ANYONE WHO HAS ever owned a pair of Oakley sunglasses will probably vouch for the following; they’re pretty expensive but they’re seriously good pieces of kit.
The sports retail giants are clearly doing something right because in 2015 alone they made a staggering $1.5 billion with 70% of that coming from eyewear alone.
The rest came from sales of their technical outerwear, prescription frames or clothing and why do we give a damn?
Well, because one of the best Irish riders of all time is the man responsible for it all.
Declan Lonergan, from a place known as The Folly just outside “downtown” Waterford city, has lived in the US for over half his 46 years and though he proudly calls Ireland home, California is “home for now”.
It’s an amazing story of chance meets opportunity, a tale that saw the precociously-talented Lonergan become one of the best on these shores to one of the best in the US where he would race professionally for five years.
And when he hung up his wheels in 1997 – a year after he rode the Olympic Games for Ireland in Atlanta, he started to work as a brand ambassador for Oakley.
He reckons he’s covered “2 million miles” since then, travelled to every corner of the world, he’s had all kinds of fancy job titles, he’s sat down with Mark Cavendish to discuss sunglasses and he’s made a serious amount of cash along the way too.
He’s starting to slow down now but not too much – his young kids see to that.
Lonergan riding in Leeds in 1991. EMPICS Sport
EMPICS Sport
“I left Ireland in 1992 and I came back quite a bit, won the Rás in 1994 but I’ve been gone around 24 years now,” he tells us through Facetime from somewhere between Newport and Laguna Beach on the west coast, his accent a very curious mix of country and California.
“I’m not deeply involved in Irish cycling any more but I would keep a close eye on the Rás and who the national champions are every year.”
Lonergan lived in France for three years in the late 80s and early 90s where he raced with some of the best amateur teams.
He won regularly but not regularly enough to secure a top professional contract.
However, because closed-circuit criterium racing was where he was most at home and with few opportunities in Europe he took the advice of fellow Irish pro John Brady and moved to the States.
Advertisement
To say he was an instant hit would be an understatement.
“When I came to the US in 1992 I came to race so I left France in 1991,” he recounted.
“I bumped into John at the Tour of New Zealand in 1990 and he told me I should come to America.
“He told me it’d suit my style and temperament so when I had enough of France I picked up the phone and came over in July 1992.
“The next year I was on the SAAB pro team and we were sponsored by Oakley so I rode with them as a sponsored rider from 1992-1997.”
By “style and temperament” Brady could have used ‘fearsome competitive streak and ferocious appetite’.
He won quite a lot, made some money and later had stints in the UK and Australia, all the while wearing Oakley sunglasses.
The brand pride themselves on performance and appearance and to that end, Lonergan was a perfect match and as soon as he hung up his wheels he got his foot further in the door.
“I had a great relationship with them since I was a brand ambassador and this year it’ll be my 19th year with the company.”
Right now, he’s the product category manager for them and in his own words has “done a few things since I’ve been here”, though always focussed on the product development and the sales of everything related with eyewear and sunglasses.
Today, their sunglasses are widely viewed in the cycling world as the best.
Their flagship product in the 80s was the ‘Eyeshade’ model made famous by three-time Tour winner Greg LeMond while more recently, the Jawbone and Jawbreaker models dominate the peloton, with many of the world’s best wearing them.
“It’s been great for me,” he said of his near two-decade association with the company.
“When I joined we were (making) $300-350 million a year.
“That’s why they went public (in 1996) so to watch it go to $1.5 billion has been awesome to watch.”
Detroit Tigers' Prince Fielder wears Oakley brand sunglasses. Danny Moloshok
Danny Moloshok
So how much credit can the lanky Irishman take?
“I don’t like to take credit but I did enjoy sitting down with Mark Cavendish to develop the latest glasses. He was the man that gave this the lift it needed.
“He’s a friend of Oakley, he came here to California and we had a meeting and we asked him what he wants.
“He said he wanted something that’s a complete frame. He didn’t want any semi-rimless or rimless glasses, he wanted a suit of armour for his eyes with an interchangeable frame that will last for six hours on the bike.
“He’s a sprinter, he gets beaten up, his helmet, his face, it’s very rough and tough out there so he wants a tough pair of eyewear.
“So sitting there with Cav for an hour a couple of years ago and watching him and developing what he wanted was incredible.
“I was involved right from the very start and I also helped launch the product.
“Yes, they’re expensive but you get what you pay for and I think a lot of people are happy with the quality of Oakley.”
Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess and it’s not one he’s keen to field.
He loves the life he’s built, is a short hop from Los Angeles and San Diego and with young kids it’s likely he’ll stay put.
But his love for Ireland remains undiminished and will celebrate St Patrick’s Day in true fashion next month with “a few pints of Guinness somewhere”.
As regards his love for cycling, that too hasn’t dipped an inch.
“I’ve actually been more interested with connecting back over the last four years than I was in the previous 20 years.
“I do come home once or twice a year to visit my family and it’s great but California is home for now.
“I got married just three years ago and I own a home here so I suppose I’d call this my current home, but Ireland is always home.
“That’s where my family and my heart is.”
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
Where are they now? The Irish Olympic cyclist driving Oakley's billion-dollar business
ANYONE WHO HAS ever owned a pair of Oakley sunglasses will probably vouch for the following; they’re pretty expensive but they’re seriously good pieces of kit.
The sports retail giants are clearly doing something right because in 2015 alone they made a staggering $1.5 billion with 70% of that coming from eyewear alone.
The rest came from sales of their technical outerwear, prescription frames or clothing and why do we give a damn?
Well, because one of the best Irish riders of all time is the man responsible for it all.
Declan Lonergan, from a place known as The Folly just outside “downtown” Waterford city, has lived in the US for over half his 46 years and though he proudly calls Ireland home, California is “home for now”.
It’s an amazing story of chance meets opportunity, a tale that saw the precociously-talented Lonergan become one of the best on these shores to one of the best in the US where he would race professionally for five years.
And when he hung up his wheels in 1997 – a year after he rode the Olympic Games for Ireland in Atlanta, he started to work as a brand ambassador for Oakley.
He reckons he’s covered “2 million miles” since then, travelled to every corner of the world, he’s had all kinds of fancy job titles, he’s sat down with Mark Cavendish to discuss sunglasses and he’s made a serious amount of cash along the way too.
He’s starting to slow down now but not too much – his young kids see to that.
“I left Ireland in 1992 and I came back quite a bit, won the Rás in 1994 but I’ve been gone around 24 years now,” he tells us through Facetime from somewhere between Newport and Laguna Beach on the west coast, his accent a very curious mix of country and California.
Lonergan lived in France for three years in the late 80s and early 90s where he raced with some of the best amateur teams.
He won regularly but not regularly enough to secure a top professional contract.
However, because closed-circuit criterium racing was where he was most at home and with few opportunities in Europe he took the advice of fellow Irish pro John Brady and moved to the States.
To say he was an instant hit would be an understatement.
“When I came to the US in 1992 I came to race so I left France in 1991,” he recounted.
“I bumped into John at the Tour of New Zealand in 1990 and he told me I should come to America.
“He told me it’d suit my style and temperament so when I had enough of France I picked up the phone and came over in July 1992.
By “style and temperament” Brady could have used ‘fearsome competitive streak and ferocious appetite’.
He won quite a lot, made some money and later had stints in the UK and Australia, all the while wearing Oakley sunglasses.
The brand pride themselves on performance and appearance and to that end, Lonergan was a perfect match and as soon as he hung up his wheels he got his foot further in the door.
“I had a great relationship with them since I was a brand ambassador and this year it’ll be my 19th year with the company.”
Right now, he’s the product category manager for them and in his own words has “done a few things since I’ve been here”, though always focussed on the product development and the sales of everything related with eyewear and sunglasses.
Today, their sunglasses are widely viewed in the cycling world as the best.
Their flagship product in the 80s was the ‘Eyeshade’ model made famous by three-time Tour winner Greg LeMond while more recently, the Jawbone and Jawbreaker models dominate the peloton, with many of the world’s best wearing them.
“It’s been great for me,” he said of his near two-decade association with the company.
“When I joined we were (making) $300-350 million a year.
“That’s why they went public (in 1996) so to watch it go to $1.5 billion has been awesome to watch.”
So how much credit can the lanky Irishman take?
“I don’t like to take credit but I did enjoy sitting down with Mark Cavendish to develop the latest glasses. He was the man that gave this the lift it needed.
“He’s a friend of Oakley, he came here to California and we had a meeting and we asked him what he wants.
“He said he wanted something that’s a complete frame. He didn’t want any semi-rimless or rimless glasses, he wanted a suit of armour for his eyes with an interchangeable frame that will last for six hours on the bike.
“He’s a sprinter, he gets beaten up, his helmet, his face, it’s very rough and tough out there so he wants a tough pair of eyewear.
“So sitting there with Cav for an hour a couple of years ago and watching him and developing what he wanted was incredible.
“I was involved right from the very start and I also helped launch the product.
Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess and it’s not one he’s keen to field.
He loves the life he’s built, is a short hop from Los Angeles and San Diego and with young kids it’s likely he’ll stay put.
But his love for Ireland remains undiminished and will celebrate St Patrick’s Day in true fashion next month with “a few pints of Guinness somewhere”.
As regards his love for cycling, that too hasn’t dipped an inch.
“I do come home once or twice a year to visit my family and it’s great but California is home for now.
“I got married just three years ago and I own a home here so I suppose I’d call this my current home, but Ireland is always home.
“That’s where my family and my heart is.”
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
It’s the final week of our gym fitness programme with a personal trainer
Does training in the gym with your partner really benefit your workout?
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Cycling Fitness Oakley Where are they now