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Fairfield U. Grads Transform Twitter Feed Into Thriving Brand

FAIRFIELD, Conn — Three Fairfield University alumnae claim to have many soccer-related problems. But building a brand out of their viral Twitter feed doesn’t seem to be one.

Carly Beyar, Shannon Fay and Alanna Locast -- all former teammates on Fairfield University Women's Soccer Team -- turned their Twitter feed into a well-known brand.

Carly Beyar, Shannon Fay and Alanna Locast -- all former teammates on Fairfield University Women's Soccer Team -- turned their Twitter feed into a well-known brand.

Photo Credit: Contributed
Carly Beyar, Shannon Fay and Alanna Locast -- all former teammates on Fairfield University Women's Soccer Team -- turned their Twitter feed into a well-known brand.

Carly Beyar, Shannon Fay and Alanna Locast -- all former teammates on Fairfield University Women's Soccer Team -- turned their Twitter feed into a well-known brand.

Photo Credit: Contributed
Carly Beyar, Shannon Fay and Alanna Locast -- all former teammates on Fairfield University Women's Soccer Team -- turned their Twitter feed into a well-known brand.

Carly Beyar, Shannon Fay and Alanna Locast -- all former teammates on Fairfield University Women's Soccer Team -- turned their Twitter feed into a well-known brand.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Carly Beyar, Shannon Fay and Alanna Locast started the @soccergrlprobs Twitter account while on the women’s soccer team at the university. Since its inception in 2011, the trio has built a brand around the feed, starting a company that specializes in merchandise targeted toward female soccer players. 

Their Twitter handle, which now has 193,000 followers, has garnered attention from national media and professional athletes. 

“The whole U.S. women’s national team knows soccergrlprobs,” Locast told The Daily Voice during an interview Wednesday. Locast added that Julie Johnston, an American soccer defender for the Chicago Red Stars, recognized them at a recent game.

The idea for the site, the trio said, began after during preseason in 2011. They had just finished the third practice session of the day. Exhausted and waiting for food, they started tweeting on their own personal feeds with the hashtag #soccergrlprobs.

Then they thought they should create a @soccergrlprobs Twitter account. So they signed on to Twitter, and they quickly developed a fan base.

Their followers started to ask them to make a video, which many fans viewed.

“We didn't know how to make a video so we just used an iPad,” Beyar said. “We hit a million viewers in three days.”

Then they decided to make T-shirts after their followers asked for soccergrlprobs merchandise. Their original, they say, is still their bestselling shirt. It says, “I can’t I have soccer.”

Originally, the trio decided to stay anonymous as possible. While it was impossible for friends, teammates and coaches not to recognize their faces, they tried to shield their identities by turning their T-shirts inside out because they didn't know how their coaches or school would react to the feed.

In the future, the trio says they would consider partnering with more brands. But for now, these recent college grads are making a career out of selling out of merchandise and tweeting  — one soccer-related problem at a time.

“We all love this, “ Fay said. “It’s the best job. It doesn’t feel like work when we have come and have fun every day and get to do what we love.”

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