Fish Bartlett moved from upstate New York to Utah to start a ski resort before coming to the realization that “ski resorts are like Dunkin’ Donuts in New England,” he said. “They’re everywhere here.”

Luckily, Bartlett found another outlet for his entrepreneurial sprit. Driving down to Moab after ski season in the late 1990s, he came across a youth lacrosse game. He stopped to find a coach from Vermont, who encouraged him to stay that weekend for a men’s league game. Bartlett had no equipment, but he met Mason Goodhand — the godfather of Utah lacrosse.

Goodhand helped Bartlett get into coaching at the high school level, and later earn a role at the Utah Lacrosse Association, where he met his wife, Soni. 

By 2002, the Bartletts combined their love for lacrosse and small businesses to establish Tribal West, now a local mecca.

“Lacrosse stores are destination stores,” Bartlett said. “When we first opened, moms would drop their kids off and say, ‘See you at 4 p.m., Billy,’ and hand them a packed lunch. They’d stay all day and shoot.”

The Bartletts have organized Tribal West camps for 13 years, helping to foster another generation of youth players in Utah.