FlexWork Sports, which operates youth sports camps led by athletes like Saquon Barkley, Jordan Love and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., has acquired rival ProCamps. FlexWork founder & CEO Forrest West said his company will more than double its offerings to around 1,000 events annually. West wouldn’t disclose financial details, though a source familiar with the deal said it’s an eight-figure transaction. The acquisition of ProCamps doesn’t just expand the scale of FlexWork’s youth camp offerings, but it also includes ProCamps’ brand marketing agency, G3 Marketing.
“That helps with the brand activation side of things, which allows us to continue growing in more verticals,” West said. “So not just the traditional youth sports camp space, but more brand-led meet-and-greet opportunities and other brand activations across the board.”
Love raved about working with FlexWork on camps across Wisconsin, his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., and even in Tokyo. Love said he’s excited by the prospect of doing more, especially abroad, and sees greater opportunities to involve brand sponsors.
“When I meet with some of these different brand partners, they’re always asking, ‘What can we do to help?’” Love said. “If you’ve got a Nike deal, it’s Nike being able to send gift bags or some stuff that the kids can walk away with. … Brands want to have an impact. If you’re doing good work in the community and for kids, they want to try and help.”
FlexWork has acquired ProCamps from its co-founder and chairman Gregg Darbyshire, who will now become FlexWork’s chief growth officer. ProCamps’ full staff will be retained, with FlexWork’s full-time headcount nearly doubling to around 70 employees. Sports private equity firm Otro Capital acquired FlexWork last August.
