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Oakley has been making the techest, sickest glasses since probably before you were born. Do you ever wonder what goes on in a place like that, how do you get a job there, is it better than working at Arby's in...whatever town it is you are from. Well, it is way better than working at Arby's, it's a creative, environment full of passionate people and they make super cool stuff. We got to take a tour of the facilities and a look at some of the history of Oakley and are passing it on to you so read on... Thanks to Oakley for letting us check out their incredible facilities!

Oakley has a an enormous building located in Orange County, CA. The outside is interesting but only the tip of the iceberg. Inside, nothing is like the typical workplace; from the entry way to the bike park in the back. Everything has some sort of creativity or fun built into it. Even though it is a fun environment, it's not a slack place to work. A lot of people work really hard but who cares if you love your work

You know Oakley has a number of athletes riding for em, like Danny Kass, shown here getting ready to win the 2009 US Open, photo by John Centi

Right inside the entrance to the building is the theater which hosts everything from video premier's to TV shows

Shaun White and Pat Parnell during a taping of the Daily Habit in the Oakley theater

Oakley was founded in 1975 by Jim Jannard, originally making grips for motorcycles and BMX bikes

Oakley started making MX goggles about 1980

Originally intended as a sunglass/goggle for skiing the Eyeshade became huge with the triathlon, cycling types

2009 or 1985?

Grab some 2009 Eric Koston Frogskins and some neon flannel and you are ready for either decade, 2009 or 85'

Oakley has been making some of the most technologically advanced eye ware for years and the O lab is where it starts. Let's not forget the foot wear, clothing, outer wear , watches There are lot's of secret things in here that could not be photographed but we got grab a few photos

Optical testing for clarity and performance. The right side tests for the bending of light and prismatic imbalance. Basically whenever you have curved piece of clear material over your eyes (like a goggle) it can focus the suns rays on your eyeballs like a magnifying glass. Oakley takes great steps to make sure that your retinas don't burn like an ant being burnt by a 1^st grader. The left side tests for clarity using lasers and other things smart people with computers and paper use

The R & D department tests for everything the O lab does not; any environment hot or cold, salt, sweat, thermal shock, impact and so on.

Shooting bb type things for testing to help protect your eyes

Blunt impact test. All Oakley eye ware designated as sport performance which includes all goggle and many sunglasses meet ANSI standards which has the best standards for protection, optics and UV protection

Some new products on display including the Danny Kass Crowbar, The Gretchen A Frame and Stockholm, the Shaun White A frame and others

Chanelle Sladics using the final product. You ever ridden a sunny day without goggles or sunglasses? You practically go blind

Oakley makes combat boots for the armed forces even. Not standard issue but you can use these boots, like the special forces use them and stuff

Of course most people are more familiar with the work of the Oakley marketing department; ads, team riders, image and so on. Imagine going to your desk everyday underneath a giant poster of the Viking, if that does not motivate you, you should be working somewhere else!

Out back a dirt track for bikes and up the street is the Etnies skatepark for lunch break entertainment, grab a Jumbo Jack and a Coke and get your shred on during lunch.

So what does it take to get a job at a place like Oakley? There are many ways but knowing people is a good way to start, the more people you know, the better chances you will get the inside line on open jobs and so on. Another and probably the most common way is to transfer from another “industry”job. One person I know who works at Oakley started as a web person ant Snowboarder/Powder. Another person worked retail sales at a surf shop in Encinitas, then Burton and on up to being the Women's Brand Manager at Oakley after 15 years of so of working in the industry. You can be a pro athlete, that helps to weasel your way in. There are intern ships and there is hammering away at Malakye.com So if you live in some far off town and wanna work at someplace like Oakley, start off at your local shop, while going to school, learn all you can, talk to the reps, help out at a grass roots level at your local events (like help the Oakley people, usually for free), save up some money, move to an “industry town” (like Orange County) and work for a shop there and hammer away at the companies you like. College helps but not necessary, hard work and a good attitude can take you far.

www.oakley.com