NFL Hall of Hamer Deion Sanders has found success as head coach at the University of Colorado. His influence has been beneficial to many, including one San Diego-based business. NBC 7’s Todd Strain reports.
At Blenders Eyewear in San Diego, the future's so bright you gotta wear shades: Prime 21 shades.
Business is booming thanks to Deion Sanders, also known as Coach Prime. If you haven't heard of him by now, he's an NFL legend (he also played a little pro baseball) and now the head football coach for the University of Colorado.
"Massive right now," says Chase Fisher, Blenders CEO and founder. "We are riding the biggest wave in Blenders history."
Before the college football season, Sanders partnered with Blenders for a signature sunglasses line, Prime 21. The shades come in black and gold, just like the University of Colorado.
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Sanders debuted the Prime 21 shades in Colorado's season opener at Texas Christian University. When he took the field for kickoff, Sanders was wearing one of only three pairs of Prime 21 glasses that existed at the time, they were still in the pre-order phase. By halftime, pictures and videos of Sanders shades were all over social media.
"That first week was nuts," Fisher said. "I was getting calls and text messages from people I haven't talked to since high school, saying 'Chase turn on the TV, Deion Sanders is wearing your sunglasses.' From that point on it was game on."
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However, things were just getting started.
Last week, one day before the Prime 21 sunglasses were set to be released to the public, the coach of Colorado's next opponent, Colorado State's Jay Norvell, went on a radio show in Colorado Springs and made critical comments about Sanders wearing sunglasses and hats.
"I don't care if they hear it in Boulder, I told them I take my hat and glasses off, when I talk to grown-ups I take my hat and glasses off, that's what my mother taught me," Norvell said.
The comments went viral and so did the sunglasses.
Fisher called the moments after Norvell's comments "insanity."
Suddenly, Blender's Prime 21 sunglasses were everywhere and everyone wanted a pair. Blenders sold $1.5 million worth of Prime 21 shades in one day.
"The coach of Colorado State just tee'd this up perfectly and this opportunity just fell into our lap and boom we break the internet," Fisher said.
Two days later it happened again. Deion gave Hollywood star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson a pair of Prime 21 sunglasses on national TV. For the third time in three weeks, Blenders had the type of exposure that you can't put a price on.
"Literally, that was insane!" Fisher said.
Over the weekend, Blenders made millions more in sales.
Fisher said Blenders became the face of college sports and pop culture overnight.
"This feels like it has a Michael Jordan-Nike type of merit. We created one of the most iconic relationships in sunglasses with Deion and together we can do more for sunglasses than in the last 50 years," Fisher said.
The Prime 21 sunglasses sell for $67, coinciding with Sanders birth year: 1967.
Blenders and Coach Prime share a partnership that is both flash and cash, flash for anyone wearing the Prime 21 shades and cash, lots of cash, for a San Diego-based company.
