It’s not often teenagers kick start their careers fresh out of high school, but that was exactly the case for Mike Ferrino. 

Seventeen years ago, Mike walked into a LensCrafters and spent $450 on a pair of trendy Ray-Bans—only to lose them on a rollercoaster the next day. He returned to the store to buy the same pair again. Choosing to focus on the silver lining in the situation, Mike joked with the representative and said since he made them $900 in two days, he might as well work there. It was that bold moment that sparked Mike’s optician career.  

Eager to get started in his new role, Mike wasted no time preparing for his optician exam, studying relentlessly and passing the test in just three months—a remarkable feat that typically takes two years. 

At LensCrafters, Mike garnered a vast amount of experience working in the lab while building solid friendships with his co-workers. During his off hours, he volunteered as a lab manager at The OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation, a registered charitable organization that works to eliminate “uncorrected poor vision.”  

With a decade of hands-on experience in eyewear manufacturing, Mike expanded his skill set by taking on roles as a business development specialist and assistant store manager before landing what he describes as his dream job. 

Encouraged by a colleague, Mike joined SportRx in 2018 as a Licensed Sales and Customer Service Manager. From day one, he felt at home, describing the company as “a needle in a haystack,” a place he never thought existed. 

He had always assumed that companies with strong, people-first cultures were limited to tech giants like Google. Never did he imagine he could work in the optical industry without a suit and tie or that he’d be part of a company that valued its customers as individuals, not metrics. 

At SportRx, personalization is at the heart of the experience. Mike doesn’t just assist customers, he builds genuine connections. He remembers their names, their kids’ names, and even whether they’re scratch golfers. When he follows up, customers often share how their new eyewear improved their game, whether it’s shaving three strokes off their score or enhancing their vision on the green. 

A self-described “total optic geek,” Mike understands the nuts and bolts of manufacturing glasses because of his experience. From simply reading an eye prescription, Mike knows exactly how thick the lens will be and how it differs depending on the shape and size of a particular frame. This expertise is what he credits for his impeccable track record, with virtually no remakes. 

“I'm not going to sell anything that's going to be too heavy, or uncomfortable, or hurt the nose or anything like that because I know exactly what that lens is going to look like,” he explains. 

Like all of the opticians at SportRx, Mike loves sports and spends a lot of time outdoors. Golf ranks as his sport of choice, while hiking at national parks with his wife of 15 years tops his list of outdoor activities. As an avid golfer, Mike’s go-to glasses are his Oakley’s with Prizm golf lenses. When hiking, Mike always wears sunglasses with a rose copper base lens color—his favorite being a pair of Maui Jims with a rose hue lens.  

Mike prefers to wear rose copper lenses while hiking because he says they provide higher contrast and improved depth perception, which are helpful when navigating uneven and treacherous terrain. Additionally, he claims the rose lenses work well in variable light conditions, and the added polarization to the lenses further enhances the contrast of uneven surfaces, as well as cuts down on reflections from bright surfaces. 

After nearly two decades in the industry, Mike’s enthusiasm for helping customers see their best remains as strong as ever. “There’s nothing like seeing or even just hearing about the ‘wow factor’ when a customer first puts on their new dream glasses,” says Mike. “That never gets old.”