Dustin Dohm's hands hover by his ears. His eyes widen, and he grins. "The last four years," he says, "it has been going like this." His hands drift from his head to a point in front of his chest, as if tracing the outline of a giant funnel. It's a telling gesture: After years of work, Dohm and business partner Van O'Banion are poised to revolutionize the lacrosse industry. Lacrosse is one of the country's fastest-growing sports.
The idea for Stylin' Strings Inc., a York, Pa.-based supplier of proprietary, hand-strung lacrosse pockets and sports gear, began on a porch overlooking the Susquehanna River. Dohm and O'Banion loafed there one summer afternoon, stringing the pockets of their lacrosse sticks. Many kids think stringing is easy, but the craftsmanship involved takes years to master, Dohm says. O'Banion, already respected in the industry for his stringing ability, had formulated new pocket designs. They decided to launch a web site and offer an alternative to the mass-produced, mesh-pocket design that's standard on most sticks.
The energetic 23-year-old Dohm regularly works 80 hours a week, half the time as art director at Digi-Tex, a distributorship in York owned by his parents, James and Bonnie Dohm. For Stylin' Strings, he designs marketing materials and develops business opportunities. "My job was to make it look like a [big] corporation," Dohm says. Stylin' Strings' fliers, brochures and web site reflect the entrepreneurs' enthusiasm and present a larger-than-life presence. "A kid would call us up and say, 'What do you have in stock?' I'd call out to Van in the other room, 'What do we have in stock?' like we're in a warehouse," Dohm says. Customers often think they're dealing with a massive operation, but the two work from an apartment and custom-string each pocket. In three years, Stylin' Strings has sold 500 pockets--not enough to turn a profit, but that could change soon.
The company recently won a contract to outfit the York College men's lacrosse team. Within two weeks after its launch, the latest version of www.stylinstrings.com experienced 360,000 hits. Approximately 60,000 occurred soon after Dohm and his friends distributed fliers at the NCAA Lacrosse Championships in Baltimore in May. This summer, the company opens a brick-and-mortar retail store in York and plays host to SK8LAX, an event that's equal parts lacrosse tournament, skateboard demonstration and concert. Dohm pitches it as "a new style of lacrosse media" for "anyone who likes creativity mixed with a little A.D.D." Stylin' Strings and co-host e-lacrosse, an online industry publication, have contacted national beverage and skateboard companies, and lacrosse-gear manufacturers as potential sponsors.
Dohm credits Stylin' Strings' momentum to several factors--an innovative product, smart business moves, and limitless support from family and friends. Just as important, though, is the founders' relentless vision: "If it wasn't a dream, if it wasn't a passion, it wouldn't be this," Dohm says.
Dohm isn't content with shaking things up only in the lacrosse world. He wants to advance the printing industry as well, so he pushes Digi-Tex clients to consider creative approaches to their direct mail, promotional product and brochure designs. Some have been responsive, but "most of our clients don't let me [be creative]," Dohm says. They rely on the same old ideas, he says, and then "they wonder why their business isn't growing."
--Andrew Brown
Dustin Dohm (right), art director at Digi-Tex Inc., York, Pa., and
Van O'Banion co-founded Stylin' Strings Inc., a supplier of proprietary hand-strung lacrosse pockets and sports gear. This summer, the partners will open a retail store in York and play host to SK8LAX, a lacrosse tournament and skateboard show.
