Eye expert’s performance-enhancing lenses help athletes see the finish line more clearly
Optometrist explains how he married science with his love of sport to create lenses that filter out glare and unnecessary light, allowing elite athletes to see their surroundings and lines more clearly and lengthen their stride
Growing up in a world of sport and science, it made sense for Nick Dash to combine the two. He became a pioneer for improving elite athletes’ performance through enhanced vision.
The sports vision optometrist, who works with some of the world’s best athletes, struggled to balance sport and academics as a child: his father played for Bristol Rugby Club when it was England’s top team; his mother was a science lecturer in child development at University of Bristol.
“I tried to compete when I was younger as an athlete, and didn’t quite make the top grade. I almost got thrown out of school because I was playing so much sport, so there has always been that competition between the two,” said Dash, who played field hockey and golf at a high level as a youngster.
“I studied optometry because of the biologically fascinating unique properties that influence life,” he says. “I’ve had very few problems with vision.”
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His first degree was in cell biology and immunology, and he started doing research in a lab. He preferred helping people directly, though, and improving people’s lives.
