, Don Bass, and Pat Tanaka, with host Lance Russell and Jerry Calhoun as the referee. One of the most notable characters from those early mornings was Jimmy Hart, the Mouth of the South. Now, I’m not saying that when Brian approached me, I was having flashbacks to a mullet-wearing, megaphone-using promoter in a red suit, but it may have subconsciously registered. I’m not sure I have seen Conley with a megaphone, but I am willing to bet that there are some photos of him with a mullet.

Brian and I have discussed this not-so-chance encounter several times on different podcasts and with others, but it has been a rollercoaster since 2018. This coming fall will be six years of an ongoing relationship that has definitely set a standard on how to promote a brand within the shooting sports and establish yourself as the “brand” that everyone knows. But there is so much more to the traveling sideshow that many see but do not understand what goes on behind the scenes.

Hunters HD Gold is a brand within a company called Optical Prescription Lab (OPL). Hunters HD Gold is a lens in a pair of eyewear, but what sets them apart is that they are a lens manufacturer. OPL is a lab that makes lenses for independent eye care practices throughout the southeast and across the US. This really sets Hunters HD Gold apart from all other eyewear brands. You have frames you like; as long as it has two lenses, they can make you a pair of glasses. It’s that simple. Whether it is a prescription or not, they are in the lens manufacturing business.

The van, the tents, the sideshow that we see at matches is just the tip of what really goes on. In 1977, OPL started as a small optical lab in downtown Birmingham, AL. It started and continues to be a family-owned independent laboratory. The lab is now in Pelham, AL, and has continued to grow into an advanced and highly capable lab that provides premium optical products to eye care practices across the country. While Conley might be a one-man show on the road, there is a team back at the lab that gets the real job done.

The lab was established by Jean Lanier, who ran the company until passing it on to Sherry Lanier, her daughter. Sherry is the saint that puts up with Brian, his crazy ideas, and writes the checks, so to speak. Sherry is a wonderful lady that I have had the pleasure to meet a few times. She is the person that keeps Brian on the rails with his ideas that I may occasionally add my two cents to. Back at OPL, Chris Connell wears many hats, but his main role is Hunters HD Gold Customer Service. He is the guy that makes sure all the promises Conley makes on the range actually happen! I kid, but seriously, Chris is the guy that gets your shooting eyewear orders taken care of from start to finish once the order and frames hit the lab.

The process is very involved and has many steps to ensure everything is correct. From checking the frames and taking accurate measurements to the products and materials used, it’s impressive to stand back and watch. Once a frame is measured and entered into the system to start the process, several people are involved, and each step is under a controlled inspection process. The lenses start out as a large puck and go through multiple highly calibrated machines to ensure everything from the prescription to the fitting to the frame is precise. This is before the lenses are coated to either be the HHDG Golds, Rubys, or the new AktiveBlu technology.

When it comes to supporting the shooting sports, few companies can compare to what Hunters HD Gold has done in such a short period. In 2017, Hunters HD Gold was established as an eyewear brand under OPL, and Brian hit the road to see what it was all about. He attended a match in October 2017 and met Michael Bane and Bryan Hacker of Tandemkross. Having Michael Bane not only fill your head with information but more or less explode it set Brian off on his path of being the brand that everyone knows. The first match that HHDG set up as a vendor was the US Steel Nationals in March 2018. We had just rolled out the Preferred Vendor Program, and HHDG was one of the first to sign up. The first USPSA match that Hunters HD Gold was a vendor was the Mississippi Classic in May 2018. It was then in October 2018 that Brian set up at the “9 Days of Nationals,” and we met to discuss bigger things. By the end of 2018, HHDG had attended 22 matches, donated over $57,000, and had been working on those “Something Big” ideas.

In 2019, Hunters HD Gold became the Official Eyewear of USPSA and Steel Challenge. After several conversations on how to make that advertising and sponsorship program work, we launched the announcements shortly before SHOT Show that January. The first year as the “Official of,” HHDG sponsored 110 matches with $107,993 in products. Throughout 2019, Brian was meeting and talking to match directors, members, friends, and family of everyone he could. He wanted to know who everyone was, what their background was, where they were from, and what drove them to the shooting sports. This wasn’t just friendly southern hospitality; he was building a brand and wanted to know who his potential customers were and what they wanted.

From all those interactions with thousands of people, Brian launched Hunters HD Gold Custom. One thing he learned is that not all safety frames are sexy, and looking good while shooting is just as important. So starting in 2020, if you had a frame you loved, you could send it in and have lenses made for them, including your prescription. This was a game-changer and now tied what OPL did to HHDG and offered endless possibilities when it came to your frames and prescription. After all, OPL is a lens manufacturer. Then Covid hit. When the largest source of your business comes from eye care practices that are shut down, things start to be concerning. However, people in the shooting sports still needed eyewear, whether it was for shooting or just daily wear. OPL and Hunters HD Gold reached out to the membership to help solve those needs in 2020. Brian also managed to sponsor 124 matches that year with $134,231 worth of products.

2021 was a big year and turning point for HHDG. 164 matches were sponsored with over $144,000, and new products were launched. Brian worked with several trap shooters and developed the Hunters HD Ruby lenses. He also became the Official Eyewear of Metal Madness Shooting Sports Association. If that wasn’t enough, he decided that people needed more of him and launched a podcast. If you haven’t caught on to the Jimmy Hart reference yet, maybe this will help. The “Behind the Lens” Podcast was something Brian wanted to do after all the time he spent talking to so many interesting people at the range. He wanted to have a platform where people could share their stories. Oh, he also bought a van and headed out on the Magical Mystery Tour in 2021. The sideshow was just starting to grow. The van is a rolling Pandora’s box of all the ideas along with all of the companies that Brian has supported and built relationships with.

After he hit the airways and the two years of Covid restrictions were finally behind everyone, everything hit full speed ahead in 2022. 254 matches were sponsored with $356,600 in product and certificates. The new Semi-Rimless Safety Frames were now available. New machines were added at OPL as well. HHDG was at matches all across the country, not just USPSA, and Steel Challenge, but the big AK Matches and End of Trail, the big SASS Championship. Never one to sit back and relax, Conley was already working on new things for 2023.

After establishing the brand in the shooting sports, he started looking at other opportunities and last year introduced AktiveBlu. AktiveBlu is a lifestyle daily wear style of lens. It is a “Life Reactive” lens designed to adapt with your daily lifestyle indoors and outdoors. The lenses seamlessly change from a calming light sapphire to a dark mirrored sapphire finish outdoors. From inside to outdoors, on the water, or while working at home, this new technology is a great daily wear option.

337 matches were also sponsored last year with $1,168,600. Yes, you read that right; in a year, Hunters HD Gold more than tripled its support of the shooting sports in 2023. The Hunters HD Gold Cup Series was launched to recognize members that shoot club matches. IDPA partnered to offer certificates for members renewing. USPSA & SCSA clubs that re-affiliated certificates were sent out for the clubs to use. If you were attending Range Officer classes, discount certificates were also provided.

So far in 2024, HHDG is sponsoring and supporting the shooting sports at 369 matches for $1,888,000 in products and certificates as well as advertising and support. Hunters HD Gold added the Single Action Shooting Society as another “Official Eyewear” partner. The Hunters HD Gold Cup Series II started up earlier this year, and the winners from 2023 have been awarded their traveling trophies, championship belts, and checks. We still have the other half of the year to go!

Back at OPL, they are kicking it up a notch to keep up and added Lane Evans as Director of Operations. Lane and Brian have known each other and worked together in the past. The lab was hoping when I stopped by before the start of the World Speed Shooting Championship for a quick tour. OPL can take care of all your optical needs, not just shooting glasses. If you are going to get prescriptions at your eye care office, get ahold of OPL to have your lenses made; that is what they do. Just like your favorite shooting frames, you can send your daily wear frames, and they can make your lenses for you. You are able to use your insurance and if you have health care flexible spending account OPL can work with you as well.

If you need to keep up with everything Brian has going on, check out his Rumble account where the podcast are, live interviews and other announcements.

Check out the websites for everything you need :

https://huntershdgold.com
https://aktiveblu.com/
https://opticalprescriptionlab.com

https://rumble.com/user/HuntersHDGold