At first glance, Neomi “Nemo” Beach appears to be a typical college sophomore balancing
classes, volleyball practice and the occasional outing with friends. But beneath her easygoing
demeanor lies an entrepreneurial spirit that would impress even the most seasoned business
veterans.

“I had no thought about this a month ago,” Beach said casually, describing the clothing line of
streetwear she launched in January. Within 24 hours, she designed a collection on her iPad,
secured a business license, opened a P.O. box, obtained a business debit card and began
searching for manufacturers nearby San Diego.

Her brand, Slayin Dayz, addresses a simple but overlooked need: clothing for tall people like
herself. “I’ve always wanted to wear the cute sets, but the pants were always too short,”
explained Beach, who stands at 5 feet 11 inches. “It’s like half my calf. And the jackets are like,
here,” she added, gesturing to her forearms.

Beach, who recently turned 20 years old, speaks with the conviction of someone twice her age.
When asked how she manages being a student, athlete and entrepreneur simultaneously, she
shrugged. “My brain just works like that. I can’t tell you how I do it, it just gets done.”

This work ethic wasn’t cultivated in business classes — Beach is majoring in communication
studies, with a minor in IT management. It was instilled by her entrepreneurial mother, who runs
two nonprofit organizations, BASE (Black Alliance and Social Empowerment) and AFRO
SCOUTS, focused on Black empowerment and youth, as well a branch of the fitness franchise,
Body20, which utilizes electrical muscle stimulation technology.

“All I knew was just to work two, three times harder than everyone else,” Beach said, reflecting
on her upbringing in Mesa, Arizona. “That’s how I got to the point of volleyball. That’s how I
got to the point of being a businesswoman.”

Her path to USD began when, at 12-years-old, she started received her first volleyball
scholarship offers from universities such as Texas Tech. By her junior year of high school, she
had “tons of offers,” but chose the University of San Diego because of her connection with
Volleyball Head Coach Jennifer Petrie. “We clicked just like this,” she said, snapping her fingers.
 

Beach’s vision extends far beyond graduation. After college, she plans to move to Houston,
Texas, to attend nursing school and become a travel nurse — all while growing her clothing
brand and establishing nonprofits, including a Houston chapter of BASE to complement her
mother’s Arizona chapter and her uncle’s branch in Oregon.

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“I know what I’m doing for the next seven years already,” she said, matter-of-factly.
Her entrepreneurial ventures haven’t been hampered by name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals
that have transformed college athletics. Unlike some of the college athletes spotted driving
luxury cars and making millions off of social media posts, Beach takes a practical approach to
these opportunities.

Instead, she’s busy coordinating photoshoots with USD athletes, working with videographers and
fine-tuning fabric compositions with manufacturers for her brand, Slayin Dayz. She’s already
planning to expand beyond hoodies and sweatpants to velour sets — think Juicy Couture circa 2000, but for taller frames.

Beach represents a new generation of student-athletes, who are leveraging their college
experience as a launchpad for multiple careers rather than a pathway to a single profession. For
her, volleyball scholarships, business ventures and nursing aspirations aren’t competing interests,
but complementary threads of a carefully crafted future, one where she continues to tick items
off her ever-present to-do list.

“If I have a thought, it’s going to get done.”