Vinnie can also do custom orders - all you need to do is send a photo

Have you been searching for that perfect present for a fellow lacrosse player? Or perhaps you are looking for a way that you can bring your love of lacrosse into your home without littering the place with filthy sticks and equipment? Well laxers, meet the answer to your problem: Vincent Ricasio, lacrosse player, artist and founder of The Art of Lax™.

Many of you will have seen his eye-catching work – exciting and dramatic depictions of lacrosse players and teams in action on the pitch – at tournaments and games across the country, but very little is actually known about the man behind the artwork over here in the UK. So, we at ArchLevel decided to do something about it…

Vincent, or Vinnie to his friends, is a native New Yorker and has been a keen lacrosse player and artist since his childhood. He insists that his love of the game helps to make his artwork all the more impressive.

“Having played lacrosse and still playing lacrosse has made The Art of Lax™ what it is today, no question about it,” he explains.

“Lacrosse is just such a fun game. It has given me the best friends and opportunities and lessons in life. Lacrosse has taught me to work very hard for the things that I want and has given me an outlet and release from my daily and weekly things that stress me out.

Unsurprisingly, Vinnie’s lacrosse-inspired creativity sprung out of his desire to combine two of his most important passions. He says: “The Art of Lax™ was actually my “Senior Project” back in art school in ‘99/’00. I wanted to combine the two things that I really loved!”

However, despite its current popularity and success, The Art of Lax™ was not always viewed as a wise business venture. “Honestly, I was flat-out told by my art teachers that there was absolutely NO market for Lacrosse Art,” Vinnie remembers.

“But I couldn’t take advice from people who never played a sport in their life, let alone followed one properly. Needless to say I was occasionally teased and not really given a chance to prove myself.

“After art school, I felt like I had unfinished business and something to prove.”

So Vinnie pursued The Art of Lax™ dream, determined to show his critics how popular Lacrosse Art could really be. Bolstered by the support of his fellow players and lacrosse enthusiasts, Vinne has gone on to create an incredibly successful international business.

“What kept me going was the positive feedback that mattered the most – my lacrosse teammates and the communities that understood the art and accepted it,” he says.

“Getting into the international market was a major goal of mine.”

Indeed, not only has Vinnie managed to break the international barrier, he has also done it with true lacrosse flare.

“A customer in Australia – Alan Lewer, who’s a well-known person in the lacrosse community Down Under – got a tattoo of one of my pieces,” Vinnie says.

“That started a trend and I’ve actually gotten more requests for those sorts of things!”

While you may not be prepared to go that far to show your love of the game, you should definitely consider checking out some of Vinnie’s work, either through his website http://www.theartoflax.com/.

If you’re in the UK or Europe and desperate for a piece of Vinnie’s work, head over to http://www.northernsoulsportswear.com/, the exclusive UK/EU retailer for Vinnie’s work.

If artwork isn’t your thing, The Art of Lax™ is now available on hoodies, t-shirts and tons of your favourite lacrosse stash. So go on, invest, and prove that you love lacrosse just as much as Vinnie and his lacrosse-obsessed Aussie clients!