‘Lax Bro’ culture creates new niche market

Lacrosse has caught the imagination of tens of thousands of youths, becoming the fastest growing team sport in the United States, stealing players from local town baseball teams and attracting businesses seeking profits for specialized lacrosse gear, camps, clubs, and growing line of lacrosse apparel. Pictured is Beau Keough, 9, playing lacrosse with his brothers.

As lacrosse has gained more followers, the ways to spend money on it also have increased. Entry-level equipment packages for an elementary school boy sell for about $160 and usually include a stick, helmet, shoulder and arm pads, and gloves. Pictured is lacrosse player Kristopher Campbell, 13, of Longmeadow, displaying some of his lacrosse gear.

Experienced players can opt for color-customized, gladiator-style helmets priced at more than $200, and padded gloves that cost nearly $200. Lacrosse sticks can be bought in parts, with a high-end pole selling for nearly $300 and the pocket, or head, costing another $100. Pictured is Charles Wemyss, 20, an employee at Commonwealth Lacrosse.

Many lacrosse players are “gear heads” — they collect a variety of sticks, using some for games and others for hanging out with their Lax Bro — short for “lacrosse brothers’’ — buddies.

Campbell said he owns 10 sticks and is always looking for something newer and better. Campbell said he finances his equipment by stringing sticks for friends and teammates. He has been playing lacrosse since he was 3 years old and is currently on two teams. Being a Lax Bro, he said, is all about the look and the love of the game.

A growing number of lacrosse-lifestyle items are hitting the market. Local stores like Commonwealth Lacrosse, with seven locations in Massachusetts, sell an array of socks, hats and T-shirts, including those that read, “Lax Bro” and “Welcome to Laxachusetts.” The shops feature products by a New York company called Flow Society, which claims to “represent the flow of the game and the flow of energy from a growing culture.” Its website includes a video of young lacrosse players running through a chateau-like, chandelier-studded space. Pictured is Liam Peck, 9, of Sherborn, checking out a new glove at Commonwealth Lacrosse.

Off the field, people who embrace the Lax Bro culture wear their hair long, dress in colorful board shorts, flat-brim hats, and bright half-calf socks. They carry lacrosse sticks, or “spoons,” on and off field, and enjoy chillin’ to the music of O.A.R., Dispatch, and Dave Matthews.

To achieve the off-the-field look, items Lax Bros need to buy can cost $10-$45 for board shorts, $20 for flat-brim hats, and $8-$11 for half-calf socks.