CARLSBAD, Calif.—SPY® today announced the addition of professional surfer, history buff and cultural icon Joel Tudor to rock its new Crosstown Collection—a line of stylish handmade acetate sunglasses inspired by vintage fashion, music, art and life in the Golden State. Tudor will also “see more better” through SPY’s new ophthalmic collection—SPY Rx.

“I haven’t had a sunglass sponsor since ’96 due to the fact most companies out there lack creativity,” says Joel Tudor. “The crew at SPY is definitely on point, and so is their Crosstown and Rx collections.”

An understudy of ’60s and ’70s surfing legends like Phil Edwards, Nat Young, David Nuuhiwa, Miki Dora, Wayne Lynch, and Gerry Lopez, Tudor melded their time honored approaches to forge his own path where he boldly encouraged a new generation of non-conformists to flip the bird at the “usual” way of looking at modern day surfing.

“Aside from being the world’s best longboarder over the past two decades, Joel is just as well known for busting down the stigmas associated with the type of surf craft someone chooses to ride,” explains Devon Howard, SPY marketing director. “Today, he remains as relevant as ever in board design innovation and traditional types of surfing—as well as being a respected authority on surf culture and history. Honestly, we couldn’t ask for a better guy to back SPY’s Crosstown and Rx collections.”

Revered as a “soul” surfer that never “sold out,” Tudor was still no stranger to competitive success. His timeless style earned him two ASP World Longboard Championships, eight US Open Longboard Champion titles, and a number of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu championships under his black belt.

“I’m happy I’ve found a home at SPY where I don’t have to worry about wearing tacky sunglasses or prescription frames that only kooks would be caught dead wearing,” adds Tudor, who also recently opened his own Jiu-Jitsu school in Solana Beach, CA. “After walking around blind for the past 15 years, I can finally wear glasses I’m proud of.”

Tudor will join the company of SPY’s current Crosstown athletes Nate Tyler, Wade Goodall, Darrell Mathes, Ryan Burch and Jared Mell.

To see Joel Tudor at work, check out vimeo.com/9031792, or pick up the current newsstand issue of Surfer magazine Vol. 53, Issue No. 7 for the feature length interview on his relevance in today’s surfing world. For more information about SPY, log-on at www.spyoptic.com, www.facebook.com/spyoptic, Twitter @spyoptic and @spyoptic on Instagram. See the Crosstown Collection at http://www.spyoptic.com/collection/crosstown and SPY Rx Collection at http://www.spyoptic.com/rx-sunglasses/l/402_viewall.