Taking its motto ‘no ordinary sunwear for no ordinary people’ to the next level, Essilor Sun Solution has begun a program supporting non-professional athletes who have decided to realize their passion.

Through the ‘no ordinary stories’ program, Essilor Sun Solution contributes financially to their projects and, with the help of its sunbrand partners, equips people with the eyewear and lenses adapted to the special environments and conditions that they will face.

Five projects have been selected to date ranging from ultra distance endurance races in the Arctic Circle, Africa and Asia to ocean crossings and mountain expeditions. The people behind each project will chronicle their adventures via a short video which will be shared via their own social networks, as well as by Essilor® Sun Solution™ and some of its sunbrand partners.

Watch the first two of these ‘no ordinary stories’ to see how Marie and Régis put Essilor Sun Solution lenses to the test with their Samoyed dogs in the 130 km Swedish Beaver trap dog-sled race and to follow the experiences of Nicolas Maréchal in the 2018 Marathon des Sables – a 250 km race through the south Saharan desert.

Essilor has a history in supporting extraordinary people in their expeditions: in 2017 the Group equipped the Bear Witness team who completed the first circumnavigation on skis of the Arctic Bylot Island at the eastern edge of the historic Northwest Passage. Essilor has also supported French oceanographer and glaciologist Eric Brossier and his family since 2012 in their life aboard the scientific observation vessel Vagabond, that for most of the year is frozen into the surrounding ice fields of the Canadian Arctic. The extreme testing of Essilor eyewear in the harshest of light and weather environments has been an invaluable resource in ensuring the Group provides the highest-quality lenses, no matter the circumstances.