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Inside Outdoor | SUMMER 2020 28 W hen Ryan Doherty and Zach Hines, two lifelong friends from Detroit, found- ed outdoor sports optics brand Ripclear in 2013, little did they realize the dramatic impact their fledgling company would have seven years later in the midst of a global pandemic. In early 2020, when word was spreading about the Coronavirus and the devastating shortage of PPE, Ripclear made a business pivot and set out to make a difference. The company immediately repurposed from manufacturing sports optics products to making temporary and long-term PPE, which were FDA, ISO 9001 and CE registered. “It wasn’t much of a pivot, as we had the rolls of material for making face shields already on hand for production, as well as seven years of experience in manufacturing opti- cally clear eye protection and the full supply chain in place to guaran- tee seamless deliveries,” Doherty said. “All these factors really helped set us apart as one of the premier PPE suppliers.” Ripclear has reached impressive milestones in a short period of time. Since March 2020, the brand has de- livered 1.5 million face shields and 10.8 million face masks to hospitals, dental offices and healthcare facilities. Re- markably, as demand skyrocketed from frontline responders, Ripclear also saw high demand from restaurants, hotels, schools and facility managers. “With all of the uncertainty out there, we’re glad we were able to contribute in protecting workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus fight,” Hines said. “And to provide guidance for industries less familiar with PPE on how to open safely.” In May 2020, Ripclear released its new V2 Face Shield, which has been a game changer protecting frontline personnel, including dentists, dental assistants, nurses, doctors, EMS workers, police, facility and operations person- nel, and other frontline staff. The V2 Shield fea- tures 91 percent optical transparency, so that personnel can safely and effectively do their work while staying protected via a certified medical face shield. “We heard the needs of frontline responders and essential workers across the country and are producing an optically clear, anti-fog, foam pad- ded face shield that protects against spray and droplet infection,” Doherty said. “We are taking orders of quanti- ties anywhere from 100 units to over 1 million units directly on our site and hope to keep as many people pro- tected from the spread of COVID-19 as humanly possible.” Ripclear also has been hard at work developing strategic partner- ships designed to get PPE where it is needed most, regardless of the indus- try. Some of the partnerships formed include with Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. Mich.; CORE Response (actor/director Sean Penn’s humani- tarian efforts charity); the Children’s Cancer Network; Portland Fire & Rescue in Oregon; and ProtectAZ (a nonprofit that procures and distributes PPE in Arizona) Part of Ripclear’s PPE strategy is to get input and feedback from frontline workers that use face shields and face masks on a day-to-day basis. “The Ripclear face shields are truly the most comfortable protec- tive shields that I wore during this COVID pandemic,” explained Laura Gordon, RN at Beau- mont Hospital in Michigan. “I felt extremely safe wearing them as they provided maximum coverage yet allowed enough room to do our work while not feel- ing so confined.” Ripclear has been providing top notch optical components for years and will continue to do so in the out- door space. So outdoor and snow- sports enthusiasts can expect more quality Ripclear products for goggles, sunglasses, visors, phones, watches, GPS devices, action cameras and lenses. But with the heightened sense of urgency in the fight against COVID, the company plans to contin- ue being a force in the medical and healthcare industries. By Lynette Carrington Lifelong Friends Turn Sports Optics Brand into Booming PPE Business Ryan and Zach during brighter days Ripclear V2 Face Shield Brand Watch