How Two Friends with a Crazy Idea, Reimagined Sunglasses, The Ombraz Story

The Fly Box LLC
Jun 18, 2025
6 min read

This interview was conducted by The Fly Box and featured in Casts That Care, our charity-driven fly fishing newsletter.

Casts That Care brings you real stories, big ideas, and the heart of the fly fishing world, all while donating 50% of subscriber fees to a different fly fishing charity each month.

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At Casts That Care, we’re drawn to brands that do things differently, not just for the sake of being different, but because they see a better way to solve a problem, and they’re willing to grind it out to make it real.

That’s what drew us to Ombraz. If you're in the outdoor community, you've probably seen these guys... The armless sunglasses.

Armless sunglasses sound almost like a gimmick… until you try them. And then you get it. They don’t slip. They don’t break in your bag. They’re light, durable, shockingly comfortable, and backed by a level of environmental commitment that’s more than just marketing fluff. In the fly fishing world, that kind of gear ethos resonates deeply.

So we sat down with Jensen Brehm, one of the founders of Ombraz, to dig into the real story. Where the idea came from, how they actually pulled it off, and what it takes to build a company like this without selling out your values.

This one isn’t just about sunglasses. It’s about what happens when two friends get obsessed with doing things the hard way, because it’s also the right way.

The Barn, the Boys, and the 240,000-Step Grind

Fast. Chaotic. Scrappy. And deeply intentional.

That’s how Ombraz began, not in a sleek startup hub or under venture capital lights, but in the loft of a 104-year-old barn outside Seattle. It was Jensen Brehm and Nikolai Paloni, two friends with a wild idea: reinvent sunglasses by removing the arms. Completely.

No investors. No playbook. Just 3,000 pre-ordered pairs and a mountain of work ahead. They stitched, threaded, tagged, and assembled each pair by hand, sometimes until 3 a.m., with help from friends, family, and anyone willing to grind. Jensen’s grandma pulled tags off cases. Day laborers from the Home Depot parking lot strung beads onto cords. Every pair took 80 individual steps. That’s 240,000 steps in total.

They even brought in a stitch specialist (one who usually worked with brands like Filson and Louis Vuitton) just to perfect a bar-tack stitch that wouldn’t bunch or fray. All for a product that didn’t exist yet, and might not work.

But they believed it would. Because Ombraz wasn’t built to ride a trend. It was built to solve a real problem.

When the World Started Noticing

The moment it all changed? Nikolai was walking down a street in Amsterdam when he spotted a random guy (someone they’d never met) wearing Ombraz. The sunglasses they made in a barn! That’s when they knew this wasn’t just a clever idea, it was a concept that could catch fire.

It already had. But not through celebrity placements or splashy campaigns. Ombraz spread quickly via the way great gear always does: word of mouth. Because if the product works, and solves real problems. Once people try them, they don’t want to go back!

Built for the Backcountry (and the Riverbank)

Ombraz has been fully embraced by the bikepacking and gravel cycling community, which came as a bit of a surprise, Jensen admits neither he nor Nikolai are cyclists, but the

"bikepacking/graveling community has turned Ombraz into THE sunglasses for bikepacking. A few key leaders in the space discovered Ombraz early on and their influence alone was enough to spread the armless concept like wildfire in the space."

Fly anglers, though? That one makes total sense.

“They’re simple, no fuss, they solve problems, they’re minimalistic, and they look good,” Jensen told us. “What else could a fly fisher want?!”

They’re dead-on for flats fishing, backpacking trips, alpine lakes, and saltwater skiffs. You don’t have to worry about the arms breaking off, digging into your temples, or getting caught in your hat strap. You throw them on, cinch the cord, and forget they’re even there.

That functional-first approach is embedded in every design choice. Ombraz keeps their frames clean and timeless, no trendy shapes or flashy drops. “We don’t want to redefine style norms,” Jensen says. “We want to let the practicality of the product be the draw.”

Culture, Curiosity, and the Rulebook They Actually Follow

Internally, Ombraz operates with a rulebook that doesn’t feel like corporate jargon, it feels like a handwritten list on the side of a barn wall.

Some favorites:

Nothing is Better – Arms? Who needs 'em. Armless truly delivers the best sunglass experience out there.
Protect the Brand – Don’t cut corners. Don’t chase hype. Don't Sellout. Protect the integrity of what they’re building... no shortcuts allowed.
Raise the Bar – Good isn’t good enough. Obsess over the little things. Quality is non-negotiable. If it can be improved, it will be.
Deliver a Net-Positive Impact – Carbon-negative is the baseline. Every pair makes the planet better, not worse.
Be Curious & Think Outside the Box – The whole armless thing started with a question. So keep asking them.
Simplify – Less flash, more function. Keep things clean so they can keep moving forward. – Strip away the unnecessary.
Find Mentors – Learn from people who’ve done it. Then chart your own path. – Ask smart people, dumb questions
Think Scalably – It’s not about growth at all costs—it’s about building systems that don’t break when things get big. Grow smart, sustainably, and without compromise.
Have Some Damn Fun – 'Nuff Said

That mindset has led them to avoid gimmicks and instead invest in something most brands treat like an afterthought: customer service. “We make sure you’re treated better than any brand has ever treated you,” Jensen says.

The Most Carbon-Negative Product on the Planet?

Ombraz doesn’t just flirt with sustainability—they’re obsessed with it. For every pair sold, they plant mangrove trees... in massive numbers. The result? Each frame is 1,713x carbon-negative.

They also don’t sugarcoat the realities: “We’re still shipping plastic around the world,” Jensen admits. “But we’ve got zero interest in doing that without delivering a substantial net-benefit.”

In fact, they once pulled out of a planned appearance on Shark Tank after realizing the VC pressure to “scale at all costs” didn’t line up with the mission. That integrity? It’s rare. And it shows.

A Quick Tease for the Fly Community

Fly fishers, take note, Jensen gave us the inside scoop: a fishing-specific, full-wrap frame is in the word and can be expected, maybe as early as Spring 2026. Built with the water in mind.

Until then, he swears their yellow-lens options outperform most competitors for on-the-water visibility: “You really have to try them on to understand how well they work.”

It’s that “ah-hah” moment that keeps coming up. The one where you realize your old sunglasses just don’t cut it anymore.

Why Ombraz Matters

This isn’t a story about sunglasses. It’s about solving problems with relentless creativity. About building something in a barn that ended up all over the world. About staying weird, staying principled, and proving you don’t need arms to hold your head high.

So if you’re on the fence, here’s the ask: try them on. Dial in the fit. Feel the difference for yourself. Ombraz didn’t just rethink sunglasses—they rethought what gear should feel like physically and metaphysically. Simple. Useful. Built to last. And once you feel that? You don’t go back.

You can follow the Ombraz story on their Website: Ombraz.Com On instagram: @Ombraz, TikTok: @Ombraz

Ombraz was kind enough to give us an affiliate link. If you’re thinking about picking up a pair, you can use THIS LINK— and all affiliate proceeds will continue to support our charity of the month.

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