Mads Hancock builds his frames in the USA out of aerospace-grade nylon, prints them with zero-waste 3D tech, drops in ZEISS Sports lenses, and refuses to add a single feature that doesn't earn its keep. He chases precision, not logos. He took inspiration from dragonflies (light, balanced, built for speed) and somehow that's not even the weirdest, most wonderful part.
For the first time ever, we've co-designed 2 new frames, "Stride" and "Foam" with Ardith working alongside the Mads scientist himself. Below, Mads and Ardith walks us through the whole beautiful, occasionally maddening journey from sketch to prototype to the end product launching this week: what survived, what didn't, why a color can completely change a frame's personality, and the goal that quietly guided all of it. Not eyewear you notice during a run. Eyewear that disappears the second you start.
Now, let's get into it with the man himself:
Bandit: Tell us about the process of creating the Stride and Foam products…
Both frames were developed at the same time.
Some ideas translated surprisingly well from sketch to product. Others looked fantastic in the early drawings and became less convincing once we started building them in three dimensions. That's a fairly normal part of the process. What works on paper doesn't always work in reality.
As the designs evolved, there was a constant back-and-forth between sketches, CAD development, prototypes, fit reviews and manufacturing feedback. Every version answered a few questions and usually created a few new ones.
The challenge wasn't coming up with ideas. The challenge was deciding which ones deserved to survive.
Bandit: Ardith, what were your personal inspirations that influenced the designs?
I was craving a larger silhouette, influenced from what I was seeing from a trend perspective in fashion in terms of eyewear…the shift from the tiny frames and into something larger (you know I love Phoebe and her ubiquitous lenses I could feel would influence the category).
Bandit: Oh we know..
Yeaaa, so currently on the market larger frames read ultra performance (imo), almost like wrap around and buggy, but not in a fashion way. I loved the energy of the RS “Pace” silhouette, so I wanted to capture that DNA but evolve the scale and shape a bit.
Bandit: Okay, so we've landed on the initial frame designs, we've prototyped, then we get into the real exercise of designing the bells & whistles, other unique details and readying to build these pieces for showtime, not just a couple samples…
Mads: This is usually where product development becomes interesting. And occasionally frustrating.
There were concepts we all loved that simply didn't make sense once manufacturing got involved. Others created unnecessary complexity, added weight or introduced durability concerns that weren't worth the trade-off.A lot of what makes it into the final product is obvious. A lot of what doesn't is equally important.
There were discussions around lens etching, alternative attachment systems and more aggressive design features that ultimately never made production. Not because they weren't interesting, but because they didn't make the product better.
One thing we tried to stay disciplined about throughout the process was asking the same question over and over:
Does this improve the product, or does it just make it different? They're not always the same thing.
Bandit: Alright, so we've edited, added and deleted. We're now at the fun part, right?
Mads: Yea, so once the overall shapes started feeling right, attention shifted toward colors and lens combinations.
That part sounds easier than it actually is.
Small changes in frame color completely changed the personality of the product. The same was true for the lenses. Some combinations felt right immediately, while others looked great on their own but didn't make sense as part of the collection.
A surprising amount of time was spent refining details that most people will never consciously notice. Which is probably exactly how it should be.
Ardith: Color was definitely the most fun part to play with here. Connecting it to the broader collection without being too matchy-matchy. I love where we landed... and I'm especially a fan of the Foam in the Espresso with pink lenses... I may have took the same and may have worn it since our shoot non-stop.
Bandit: What details got you excited to integrate into the designs?
The perforated design on the arm was a nod to the fabrics & breathability emphasis in our apparel. Developing the semi rim (Stride) was the perfect balance to the Stride, in that it offers a more classic performance, slimmer shape. The shape wrap around detail from the arm to the lens was an abstract interpretation of our current logo, offering a touch of novelty and intentional detail.
Bandit: What goes into actually testing whether or not they hold up to the task?
Mads: Testing ran in parallel with development from fairly early on.
Every prototype was worn, adjusted, reviewed and tested again. Some feedback resulted in major changes. More often, it came down to small refinements around fit, stability, field of view, comfort and long-term wearability.
The reality is that most people never notice those adjustments. They simply notice whether a product feels right or not.
That was always the goal. Not to create eyewear that gets noticed during a run, but to create eyewear that "disappears" once the run begins.
Bandit: So tell us about where we landed after this process.
Mads: Stride and Foam are manufactured in the USA using aerospace-grade nylon and advanced SLS 3D printing technology.
One of the reasons we like working this way is that it gives us the freedom to keep refining a product throughout development. When something isn't working, we changed it quickly and iteratively. If a detail could be improved, we tested another version.
That flexibility played a big role throughout this project.
STRIDE
Built on the proven fit architecture of our PACE frame, Stride allowed us to explore a completely different visual language through its semi-rim construction and lens attachment system.
Many of the early references came from symbols associated with movement, energy and focus. Not in a literal sense, but as a starting point for developing a shape that felt different from anything else in the collection.
Weight: 25 grams.
Available in Espresso and Plaster
FOAM
This one came from a different direction.
The goal was to create a frame that felt just as relevant before a run, after a run or while traveling as it did during the run itself.
The oversized vintage silhouette, combined with the perforation-inspired temple detailing, became a natural extension of many of the themes we had been discussing throughout the project.
Weight: 28 grams.
Available in Poppy, Copal and Black
Both frames feature ZEISS Sports lenses, moldable side temples for personalized fit and are manufactured in the USA.
Bandit: Thanks Mads, we're psyched to get these out into the world.
Mads: Let's do it.
