Wooden lacrosse shafts aren’t really a modern, innovative, or necessarily beneficial part of the current game; or so I thought. Kai of Lumber Lax completely changed my perspective on wooden lacrosse shafts, and he has made quite the name for himself while doing so. Even though he is still very young, Kai has huge aspirations for lacrosse and his business that he created. I was lucky enough to meet Kai at LaxCon 2018, and he was generous enough to send Stringers Society two custom Lumber Lax wooden lacrosse shafts for us to test out. His brand vision, craftsmanship, and fresh ideas are just the icing on top too. Kai is doing worlds of good out there for lacrosse, and we just want you to know about and respect his mission.
Lumber Lax Loves All of Lacrosse
The roots of Lumber Lax come from trees, but the root of the company was a dream to play. We are no stranger to the high cost of lacrosse equipment; but, for those who don’t know, travel lacrosse is also really pricey. Kai lives in the Pacific North-West, and traveling around to tournaments that are seriously spaced out can get expensive. With this in mind, Kai decided to try and sell and make wooden lacrosse shafts so he could play more.
This highly admirable move then blossomed into more and more. Kai developed the idea for the “signature stick” and began creating fiddlesticks as well. His new innovation caught on quickly, and now you can see them at MLL games everywhere.
The Signature Stick from Lumber Lax
Getting an autograph from an MLL player can be an awesome experience; however, if you have them sign your stick then you won’t want to play with it. You’d be worried about ruining the signature or just breaking the stick in general. Now that’s a recipe for disaster.
Kai then came up with the idea that players could get a stick that’s exclusively for signatures. This doesn’t sound very practical because of the high price of lacrosse sticks, but Kai’s signature sticks are only $30. They also come with an attached sharpie that makes collecting John Hancocks easier than revolutionizing the United States and succeeding from Great Britain.
The MLL recognized the popularity and genius of Kai’s idea and are now partners with Lumber Lax. There are “signature sticks” for every MLL team, and they are carried at all MLL games. Now you can actually get some autographs without thinking you’ll have to retire your gamer.
Equality Matters to Lumber Lax
Besides being a forward-thinking business mind, Kai is a forward-thinking person in the realm of civil rights and equality. It’s no secret that lacrosse has had some unfortunately dark chapters during its colorful existence. Racism, seclusion, prejudices, discrimination, and hate have no right to be affiliated with lacrosse and Kai wishes to end the negativity.
He engraves each shaft with the symbol for equality in lacrosse, and for each shaft sold he donates one to someone who doesn’t have lacrosse available to them. A large majority of the time, these sticks go to people of color in underdeveloped areas where lacrosse hasn’t become popular. The insertion of lacrosse in these areas then not only gives the children an activity to be excited and prideful for, but also a chance to live out the same dream as Kai.
Kai created Lumber Lax so he could play more lacrosse; and, in the end, he is just trying to help more kids like him play lacrosse. No one should be denied the chance to experience lacrosse, and place of birth shouldn’t restrict anyone’s opportunity. With more brand ambassadors like Kai, there’s no way lacrosse can’t keep growing.
Lumber Lax at the FIL World Cup
Kai was recently given the chance to go to the 2018 FIL World Cup that takes place in Israel during July. He is creating sticks for all the nations attending, and his sticks will be used for ceremonial purposes at the World Cup. This awesome experience that Kai is trying to go on is also costly. He is currently accepting donations, and also selling internationally themed sticks to fund his trip. We are wishing the very best to Kai and his very supportive family, and we can’t wait to see all the good you are doing for lacrosse come right back at you. It’s the bright, young, and energetic minds with old souls like Kai who will be able to meld the old with the new and bring lacrosse even closer to becoming a more inclusive and world-wide sport.
