Joseph Mayers by training is an auto technician who also has a flair for style and design as part of his skill set.

All of those skills and others would be called upon in his early 30s when he became visually impaired due to an ongoing medical condition. Today, Mayers says, he is legally blind and is not able to see clearly past 20 feet without magnification. The adversity he is facing poses considerable challenges, but not ones Mayers sees as insurmountable.

Mayers has turned his current situation into an entrepreneurial opportunity with the launch of his Thru My Eyes company in Mission. He has become an apparel maker in creating clothing for the visually impaired. Mayers puts a premium on products that are stylish and meet his standards for being “hip and fashionable.” 

“There’s not much out there that’s cool for us,” Mayers said of clothing choices for what he says is his “new community.”

Maintaining Independence

Mayers grew up in a military family, moving from one city to another before meeting his wife, a Mission native, and moving to the Rio Grande Valley.

His years of experience in auto repair and technical work provided a good living even as he dabbled in design and graphics work. Mayers’ worries and concerns were many as he began losing his vision. Among them was maintaining a degree of independence in being able to care for himself. 

“People who become visually impaired can struggle to be independent,” he said. “You can’t do this or that, asking for help all the time, and I’m the kind of person that has always gotten things done on my own. I didn’t want people holding my hand for the rest of my life.”

Igniting a Dream

Mayers attended a school in Austin that gave him guidance and instruction on how to live with his visual impairment. While there, he began working for the Austin Lighthouse. It’s a nonprofit organization which warehouses, manufactures and distributes a wide variety of merchandise for governments and the private sector. Half of the Lighthouse’s 400 employees are legally blind. In that manufacturing environment, Mayers began to generate ideas on new lines of work and business possibilities he could pursue.

Utilizing his mechanical background, he worked as an industrial mechanic in repair and maintenance of the equipment and machinery utilized by the lighthouse. It’s where the spark came to create a company that produces apparel for the visually impaired.

Mayers would return to Mission and get a significant boost from the local economic development corporation in pursuing that dream.

Gaining Respect

Thru My Eyes was in need of capital and guidance to establish, as any new startup company seeks to do.

“I knew I could create a product for my new community,” Mayers said. “It’s great to have ideas, but at some point, you need to get paid for having great ideas.”

With that in mind, he sought to enter the Ruby Red Ventures competition hosted by the Mission Economic Development Corporation. Mayers called it “an eye-opening experience” in getting the EDC’s guidance on business planning, marketing and the overall strategies needed to build a successful small business. Going through the process in 2024, Mayers was chosen among those allowed to compete in making a sales pitch before judges.

He would ultimately finish third and be awarded a $10,000 grant that would help his young company get better grounding. It would also help to give Thru My Eyes a higher stature of legitimacy as an aspiring startup.

“To have the EDC recognize my potential brings respect and encourages me,” Mayers said.

It has all helped him to continue to produce specialized clothing that has three touch points that are in braille and raised print that provide information about shirt size, style, texture and price. 

“I wanted to do something that helps people,” Mayers said. “I’m in a space where I can do that and where people haven’t figured things out, but are trying to do so.”

Visit tmeapparel.com to learn more about Thru My Eyes and view available products.