Inspired by SoCal, UC San Diego Alumnus Makes Shades for Everyone

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This story originally appeared in the fall 2026 issue of UC San Diego Magazine as "In Living Color."

Sometimes, it only takes a pair of broken sunglasses on a bright summer day to change your life. This is exactly what happened to Adam Moyer, MFA ’08.

In July 2005, Moyer had newly arrived in La Jolla. He had traveled some 3,000 miles from Northern Virginia to attend the Visual Arts Master of Fine Arts program at UC San Diego. “At the time, Southern California seemed so exotic,” says Moyer. “So for me, going west represented freedom. It was an opportunity to start new things, to start fresh.”

He previously studied printmaking and collage as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia and chose UC San Diego for a chance to work alongside faculty such as Haim Steinbach, a conceptual installation artist and theorist, and Kim MacConnel ’69, MFA ’72, a contemporary artist whose colorful, pattern-driven work was already influencing Moyer’s practice.

As a California transplant, he quickly learned that sunglasses weren’t just an accessory, but a necessity. One day, he broke a pair of sunglasses, and in the moment afterward, a familiar word emerged from deep in his memory. Growing up outside Washington, D.C., Moyer’s dad kept a pair of old shoes in the garage for lawn mowing and all the other jobs that needed to be done around the house. He called them his “knockarounds.” They were the things you could count on. They were built for living.

Whether inspired by the broken sunglasses, the memory from home or the beaming sunshine, Moyer decided to start an affordable sunglasses company and call it Knockaround. He didn’t waste any time. He designed the logo in Photoshop, built a website and ordered his first shipment of sunglasses, all before his first quarter at UC San Diego had started.

The early Knockaround sunglasses were anything but traditional. While other sunglasses brands came in neutrals like black, gray or tortoiseshell, Moyer’s sunglasses exploded with color, a decision inspired by MacConnel’s art. “I love color, and I love experimenting with color, ” Moyer says.

Initially, he sold sunglasses to friends and classmates for $5 per pair, and $7 online. When he wasn’t making art, attending classes or working as a teaching assistant, he was busy on the website, drumming up press coverage and packing and shipping orders from his Visual Arts graduate studio on campus. When his program hosted its first open studios event, where art students showcase their works in progress, Moyer sold his sunglasses. “People thought it was an art project because they knew I was this weird, quirky art student,” he says.

MacConnel, whose use of color had inspired Moyer’s designs, wandered in and bought three pairs on the spot. Twenty-one years later, Knockaround has sold millions of sunglasses to people around the world.

Today, they are sold in roughly 4,000 retail locations across the country, including REI and Dick’s Sporting Goods, and are the official licensed eyewear of multiple sports leagues, including the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB. Knockaround is also the official eyewear of the PGA Tour.

In 2022, after 18 years as CEO, Moyer shifted his role to chief creative officer so he could return his focus to product design and marketing. “As a creative guy and the energy behind the brand, I feel like I’m really hitting my stride in this role as the ultimate brand ambassador,” he says. His most recent project brought him back to where it all started. When UC San Diego reached out to him about a limited-edition pair of Triton Knockaround sunglasses for this year’s Homecoming, commemorating the grand opening of the Triton Alumni and Welcome Center, he jumped at the opportunity. He was a part of every detail of their creation, from the gradient of blues across the frame to the trident discreetly etched onto the corner of the lens to the words hidden on the inner arm: Together. Tritons. Always.

While Moyer relocated back to Virginia to be closer to his extended family, he still returns to San Diego, Knockaround's headquarters, several times a year. For Moyer, UC San Diego will always be home, where it all began. “It will always hold a special place in my heart,” he says.

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