When you think of sports in Minnesota, hockey, football and baseball may come to mind. With its increase in popularity over the last decade, lacrosse should definitely be added to that list. And with a White Bear Lake company and its state-of-the-art technology, the history of lacrosse in Minnesota just got a bit more interesting.
Redline Lacrosse was founded by White Bear Lake native Charlie Igo about two years ago. After graduating from Mounds Park Academy in 2005, Igo attended the University of St. Thomas Schulze School of Entrepreneurship. Igo, himself a lacrosse player, developed an interest in carbon fiber while interning at HED Cycling, a Shoreview-based company that creates high-performance bike wheels, during college. While employed at HED, where he worked for three years after working as an intern, he decided to launch his own business.
With his newfound knowledge of carbon fiber, it made sense for him to design his own stronger, more flexible state-of-the-art lacrosse shafts. “We knew what we wanted to make, and it took a lot of designing, lab testing and field testing to get something we felt was the best product for the lacrosse market,” says Igo.
With more kids and adults interested in the sport, there has been an increase in demand for the Redline M4 Carbon brand shafts, especially in the spring when lacrosse season begins. The sticks, which are completely manufactured in White Bear Lake, run from $125 to $195 and can be custom-built with school colors. Igo, ever the entrepreneur, is always thinking of new products and is working on growing distribution nationwide through retail partnerships.
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Redline Lacrosse, 4120 Hoffman Road, White Bear Lake 651.429.6599.
