Welcome to Mobile Optical, San Diego

Helmut Igel has the optical industry in his blood – literally.

His father, Helmut Igel Sr. began as an optician in Germany when he was 15 yrs. old. He immigrated in 1963 by ship to New York with his wife Helga at 21 and 22 with their son Helmut II, then 2 years old. As a well-trained German optician he was able to procure a job in Manhattan where there were many other fellow immigrants who understood the quality training a German optician had.

In 1972 Helmut Sr. wanted to start a new optical distribution company. After moving to San Diego he found Neostyle from Germany; one of the leaders in fashion eyewear. They just happened to be looking for an entrepreneur in the USA that could build the USA market.

Well things took off when Neostyle introduced the Nautic frame that Elvis Presley and many other celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Sammy Davis Jr. and many others wore. From there the Neostyle brand became known as one of the best known premium German brands within the optical industry.

Helmut Jr. became involved with Neostyle USA when he was 16yrs old helping in shipping and inventory after school and in the summer. At 19 Helmut II wanted to set his own path and took his backpack and surfboard and traveled throughout the South Pacific and South-East Asia for 10 months where he met a man that was a deck officer in the Merchant Marines. He decided to attend California Maritime Academy to earn his 3rd Mates Unlimited Tonnage any Ocean. He worked on oil tankers and cruise ships for a while where he met his wife Julie. They now have 3 lovely girls. He then retired from the shipping industry to share more time with his children. He joined the family optical business and became president and distributed Neostyle, Flair (German Rimless collection) and Ete (frames with real feathers inlaid into the plastic). He also started his own premium sunglass company, Triton Sunglasses.

After managing and running a distribution company for over 25 years, Helmut was ready for a change and wanted to start helping consumers directly. He launched his own mobile optical company using his expertise and skill in finding the perfect frame and lenses to meet the customer’s individual needs. Mobile Optical can offer factory direct pricing on hundreds of styles.

Let Helmut help you find the right frame to reflect your personality and lenses for the right occasion.