In partnership with the MESA Foundation and Blenders Eyewear, the San Diego State women’s and men’s basketball teams hosted a meet-and-greet at Blenders headquarters on Sunday.
Those who RSVP’d for the event enjoyed food, drinks and snacks all while getting a sneak peek at the new glasses, in collaboration with MESA and SDSU, called Y2Skate State, which will be available for sale on Tuesday.
Each athlete received a swag bag from Blenders, including their Y2Skate State sunglasses. The sunglasses celebrate the second year of their NIL partnership with MESA and SDSU. All profits are donated to MESA, the official NIL partner of SDSU.
The glasses are available in five colors: Crystal Peach, Jet Black, Metallic Silver, Gloss Snow and State.
Fans had the opportunity to interact with the players from both teams and take pictures.
Freshman forward Pharaoh Compton shared his thoughts on the event.
“It’s pretty good to always know where the support and love comes from because we don’t get to always interact with the fans,” Compton said.
Chase Fisher, founder of Blenders and an SDSU alumnus, created the company in March of 2012 and is currently celebrating 13 years as a brand.
“The brand started here in San Diego, so anytime we can give back to this community, that’s our goal,” Fisher said. “So giving back to San Diego State is probably one of the most meaningful things that we can do as a brand. Honestly, it’s close to home in my heart, and lifting this team up and lifting the players up is lifting the whole program up. We’re here for life, and we’re gonna keep giving back as much as we can to the next generation of athletes.”
It has always been Fisher’s goal to partner with SDSU and its athletic program. Since the partnership began, they have donated money to the athletic department.
“During basketball season, the first pair of sunglasses was called The Show, named after the student section,” Fisher said. “The most meaningful thing is how we can lift players up by giving back to them, by donating. We’re donating $100,000 to student athletes this year. So, in the last year, Blenders would have donated over a quarter million dollars to San Diego State student-athletes, which is incredible. So we’re just getting started.”
Senior guard Nick Boyd appreciated the alumni coming back and showing support.
“It speaks to the alumni, how valuable they are, and how they try to push our program as a whole, and you can’t take that for granted,” Boyd said.
Freshman guard Nat Martinez appreciates what Fisher has done for the women’s basketball team.
“With NIL nowadays, just anything helps,” Martinez said. “So having him [Fisher] donate really just shows how supportive he is to women’s sports.”
As for senior guard Desai Lopez, he sees Fisher as an inspiration.
“I told him [Fisher] right now, it’s very inspiring what he’s doing,” Lopez said. “For me, personally, I’m a business major, and later on in the future, I want to open up a business myself. So just to be able to come back to where he started at, like that’s very inspiring.”
In addition, senior guard Wayne McKinney III takes this opportunity of the partnership to help him grow, network, and give back.
“Being able to connect and market myself for what I want to do in the future,” McKinney III said. “It’s definitely helped me, you know, think outside the box. Giving back to people, giving back to teams, getting involved with sports life to be able to get my product or whatever it is out there.”
Blenders’ main goal for student-athletes is to mentor and guide them through entrepreneurship. Fisher wants to continue helping these current athletes, as well as those coming in the future.
