Our History

1986

Joe Sugarman begins advertising BluBlockers in full page inflight shopping magazines (before you could watch a movie on a plane, you shopped in a magazine).  BluBlocker was an instant success.   

1989

BluBlocker sells 10,000,000 pairs of special edition sunglasses to Pizza Hut in celebration of their intended appearance in Back to the Future 2!  See our BluBlocker in film page for the whole story

1990

Having a strong connection to the military after his active duty service, Joe Sugarman silently donates 20,000 pairs of BluBlocker to soldiers in the United States military during the Gulf War

1990

BluBlocker goes direct to consumer through through TV and catalog

1990

BluBlocker launches Viper Sunglasses

1992

BluBlocker aired a 30 minute infomercial that changed the world of advertising forever. Not only was the use of an infomercial innovative, but using people walking the street to praise the product was truly ahead of its time in marketing.

1993

BluBlocker sponsors Three Ford Mustangs in endurance race. These pictures were provided to us by one of the crew members for the Baer racing world challenge road race team.

1993

On a sunny day in Venice Beach California, Joe Sugarman ran into a local rapper by the name of Dr. Geek. In the spur of the moment, Dr. Geek made an iconic rap for BluBlocker that launched its popularity to new heights. Dr. Geek passed away in 2014. We will forever hold his memory in our hearts and we are eternally grateful for the impact he had on us doing what he loved. You can see his obituary here and his iconic BluBlocker rap below.

1998

BluBlocker make a special appearance in the movie There’s Something About Mary

2001

Once again Joe Sugarman donates 20,000 pairs of BluBlocker to the U.S. military when the War in Afghanistan begins.

2003

Following the trend, Joe Sugarman graciously donated 20,000 more BluBlocker during the Iraq war.

2009

"Hangover" the move producers purchased six pair of BluBlocker's from our Las Vegas office.  BluBlocker didn't know what the glasses were for.  We later discovered this Todd Phillips classic staring Zach Galifianakis (as Alan) would turn our tortoise classic BluBlockers into a pop culture icon in the 21st century.