Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 738 is my conversation with Al Perkinson, the founder and CEO of Bajio Sunglasses. Al built Bajio in New Smyrna Beach, Florida around a clear sense of purpose, manufacturing lenses and assembling sunglasses in the United States. We had filmed together years earlier, and since then he has gone on quite a journey — from a banking background and years in the optical industry to launching an eyewear brand designed to do good. We get into how it all came together and why purpose drives the whole thing.
Listen now: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · Press play in the player above to watch.
Al Perkinson is the founder and CEO of Bajio Sunglasses, a purpose-driven eyewear company based in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. He grew up in North Carolina, came to the fishing industry after a banking background and years in the optical industry, and built Bajio around a personal mission to do good, stay connected to the outdoors, and pursue exploration.
Bajio Sunglasses is a purpose-driven eyewear company founded by Al Perkinson and based in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The company manufactures its lenses and assembles its sunglasses in the United States, a deliberate choice in an industry dominated by overseas production, and is built around a mission of using the business to do good.
Al Perkinson chose to manufacture Bajio's lenses and assemble its sunglasses in New Smyrna Beach, Florida because American manufacturing reflects the company's purpose-driven values and gives Bajio more control over quality. It is an unusual and difficult choice in an eyewear industry that overwhelmingly produces overseas.
Before founding Bajio, Al Perkinson had a banking background and spent years in the optical industry. He describes himself as someone who was always searching for a situation that gave his life real purpose, and he says it all finally came together with Bajio after that earlier career path.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 738 with Al Perkinson is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
Al and I sat down years ago, and watching where he has taken Bajio since then made me want to have him back. What I respect about Al is that he did not just start another sunglasses company — he set out to build something with purpose, something that uses the business to do good, and he committed to manufacturing in the United States, which almost nobody in this category does. I wanted him to walk me through that whole arc, from a North Carolina creek to the company he runs today.
Press play in the YouTube player at the top of this page to hear the full story.
Al has a banking background and years in the optical industry before Bajio, and he describes himself as someone who has always been searching for the situation that gave his life real purpose. He says most people never find that, and he feels lucky it all came together with Bajio. The path from finance to founder is not obvious, and the way he tells it is worth hearing. Listen to how it unfolded in the episode.
Al says he has always wanted to do three things with his life: use it to do good, spend it in the outdoors, and pursue exploration. Bajio is where those threads came together. He talks about building selflessness into a for-profit company and using whatever skills and resources he has to make the world a little better. That philosophy is the engine of the whole brand. Watch the YouTube player above for how he applies it.
Bajio manufactures its lenses and assembles its sunglasses in New Smyrna Beach, Florida — a deliberate, difficult choice in an industry that overwhelmingly produces overseas. Al explains why American manufacturing matters to him and what it lets the company control about quality. For anyone interested in building things domestically, this is a candid look at the trade-offs. Listen to that part of the conversation.
Al grew up in North Carolina, starting in Charlotte, one of four boys with a creek behind the house. Every Saturday was a mission — the anticipation of what they would find and discover, dreams always bigger than the reality of a suburban creek. That sense of exploration is the through-line from his childhood to a company built around the outdoors. Press play in the YouTube player above to hear it.
Listen to the full conversation: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · or watch in the YouTube player at the top of this page.
The day after talking to Al, what stuck with me was his line about searching for the situation that gives your life purpose, and how rare it is to actually find it. Al found his, and he built a company around it.
Bajio is proof you can run a real business and still lead with purpose and principle — manufacturing at home, doing good, and never losing the sense of exploration that started behind a suburban creek. That combination is rare, and I respect it.
Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 738 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Al Perkinson · Bajio Sunglasses · New Smyrna Beach, Florida · Charlotte, North Carolina · US lens manufacturing · the optical industry
Al Perkinson is the founder and CEO of Bajio Sunglasses, a purpose-driven eyewear company based in New Smyrna Beach, Florida that manufactures lenses and assembles sunglasses in the United States. He grew up in North Carolina, starting in Charlotte, and came to Bajio after a banking background and years in the optical industry. He built the company around a personal mission to use his work to do good, stay connected to the outdoors, and pursue exploration, and he is a leading advocate for purpose-led, domestically manufactured products in the fishing world.
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