To all who have never had the pleasure, I have...I can tell you personally from taking the full blown tour, that this place is head and shoulders above anything you could imagine!!! My son and I took the tour, and from what I have been told, it was one of the last ones...When you go in, it is totally industrial...Concrete, weathered looking metals, a torpedo (yes, a full size US Navy torpedo) on stands on the floor, pilot jet ejector seats for those waiting, and a funny car body hanging on the far wall..But that my friends, is only where you start!!!

Behind the wall where the body hangs is a full blown theater for a movie theater like presentation of Oakley movies and meetings. We also got to see further in a FULL NBA Official Basketball court (they have one of only a few in the country), which we were told has been played on by the U.S. Olympic teams for training, NBA players to shoot around on (does Michael Jordan ring a bell) and state teams making the grade. Next we saw production areas, R&D, packing, shipping, product testing (they compare their products to the competitors literally!!! so you can trust what they say), wear testing on clothing, aparell, shoes, etc. to see how and where things wear and fail in order to better them. I also saw the Thump in the R&D phases (very cool), their state of the art Stereo Lithography demo (awesome, they turn liquid resins into full scale models by curing it from the inside out), the lens making, and yes, I saw the Iridium room and how they coat the lenses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WWWWWOOOOOOO WWWWWHHHHHOOOOOO. The HOLY GRAIL OF OAKLEY SUNGLASSES...

They told us on the tour that they have designed and manufactured the vast mojority of the machines they use in production, and the technologies involved so they can keep the secrets inside!!!!If they still do, or ever do again allow tours, you must go!!!If not to admire the products, to admire the technologies and architecture...

I was shell shocked the first time I arrived at HQ, which was the 2009 Co-Pilots contest.
I had researched it so much over the years, I knew what to look for, but was taken aback at how damn cool it was. It is unlike any corporate culture out there...and if you love Oakley design, you will feel right at home.

Wife and I were meeting family in Vegas, after which we took the drive to HQ (in a super fuel efficient rental Honda Insight). After all the hassle going thru toll roads and what not, it was pretty much a let down. The outside of the building looks like it needs cleaning (rusting of the rivet-like pieces?). There was no tour, and the so-called musuem looked pathetic, with many pieces missing. The O-Store there was nothing out of the ordinary, although I found the staff there above average friendly, I would say better than the typical O-Store employee I've encountered elsewhere. Building looks better in pictures than actual. Photoshop helps, I suppose.

Went to headquarters last week and it was bit of a disappointment. The O Store on campus was not any better that my local store in Sacramento, actually it was worse. They were out of stock on the shirt, decal, and phone case I was looking for. I ended up finding those items on the second leg of my business trip in Ontario Mills Mall. There was no tour and the help in the O Store was less than courteous. I was glad I had the opportunity to see the architecture, but it was not a ideal customer experience.

You Oakley Co-Pilots were such a fun, bright, eclectic group of people with panache, joie de vivre, and obvious good taste. Did you show anyone your paintball bruises? Oh you didn't have any? LIARS!