Six years ago while standing under the pavilion at a match in Florida, a guy walked up to me and stuck out his hand to introduce himself. He was wearing some yellow shades that looked like they had crawled out of the 1970s.
“Hi, I’m Brian Conley from Hunters HD Gold. I would like to do more with USPSA,” he said.
Normally, in my usually cheerful and approachable demeanor during a USPSA National 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 for Brian Conley and Hunters HD Gold.
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 Conley approached me, I was having flashbacks to a mullet-wearing, megaphone-using wrestling hype man 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 out there somewhere.
Conley and I have discussed this not-so-chance encounter several times on different podcasts and with others, but it has been a roller coaster since 2018. This coming fall will mark six years of an ongoing relationship between Hunters HD Gold and USPSA that has 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 it apart is it is a lens manufacturer. OPL is a lab that makes lenses for independent eye care practices throughout the Southeast and across the United States. This really sets Hunters HD Gold apart from all other eyewear brands. You have frames you like; as long as it has two lenses, Hunters HD Gold can make you a pair of glasses. It’s that simple. Whether it is a prescription or not, Hunters HD Gold is in the lens manufacturing business. (Editor’s note: Hunters HD Gold is a member of the NRA Business Alliance.)
The van, the tents and the sideshow that we see at matches is just a sampling of what really goes on. In 1977, OPL started as a small optical lab in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. It started and continues to be a family-owned independent laboratory. The lab is now in Pelham, Alabama, and has continued to grow into an advanced and highly capable lab that provides premium optical products to eye care practices located across the country. While Conley might be a one-man band on the road, there is a team back at the lab that gets the real work 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 Conley and his crazy ideas, along with writing 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 Conley 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 who makes sure all the promises Conley makes on the range actually happen. Seriously, Chris is the guy who gets your shooting eyewear orders taken care of from start to finish once the order and frames hit the lab.
The process 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 lenses are coated to become Hunters HD 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 Conley 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 Conley on his path of being the brand that everyone knows. The first match that Hunters HD Gold set up as a vendor was the U.S. Steel Nationals in March 2018. We had just rolled out the Preferred Vendor Program, and Hunters HD Gold 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 Conley set up at the “Nine Days of Nationals,” and we met to discuss bigger things. By the end of 2018, Hunters HD Gold 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 in January 2019. The first year as the “Official of,” Hunters HD Gold sponsored 110 matches with $107,993 in products. Throughout 2019, Conley 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, Conley 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 Hunters HD Gold 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 begin 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. Conley also managed to sponsor 124 matches that year with $134,231 worth of products.
A big year and turning point for Hunters HD Gold was 2021. With 164 matches sponsored to the tune of more than $144,000, new products were also launched that year. Conley worked with several trapshooters to develop the Hunters HD Ruby lenses. The brand also became the Official Eyewear of Metal Madness. 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 Conley 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 Conley 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. There were 254 matches sponsored with $356,600 in product and certificates that year. Plus, the new Semi-Rimless Safety Frames were now available. New machines were added at OPL as well. Hunters HD Gold was a presence at matches all across the country, not just USPSA and Steel Challenge, but the big AK matches and End of Trail, the latter well known as the colossal Single Action Shooting Society World 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, Conley 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.
Last year, 337 matches were also sponsored 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. For USPSA and Steel Challenge clubs that re-affiliated, certificates were sent out for the clubs to use. If you were attending USPSA Range Officer classes, discount certificates were also provided.
So far in 2024, Hunters HD Gold 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 began earlier this year, and the winners from last year have been awarded traveling trophies, championship belts and checks. And, we still have the second half of the year to go.
Back at OPL, the company is kicking it up a notch to keep up, and added Lane Evans as director of operations. Evans and Conley have worked together in the past. The lab was hopping when I stopped by before the start of the 2024 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, reach out to 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 can use your insurance and, if you have a health care flexible spending account, OPL can work with you as well.
If you want to keep up with everything Brian Conley and Hunters HD Gold have going on, check out this Rumble account which hosts the podcast, live interviews and other announcements.
Article from the July/August 2024 issue of USPSA’s magazine.
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